FOREIGN OBJECTS & TIRES

While on the Golden State Highway 15 miles North of Castaic, California I had a flat.  That Highway is in fact basically not used because it has been replaced by a Freeway next door.  About a third to a half of it is painted off as not usable and the part that is left is at least as bad if not worse than the painted off part.

I just started off after a brief site-seeing stop and heard a weird noise and then noticed my rear end was wiggling around.  Only going a few mph.  Stopped and readily discovered the problem:  a full and complete 6 inch drill bit stuck entirely into the tire and hitting the inside of the rim, with only about an inch sticking out.  Fortunately a car came by with a pliers to pull it out.  My co-rider then drove into Castaic, got a bottle of sealant, some rubber worms and a hand pump.  Amazingly it worked.  Didn't use the hand pump but it looked like the sealant can filled it, sort of.  Drove back to Castaic and properly filled the tire (only had about 10-15 psi from the sealant bottle).  Drove home to LA keeping it at about 70 mph and all was good.  Attaching a picture of the drill bit.  Can anyone top this?

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No can't top it, and don't want to either. Good outcome in the end.

My weirdest one was a piece of a broken saw blade. I started carrying a Dynaplug kit and a mini pump. The Dynaplug is the best easy fix I’ve found and I’ve never had one leak. They last the life of the tire. I use them on my car too.

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I use Stop 'n Go and a 12 V compressor

Can't top that.


I carry a puncture kit whenever cabaling. Just packed it, in fact. It's got a wee pump.

I don’t even go to the shop without a repair kit, fits nicely where the snorkel used to without blocking the air flow. I had an R clip in that made me think the gearbox had sh1t itself as it repeatedly struck the CARC at around 50mph.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

My V7II was stumbling as I took off from a start, and when I shifted into second gear. I took a bit to figure out that the traction control was cutting power because the rear tire was low (I could not see the TC light because the GPS blocked the view). Tire pressure was about 10 psi. I examined the tire to find the culprit - none found. I pumped it up to pressure and sprayed it with soapy water and looked for bubbles - none found. Checked the pressure the next day - down maybe one psi. So I sprayed it with soapy water again, and looked very closely. Finally found the tiny bubbles and a pinpoint of silver. Demounted the tire and with pliers removed the culprit from the inside. It was part of a straight pin; how it got into my tire is a mystery. Because the tire was near end of life I decided to replace it.

I lost my puncture repair kit on my way to the recent Ruptured Budgie. A certain numb-nutted individual (myself) left it sitting on one of the saddle bags (I think). It's somewhere between Coonabarabran and Bingara. Anyhoo, I digress...

New kit arrived from Rocky Creek Designs. This one is a wee bit more fancy than my last one. My previous kit (from same peeps) had a reamer and an insertion tool only. This one comes with a multi-tool, that has a reamer, insertion too, knife, and pliers, all-in-one.



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Also came with an inline pressure gauge. I probably won't carry that.




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I bought a Dyna plug kit and have it stowed in the void the rubber snorkel used to occupy.
I've never had a flat tire on a bike but I know I will if I don't pack a repair kit.

It's good to know the Dynaplug will last the life of the tire. I just installed new Michelin PR4s.

I thought Bill H had the cake for punctures. Between him and Wayne O, tire companies make money.
Never seen so many flats. I have a kit in the Jeep but transfer it to the EV if I go to a rally.