What happens puncture a tire while riding ?

MasterSlimes

2021
CB650R
Jun 4, 2021
New Brunswick, Canada
Riding Since
1990
I was wondering if anyone had a tire puncture/blow out and at what speed ? What happens...does the tire retain shape, or do you get knocked over the handlebars ?
Any one experience this yet ?
 

miweber929

2014
CBR650F
650 Alumnus
Staff
Feb 13, 2015
Woodbury, MN
Riding Since
1975
I had a rear one after going just over 100mph on my old VFR. I was exiting the freeway where I had been riding like an idiot one night and as I slowed down the back end started getting wobbly. I was able to maintain control and come to a stop, then slowly ride home the mile or so away.

Never had a front one on the road, a couple off-road, though. Pretty much the same thing.
 

Jerry

2016
CBR650F ABS
May 18, 2017
The Netherlands
Often enough nothing happens. My brother had a tyre puncture and didn't notice until he got off the bike and he saw a big fat bolt sticking out of his rear tyre
 

Motojack

2019
CBR650R
May 26, 2019
Had a near flat rear tire once. Bike felt wobbly and shaking as I accelerated and cornered. It was difficult to lean the bike and once you got it past a certain point it just wanted to tip over.
 

Enrico

2018
CB650F ABS
Mar 28, 2019
Had a puncture while riding, the bike started to feel unstable and wobble as far as I can remember. You slow down and stop as soon as you can and get off.
 

Underworld Taco

2019
CB650R ABS
Mar 23, 2020
Portugal
Riding Since
2019
Had one, noticed the psi was getting lower faster than was supposed, just pressed the bolt into the tire to reach my dealership
 

kingn8dogg

2014
CBR650F
Sep 23, 2019
Portland
Riding Since
2005
It really depends on the enTIRE setup. I had a rear flat on my supermoto and I think I kteppt on commuting a couple days before accepting reality. It felt a bit off but I just blamed the road conditions. Very low profile stiff, sidewalls, and bike only about 250 pounds so no visual indicators. On the other hand, my overweight KZ with its' giant flimsy sidewalls, if it just gets a little low on tire pressure from being ignored to long, I can hardly even push it across the garage.
 

Goblin

2019
CB650R ABS
Sep 2, 2019
When cleaning my bike I saw that there was a nail in my rear tire. Didn’t notice it the day before during riding. I checked the pressure and it was a little bit lower (so leaking slowly). When i was paying the bill I asked the garage owner why it is usually the rear tire that gets punctured. He said that this is because you usually drive over it with your front wheel first and the force pushes the nail straight into the rear tire. I actually never had a front puncture 🤷‍♂️. Im not completely convinced about this theory, maybe someone has a more convincing explanation?
 

miweber929

2014
CBR650F
650 Alumnus
Staff
Feb 13, 2015
Woodbury, MN
Riding Since
1975
When cleaning my bike I saw that there was a nail in my rear tire. Didn’t notice it the day before during riding. I checked the pressure and it was a little bit lower (so leaking slowly). When i was paying the bill I asked the garage owner why it is usually the rear tire that gets punctured. He said that this is because you usually drive over it with your front wheel first and the force pushes the nail straight into the rear tire. I actually never had a front puncture 🤷‍♂️. Im not completely convinced about this theory, maybe someone has a more convincing explanation?
That’s what I’ve been told as well: as something is laying in the road on its side, your front tire kicks it upright and it punctures into the rear tire as it rolls over it. Something like an 80/20 split for rear tire to front tire punctures ratio.
 

Enrico

2018
CB650F ABS
Mar 28, 2019
That’s what I’ve been told as well: as something is laying in the road on its side, your front tire kicks it upright and it punctures into the rear tire as it rolls over it. Something like an 80/20 split for rear tire to front tire punctures ratio.
That is what AA man told me when I called them out to screw in rear tyre. It was a new tyre only a few hundred miles old and it couldn't be mended because side was split as well, so I had to fork out for another new tyre .
 

Dontpush

2020
CB650R ABS
Mar 8, 2020
Riding Since
2017
I've had two punctures in the rear tire, one on some mid range stock tires and another on some expensive Power 5s. Both times, it was construction nails, one of them was a little over an inch, the other was a huge ass 4 incher - all in the center band of the tire.

