Rear Flat Tire on VN900

[bagya]

Ok, So I go out give her a bath this am and all is well. I move her around a little while giving her a bath. I then go to the store, pick up some bbq items and rum before I decide to put the new bags on the bike. I put the bags on it all seems magically good for a Sunday ride.

I start moving the bike and hear a little pop. Huh, wonder what that was. Recheck the bags, don't see anything wrong. Ride out my drive way and down the court. Something is definetly wrong....YES a flat tire
I have sneaking feeling somebody messed with it while I was at the store.

Ok. For the mechanically uninclined (and relatively cheap). How do I take care of this problem. Taking the tire off seems a bit intimidating but towing seems expensive. Wife is gunna give me, puting more and more money in the bike talk, I don't want to hear it.

[Rubline]

Dont they have plugs for motorcycle tires now-a-days? I thought I saw them somewhere. I might be wrong though.

[LouAB]

Plugs may help for the "putting more and more money" talk at least

[pat0021]

Its a tube I believe isn't it?? I know my local bike shops have signs saying due to liability issues they won't plug bike tires.

[woodchucks800]

The 900 has a spoke wheel with a 15 dollar tube plugs won't work. The cheapest route is to lift the bike with a jack. If you don't have one yet (a jack) it's well worth it to atleast one for 80 bucks or less. Once the bikes in the air see what it;ll take to remove it ( this info will be handy to know for the future) Once it's off take it to a dealer and have them replace the tube. T otal cost should be around 40 or 50 bucks with a new tube included. Take it back home reinstall and learn about your drive belt alignment and it's tension settings ( more good info for the future) You could find a way to air it up now and see if it'll hold air long enough to ride to the closet dealer and let them take it off the bike and reinstall it.

[bagya]

How difficult is it to take off the tire, belt etc? I don't have a stand...would a few 4'x4's work or is there something else that easy to use as a stand. I've patched plenty of bicycle tires so patching a tube would be easy it's the removal/reinstall of wheel from bike, removal/mounting of tire from wheel that I'm wondering about.

[bagya]

Thanks wood chuck. I'll take your advice. Could be a good learning experience. At least I'll learn to take the wheel/belt off. I cant leave it on the jack or can I?

[LouAB]

The 4X4's would probably work but the hard part will be to lift the bike high enough to get the tire off the ground. She does weigh a bit. Haven't actually taken the tire off but it shouldn't be to hard. Pretty much just loosen off the tension on the belt and remove the axle bolt (probably easier if you remove right saddle bag first). Think I'd feel safer with a new tube though for the price.

[woodchucks800]

Originally Posted by bagya

How difficult is it to take off the tire, belt etc? I don't have a stand...would a few 4'x4's work or is there something else that easy to use as a stand. I've patched plenty of bicycle tires so patching a tube would be easy it's the removal/reinstall of wheel from bike, removal/mounting of tire from wheel that I'm wondering about.

If you've got some help ,four by four can work .Id leave it in gear and just get the rear up far enough to get the wheel off. You still need to put a jack on your accessory list for the future. It won't be that hard to take off if you've got a few metric wrenchs ( the wrenches in the onboard tool kit will work for now) Look at the frame whehe the whell is bolted on both sides and look for the hash marks and see how the wheel is aligned on both sides that will help when reinstalling the wheel. From here the belt tension comes into play and the other 900 owner's will have to take it from here since I'm not running a belt.

[woodchucks800]

Originally Posted by bagya

I cant leave it on the jack or can I?

That just depends how well you get it off the ground and if the bike feels stable enough for you to leave it that way. Do you have any kids or a big a*ss dog that can knock it off the blocks while it's in the air. Good luck with whatever you do.

[ScottLewis9]

Local dealer here charged me 75 (them removing the tire/etc) when I had a flat on my 900. If time was not of the essence, I would have save the $ and removed it myself (happened on a saturday, early afternoon. I had a long ride planned the following day). Tube should be no more than @ 15 bucks + whatever the going rate is in your town for tire mounting.

[woodchucks800]

One more tip . If you can fnd some 2x6's instead of the 4x4 's wedge them one at a time in front of the rear wheels ( or make as small ramp) you could ride the bike up on, preferably while not on the bike. Once its up in the air about 4" put your 4x4 under the bike ,make sure the bike is secure and pull the 2x6" out from under the tire, now your off the ground 4" with out having to pick the bike up. go in reverse to get it back on the ground.

