Tire Blow Out

[JoeInLex]

Forgive the possibly dumb question but, have any of you experienced a complete "tire blowout" where the tire problem has caused you to lose control of the motorcycle?

Coming from a dirt bike background and not having had any form of catastrophic problem, I am curious about whether such a thing is an issue.  I am more expecting a nail or something causing slow leaks or the belt being exposed due to wear.

Thanks!!!

[Hondo]

Most blowouts happen when you hit a very sharp object or overheat the tire due to underinflation.

Both situations at speed would be ugly on any motorcycle.

Another possible failure is to de-rim the tire/break the bead. This might happen if you nailed a deep, sharp pothole. Rim damage is most likely to happen as well.

[Gustavo]

On tubeless tires real blowouts are rarer than hen's teeth.  Unlike tube type tires, even if you have a puncture that's leaking, it just lets the air out, the tire doesn't disintegrate or "explode".  Usually you start feeling the weird handling characteristics that are typical of low pressure before the tire manges to get off the bead, so just slowing down gradually and coming to a full stop is possible if you are aware of what's going on with the bike. 

If you can't tell 36 PSI from 5 PSI, by the time you figure out something is wrong it could be more challenging to control the bike.  A leaking front is usually harder to control than a leaking rear, but it doesn't necessarily mean you'll be having an accident if you have a flat front.  If you can figure out which tire is having the problem, avoid using that brake, using the other one will give you more control and help you keep it going straight until you can come to a complete stop.


Gustavo

[Sly-one]

Great advice Gustavo.

[buzzardco]

My front tire lost a whole lotta air real fast in about 75 -100 feet at 50 mph. I wouldn't call it a blowout .I installed the tire the day before and it ran great on a 15 mile test ride. There was a hole , in line about an inch away from the valve stem and about where the spokes would meet the tube. This happened on a slow sweeper turn and the tire came off the rim. I don't feel anyone could of hung on the handelbars as they were in full tank slapper mode. I did crash and cracked a rib and had one hell of a fat right hand. ATGATT saved my butt.

[buzzardco]

Forgot to mention this was on my KLR,but I'm sure a blow out is a blow out no matter the bike.

[MSGT-R]

Had a rear blow on a CB750K1, double up on the freeway. We managed to get it over w/o incident. It felt like we hit something BIG. The tube gave out; age I think.

[Sly-one]

There was a hole , in line about an inch away from the valve stem and about where the spokes would meet the tube.

Was it a new tube or did you re-use the old one?