Almost died after rear wheel got punctured ... lessons !

[chief]

If the tube had simply been punctured that stuff would likely have worked for a bit. With a great tear in the tube from a blowout, the spokes end up being a bunch of leaks. Slime or whatever, isn't going to be able to plug that many leaks for very long, imho. But any little bit of help is a good thing.

[ski.dive]

YES, SLIME WORKS ON TUBES, BUT YOU MUST ADD THE SLIME TO THE TUBES 'BEFORE YOU GET THE FLAT'.

[TC]

 That's what I was going to ask Chief.
It dosen't seem to me repair in a can would work with tube tires.

[chief]

The tube failed - BANG - so injecting stuff into it at that point was likely pointless. That stuff really doesn't work well with tubed tires on spoked wheels.

Cheers.

[Slick]

The former owner of my Honda couldn't handle the bike so he parked it for years in the shed. the problem was the cheap tires that were installed on the bike. I replaced the chins with Brigestones s11's which are an excellent tire for a vintage bike. I used new rim liners and heavy duty tubes . I had to wait several weeks for the tubes to arrive from all places... Australia. Heavy duty tubes are available for most tires and worth the extra $25.00 for a set. The only thing between you and the road are your tires . Think about that as your going 75 mph and you look down at the pavement passing under your bike !

[Nightrider]

I do not understand what you mean sorry.

My tire is not "tubeless" so it has a tube in it sure !

I had a new tube installed with my new tyre (Michelin and Metzeler ME880 Marathon).

I had bad experience with a "no name" & made in China tube on a former bike where the tube was depleting all the time despite replacement of the valve shuttle (improved but not cleared teh problem).

So now I want good quality tube and tire !!!! no compromise possible.

[drifter1946]

Hello,
have sometimes a question: has a tube entered in your tyre?

[Nightrider]

Yes, happy end ...

"Funny" thing is that after the trailing session the bike wouldn't drive !
Despite my surprise I came to the conclusion that it was a safety device somewhere and after reading the ECU codes (none) I checked the sidestand switch to find that its electrical harness was cut. This was due to the bike being very low with the flat tire and the underneath contacted hard the trailer ramp ...
Difficulty to understand was that - unlike teh othe rbikes I have owned before - the ignition is not killed when you engage the first gear BUT when you release the clutch. This is still surprising me but that is a fact  ! In first you can rev the engine but as soon as the clutch engages it simply dies ...

I repaired it some minutes ago though ...

But still waiting Tuesday for my new tire to be available at the local shop.

At the time being the rear of the bike is removed and spread all around in my garage ! sad ...

[pcarrell]

Hairy ride man!  Glad you're OK!

[chief]

Yea, tire punctures are NEVER fun on a bike.

Some lessons I learned early on:

1) never skimp on tires
2) preventive maintenance
3) new tubes with each tire change
4) replace tires BEFORE they wear out
5) inspect frequently

Glad you made it home safely.

Cheers.

[Nightrider]

Happened yesterday after getting my new license plate (administrative aspect at the "préfecture")

While driving heard a big BANG, stopped the bike and inspected. No Fault Found.
rode a bit more, went to Kawasaki dealer to buy the plate and new exhaust seals (to install V&H longshots).

After several more kilometers and while heading back home the bike started to feel fuzzy, the back was "loose".
Understood the problem and stopped to find that the rear wheel was flat.
previous owner left a puncture repair spray can. But it was old and during the process the flexible hose broke  .
Not to mention that the access to the rear wheel is very poor on a Drifter.
As per spray can instruction I jumped on the bike and rode slowly to spread the repair compound in the tire.
After 500 meters and at around 50 km/h (30 mph) the rear tire got really loose on the wheel and the situation got serious.
Car approaching behind, bike almost uncontrollable !
I felt I was going to fall if the oscillation got worse.
without braking I decided to quit the road and ride in the grass on the right side.
Grass slowed me down but it was shaking like hell.
At least falling on the grass was better than making a pizza on the tar I thought - still waiting for the ride to end suddenly and quickly.
In fact after applying gently on the brakes I managed to slow down and stop without falling.

next was getting a mean to tow the bike back home behind the Buick but that's another story ...

CONCLUSION:
1- Get yourself a new puncture repair spray can.
2- Even if close from home do not try to ride a 1500 VN with a flat tire. Never !