[msa1956]

if you have a air compressor go buy some slime put it in and fill it up with air and read the directions and ride t ot the shop and have them replace the tube and remove any debrie

[kc6wfs]

When my rear tire went out on me I (trailered) it to the dealer and had new front and rears put on, and new tubes.. Was around 250.00.......

Dave

[bagya]

I wouldn't mind trailering it but I don't have one. I'll have to check U Haul, maybe thats the EZ ticket.

[ATCurry]

Originally Posted by bagya

I start moving the bike and hear a little pop. ... Something is definetly wrong....YES a flat tire
I have sneaking feeling somebody messed with it while I was at the store.

Ok. For the mechanically uninclined (and relatively cheap). How do I take care of this problem. Taking the tire off seems a bit intimidating but towing seems expensive. Wife is gunna give me, puting more and more money in the bike talk, I don't want to hear it.

1. With my flat (a big obvious nail) I was able to air the tire up enough to ride to the dealer and let them fix it. (about 15 miles) That plus the bikes first service cost me about $180. Hearing a "pop" sounds like you have a more serious failure in the tube than a nail hole. So this may not work for you. OTOH if it is a failure of the tube--not a road hazard--this may be a warranty issue?? Look into that angle

2. No matter what, it is going to cost you something, it just depends on what you want to spend the money on. And it isn't putting money into the bike. It is maintenance--which you have to have for all vehicles. Your wife wouldn't complain if you had to fix tires on the car would she? It's not like you are buying a Corbin seat.

3. Buy a new tube. If the old tube is patchable, keep it and patch it yourself as a spare.

[DrJAvillar1]

I had my 900 for three days before I got my first flat - rear tire. I had a huge screw stuck in it. I got a buddy to help trailer the bike to the dealer and $70 and two days later I was back on the road. Too bad the 900 has tubes. I would love to swap out the rims and tires but I can't seam to get my money tree to grow! Good luck!

[bagya]

Yeah as fast as it went flat, I don't think I could air it up to get it to the dealer which is probably less than 5 miles. Yeah I'm not worried about the cost anymore...she just must have been in a bad mood when I was telling her on my cell phone about the bags I was buying, while I was in the poker room and down some $ (btw I eventually broke even). Now she's talking about buying a 3rd jet ski in less than 2 months (got the first two for less than $2k, now she wants a new or newer one). She's not going to quibble over this little $.

I'll need to check how much new rims cost.

[woodchucks800]

Originally Posted by bagya

Yeah as fast as it went flat, I don't think I could air it up to get it to the dealer which is probably less than 5 miles. Yeah I'm not worried about the cost anymore...she just must have been in a bad mood when I was telling her on my cell phone about the bags I was buying, while I was in the poker room and down some $ (btw I eventually broke even). Now she's talking about buying a 3rd jet ski in less than 2 months (got the first two for less than $2k, now she wants a new or newer one). She's not going to quibble over this little $.

I'll need to check how much new rims cost.

Well it's Monday night ,have you got it fixed yet? if no then why not? I had a flat last Tues. night ( found out wed. morning) about the same as a couple of others ( A screw in the rear tire) Took the wheel off after work Wed. (15 min.) called the dealer (said thet could fix it within the hr) got there and had them replace the tube and tire( it only had about a 1,000 miles left on it) while I waited ,came back home and reinstalled in 20 min. total time around 1 1/2 hrs with driving. So when do you plan on being back on the road? Just some info ,aftermarket wheels will be around 1200 to 1500 bucks if you even find any that'll fit( never could for the 800) since your running an 800 front rim there's probably not a wheel that'll work. scottworks does make a HD wheel adapter kit to make it mount up to your bike , but last I heard due to sloppy machineing practices on there end they'll only sell the adapters if they can have the bike in house to make sure the HD wheel will work on the bike ( so they can remachine the parts if need be to get it to work)

[carrot top]

After my first flat late at night, I decided to be better prepared. For the past 6k miles I've run "Ride-ON" motorcycle tire sealant in my tires.