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Huh, tube seem to have failed...?

roeme

roeme

Forum Mentor
Past Site Supporter
(Not in a GS subforum since this happened on a Guzzi)

I'm calling upon those who have experience with/know-how about tubed tires; I'm not sure if what has happened to me me is an unusual occurrence. I had the rear tire deflate, but with no apparent damage. Backstory:

I recently had a car shop close by - I did ask them beforehand if they can do motorcycle tires as well - change the tires on my Guzzi. The wheels I un-/remounted by myself, I just had them order the tires, change and balance the wheel.

Since I have my bikes parked just a few metres away, I brought the wheels over to him as soon as he was ready to do the work, and waited/chatted while he did the job. Long story short, it was apparent that he didn't do motorcycles a whole lot, as he was surprised that this (spoked) wheel had a tube, had to balance the wheel manually (usually they do it with a machine around here) and couldn't to change the front tire on the spot, since his machine was unable to work on the narrow front wheel (he had to visit a colleague for that).

Since I was a bit on a schedule, I told him to reuse the old tubes (factory fresh, had 6000km on it at this point). To remount the rear wheel, I had to deflate it a bit. Inflated to spec, no issues.

Fast forward two weeks, I hop on the bike in morning, fire her up, move two meters and immediately notice what's wrong. wtf? Inspecting the tire for a puncture, I could find none, when I tried to reinflate it, air escaped around the valve. The tire was well inflated the evening before.

Did the mechanic f$ck up the tube? Is it normal for them go bad so suddenly? Do they have the same life expectancy as a tire?

The front tire is fine as far I can tell, pending further investigation.

Complete Novice re. this topic, so I'm summoning the GSR hive mind.
 
Yes, tubes should lead long and happy lives. I go through three or four sets of tires on my KLR650 every year, and I only put in new tubes every two or three years. That said, I wouldn't ride on tires or tubes older than five years.

I suppose it is possible to screw up in such a way that the tube fails two weeks later -- maybe if the tube was kinked or twisted, or there was strain on the valve stem. It's also not clear how much you rode the bike in that time. But most of the time if you pinch a tube while installing, it's apparent immediately. Tubes can also fail from a missing or shifted rim strip, a burr on the rim, or a trapped rock or other object. If you don't put talc on the tube, you can also get damage from friction between the tube and tire (obviously more of a danger if you're running at high speeds with low pressures.)

And yes, a tube can fail independently of a tire. You can also get a puncture from something that penetrates the tire and tube but falls out.

The only way to figure out what happened is to take it off and look.

If you're riding a bike with tubed tires, you REALLLLLLLLY need to have the equipment and knowledge to handle a flat yourself.

And next time, don't take a motorcycle tire to a car shop. I'm surprised they even attempted it.
 
Overdue follow-up, thanks for the info.

I have since taken the wheel to a nearby garage that specializes in tyre changes and regular vehicle maintenance*), as both moto shops near me were on vacation. Inspecting the old tube, we found a/the hole on the inner side - so either the tube got pinched, was tired (hah), or the re-used rim strip didn't cushion enough anymore. The guy swapping the tire for me wasn't too much surprised in any case, and inspecting both strip and tube, he told me that it's not too unlikely that they simply have worn out.

Tube saw 6600km, at 6k the bad tire change was done.

*) Both of which here in Switzerland are viable businesses: Tires have to be season-appropriate, and vehicles are inspected regularly.
 
Without pictures, I'm guessing you got a hole from the bottom of the spoke or nipple. A cheap strip can ruin a good tube in a day... I still go with the old dirtbike method: lots of duct tape instead of rubber band.
 
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