Both times, I didn't notice until I was cleaning my bike. They could have been in there for a few hours up to a week or two, both times the tire pressure only dropped a few PSI.

Plugged them both times with Dynaplugs (used three plugs due to the thickness of the nails) and regularly check my pressure before riding and haven't lost pressure at all. After a few hundred miles, they meld so good with the rubber it's hard to even find where the plug was. I realize the right thing to do is get it properly patched internally, but hopefully I never learn that lesson the hard way!
 

MDM650R

2021
CBR650R
Aug 31, 2021
Riding Since
2020
Had a rear blowout on my friends Yamaha FZ6R (with him on the back)
Pulling gently away from a traffic light then BOOM!, i thought the chain had just snapped as I had just tightened it 10 minutes beforehand- Turns out a rachet-extension was on the road and pushed right through the tyre, and right through the rim.. on my friend's Special Edition bike that we were servicing/test riding that day getting it ready to sell..

Special Edition.. with custom wheels - Not a cheap fix.
 

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Rogue

2017
CBR650F ABS
CBR650F
Sep 3, 2017
St Albans, Herts, UK
Never experienced a blowout (i.e rapid deflation) and hope I never do.
I've had many punctures over the years though almost all in the rear , I think just one in the front. I've also heard the theory of front tyre kicking up debris/nail/etc. and then rear "catching" it and in my experience this certainly seems to be very believable.
Only ever noticed a couple of punctures whilst actually riding and in both cases it was just a matter of the bike handling become very heavy and not wanting to turn in.
Most punctures I've only noticed at a later time when moving bike in garage or just about to set off on a ride when again bike feels very heavy to move around.
 

JRinKtown

2018
CB650F
Jun 30, 2019
I had one in the rear once at highway speed. Nothing dramatic. The rear end just suddenly wobbled badly so I pulled over immediately to see the tire was completely flat. Sucks, but if you're paying attention and don't do any abrupt maneuvers; just let the bike slow down with gentle braking on the good end and you'll be fine. Had a flat in the front once also. Similar feel at the other end.

My theory regarding the prevalence of flats in the rear vs the front is similar to why the rear tire wears quicker than the front; it carries more weight and presses against the pavement more since it's the one creating the driving force. The rear is more likely to press into a sharp object, where the front can roll over it with less pressure.

Flats are more of a pain with tubed tires. Had a flat on the highway on a remote mountain road. I had a spare tube with me so I thought, no worries. I supported the bike on a large rock, removed the wheel, the tire, and installed the new tube. When spooning the tire back on however, I guess I pinched the new tube. I had no patch kit so I had to call for help. Give me tubeless any day.
 

Dontpush

2020
CB650R ABS
Mar 8, 2020
Riding Since
2017
Had a rear blowout on my friends Yamaha FZ6R (with him on the back)
Pulling gently away from a traffic light then BOOM!, i thought the chain had just snapped as I had just tightened it 10 minutes beforehand- Turns out a rachet-extension was on the road and pushed right through the tyre, and right through the rim.. on my friend's Special Edition bike that we were servicing/test riding that day getting it ready to sell..

Special Edition.. with custom wheels - Not a cheap fix.
Just plug it☺️
 

MasterSlimes

2021
CB650R
Jun 4, 2021
New Brunswick, Canada
Riding Since
1990
I had one in the rear once at highway speed. Nothing dramatic. The rear end just suddenly wobbled badly so I pulled over immediately to see the tire was completely flat. Sucks, but if you're paying attention and don't do any abrupt maneuvers; just let the bike slow down with gentle braking on the good end and you'll be fine. Had a flat in the front once also. Similar feel at the other end.

My theory regarding the prevalence of flats in the rear vs the front is similar to why the rear tire wears quicker than the front; it carries more weight and presses against the pavement more since it's the one creating the driving force. The rear is more likely to press into a sharp object, where the front can roll over it with less pressure.

Flats are more of a pain with tubed tires. Had a flat on the highway on a remote mountain road. I had a spare tube with me so I thought, no worries. I supported the bike on a large rock, removed the wheel, the tire, and installed the new tube. When spooning the tire back on however, I guess I pinched the new tube. I had no patch kit so I had to call for help. Give me tubeless any day.
Thats reassuring ! i was concerned a blow out would cause a loss of control and a subsequent crash.
 
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