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-It was one of those days-

R_W_B

Senior Member
Today I started out early to my second Patriot Guard mission. Did my pre-ride inspection last night, had it gassed up and my sissy bar pack loaded. It was 55 degrees at 8:30am when I left out but I had a jacket on. About a mile out I turned a corner and felt the rear tire kinda hop over to the outside a bit. Just faint but I could tell something had happened. I pulled over, got off and looked everything over, tires still looked good. So climbed back on and headed up CR-471 a straight shot thru the middle of the big Green Swamp. For 30miles nothing but 2 lane asphalt with swamp on both sides. Some big trucks and cagers but as long as you stay near 70mph everything is ok.

Well after about 25 miles I came into the little area called Tarrytown, I pulled into a Citgo store to use the restroom and check my map. I had not noticed anything unusual about the bike at all (but granted it was a straight road no curves). As I'm getting off my bike a guy in a Van next to me is pointing at my back tire. I look down and it is almost totally flat. Just a bit of air still keeping the rim off the asphalt. My first thought is, well I'm not going to make my mission today. My second thought is, well if I had taken a long curve at 70mph on that tire, they probably would be having a mission for me the following week.

So I call a tow service to come pick me up, Tarrytown is only 20 miles from Clermont Harley (Stormy Hill H.D.). So while I am waiting for the tow, this guy pulls up on one of those rock solid BMW touring bikes. You know the type, they don't have much style or looks but they've been around for ages and they will run an easy 175,000 miles without a rebuild. Got the 180 degrees cylinder offset. Yea anyhow you know what I mean. So he's parked about 35 or 40 feet away and he goes in the store. He comes back out drinking his coke and he's looking over at me. So I figure I'll go over and talk to him to kill some time. I walk up to him and he's a few years younger than me, but a stout, strong and crusty looking character with a quick wit about him. I said where you from, and he said Canada. He looks over at my bike and says -Eh ya gat one um dem Hurley Street Babs do ye-. I could not help but laugh and said yep one with a flat tire.

He says -well I got one of dem little air compressors in my saddle bags we'll just air that thing up-. Actually he used another pronoun but for HDT I'll just use -thing-. I laughed again and said it's a spoke laced wheel I'm just gonna wait on a tow. He said -I've run plenty of spoke tube tires that way just to get in, course you shouldn't do much more than 35mph-. I said I didn't know which worried me more the aired up tube or doing 35 with a semi on my rear. Anyhow I talked to this guy for about 25 mins. He was so cool. I enjoyed the heck out of talking to him. He told me he had an FLH back home but he likes to travel on the BMW. This guy was motorcycle thru and thru. I rolled my bike as he watched my tire and we spotted what looked like a big nail in it. I would love to have him as a neighbor. Anyhow he finally had to leave out. He fired his BMW up and ran so quiet I could hardly hear it.

Later I got a tow into Clermont and $319.00 later I have new rear tire, tube and balance. They showed me what came out of my tire. It was some kind of heavy gauge wire 1/8 dia about 4 inches long with a 90 degree bend in it. It was totally inside my tire. I'm thinking when I ran over it was when I felt my bike jump out some. So I'm all fixed up and coming home I'm doing 65mph down Hwy 33. I see this small whirlwind about the width of the road and 40 feet high coming right at me. It showers me with grit sand and leaves and I can feel my bike weave as I go thru it. Anyhow I finally get home, grab a beer and sit out on the drive. You know a bad day biking is better than a good day working.
Later...R_W_B
 
WOW, i hate flat tires and I really dont much care for tubes but I love my Bob, glad it turned out OK tho a bit spendy:s
 
Good it found a SLOW way to leak and not the quicker one.. A BLESSING...

IT WAS YOUR DAY !!!

signed....BUBBIE
 
Too bad about the $319.00 unless the tire needed to be replaced but it's still better than the alternative might have been.
 
Rear tire flat not so bad, as the saying goes "--coulda been worse." Glad you got it sorted R_W_B...sometimes it just pays not to fight it and just let the "drama" play out. There will be other days! :s
 
Once again, if you take care of your bike your bike takes care of you. You made it out of harms way. You are right about a bad day of riding is better than a good day at work...
 
Gotta tell ya that a good story of a bad day on a Harley is better than no story at all. "Sat at home,,, watched Oprah..." Dave, I'm glad you made er' through.
 
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