Rear wheel puncture

[Synthman]

I don't know what the hell happened. I was riding this afternoon, after 2 miles I made a left turn, and the bike wouldn't accelerate, shortly afterwards I felt the back of the bike wobbling. I pulled over and heard air rushing out. Had a look at the tyre but there was no sign of puncture marks. I pushed it home with a bit of help from the throttle. I didn't see any objects on the road where I made the turn that could have caused it.

The tube is the one that came with the bike. I'm going to have to get it replaced.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

You have to look at the tube to see what caused it. When you take the tube out, note it's position relative to the tyre. Try not to let the tyre turn relative to the rim. Then when you find the puncture, you can match it back to the tyre and rim to see what caused it. It's very important to identify the cause. Sometimes a piece of glass or throrn is sticking out on the inside of the tyre, but it can't be seen from the outside. If the puncture's on the inside of the tube, it can be caused by incorrectly fitting rim tape.

 

[Synthman]

I took it to the local bike shop and they did it for me. They said that they had difficulty tightening the nuts on the wheel, something about crossed/stripped threads and that if the wheel ever comes loose they won't be able to repair it and I'd have to try The Electric Transport Shop.

I didn't need this. 4500 miles and the first puncture in 2 years 10 months isn't too bad, but I really wasn't planning on keeping this bike any longer and didn't want to spend any money on it at all. Something else has gone wrong now, the freewheel has been playing up for the last 2 days. I've had this problem before and they changed the freewheel. I've WD-40'd it but I don't think it will help. The brakes still need attention, I got the rear one working well enough that I can lock the wheel up, but the front isn't too good.

 

[103Alex1]

Time for a new bike ? It's a bit like when cars get to that stage ..... sometimes the best thing is to prepare them a nice farewell ceremony. Can you break it up for parts and flog them on ? Might get more than selling the bike on ....

 

[Eaglerider]

I carry a small lump of wax chalk in my kit, and use this to mark the valve position before removing the tyre, that way you can match the valve up and see exactly where the puncture took place as D8veh mentions. I've had lots of punctures!

 

[RobF]

Aligning the valve with, say, the start of the maker's name on the tyre is another method.

 

[Synthman]

Time for a new bike ? It's a bit like when cars get to that stage ..... sometimes the best thing is to prepare them a nice farewell ceremony. Can you break it up for parts and flog them on ? Might get more than selling the bike on ....

I wanted to see if it would reach terminal velocity before hitting the river Cherwell! I have thought of stripping it for parts, the battery, charger, throttle, controller, display, lights, indicators, horn and security alarm + all the wiring are all in working order. I don't know about the spindle on the motor wheel. The frame has quite a bit of corrosion though. I used the bike in all weathers and on gritted roads, carrying heavy items on dodgy road surfaces, and it was stored outside under a cover. It had a hard life!

I want to get a 125cc scooter instead. I had a free lesson on one and I enjoyed it.

 

[jackhandy]

I carry a small lump of wax chalk in my kit, and use this to mark the valve position before removing the tyre, that way you can match the valve up and see exactly where the puncture took place as D8veh mentions. I've had lots of punctures!

I do that too - It's a real bummer when you forget to mark it in the heat (and one Does get heated too) of the moment...
Not forgetting which way round the damn tyre goes helps too

 

[103Alex1]

I want to get a 125cc scooter instead. I had a free lesson on one and I enjoyed it.

I like those too. They are what I usually hire if I go to the Med and don't get a car. Not so keen on riding them kitted up to the 9s in grotty cold British weather though - the faster something goes the more windchill you have to block out (and I like a hot wind on my face not an icy blast )

 

[Synthman]

I like those too. They are what I usually hire if I go to the Med and don't get a car. Not so keen on riding them kitted up to the 9s in grotty cold British weather though - the faster something goes the more windchill you have to block out (and I like a hot wind on my face not an icy blast )

When I had my lesson near the end of November the wind was incredible. I rode my own ebike to the place and it was being blown around a fair bit. But the 125 was much better, the wind didn't seem to affect it as much. With the proper gloves, jacket and full helmet, it was no problem at all. On the road windchill won't be a problem, the traffic is way too bad round here and I doubt I'd be much faster than the ebike, especially as I won't be able to take advantage of cycle lanes. If I can go quicker, then in theory the exposure time in bad weather should be much less!

 

[eHomer]

I'm a sucker for two wheeled transport now that I've retired, and have tried many variations.

Three years ago I tried to get back into motorbikes, having last used them in the 1960's.

Trouble is, the test is now much more tricky than it used to be, since the new EU regs and the two stage practical with various maneuvers in a test compound. I passed the CBT and theory really easily, but the couldn't get past stage 1 of the practical. You had to go through a speed cam at 50kmh (33mph) then swerve through cones, and then again to do the emergency stop.

The swerving and emergency stop were easy, but it was impossible for a fat bloke like me (15 stone) to get the max power bike ( 125cc) up to 50kmh in the very short space between the speed cam and a 180 degree turn. Easy peasy for lightwieght young Evel Knievals, but heavy blokes like me had to wring the guts out of the bike accelerating while half way round that 180 degree turn.

After losing the bike twice I gave up, as it was getting too risky for me because I have steel pins in my spine from a light plane crash. The test has proved very controversial with biking groups, and has resulted in a huge reduction in applications. I can't help thinking that they've not considered older mature would-be two wheelers, who just wanted a bike or scooter to poodle around at 35-40mph, without dressing up in full body armour.

I should have taken the test back when I was 16, when you just kept riding around the block while the examiner watched from the pavement !

Thank goodness my car license is old enough to grant me full moped use. I settled for a 1970's Suzuki ZR50 to get my motorbike fix.

 

[Scimitar]

That seems utterly ridiculous - a cynic might think it's an under-handed attempt to put people off getting a bike. Not that such things haven't been done before.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Swerving and braking isn't easy for an experienced motorcyclist -especialy in the wet. Quite a few people crash during that part of the test when it's wet. I thought that I heard it was going to be changed.

 

[Jeremy]

Makes me thankful that back when I took my test the worst thing you had to worry about was driving around the block looking out for the examiner stepping into the road and holding up his clipboard................

The need to accelerate at a rate that's right at the limit (or beyond it) for a heavy person on a small bike seems a bit unfair to me. It's not really testing the rider's skill at all, just the ability of the bike to accelerate to the required speed in time.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Weight will always have you at a disadvantage in a test that requires manoeuving. The swerve test starts by entry from a turn, then you have a short straight to accelerate, then swerve, but you must reach 50kph, and then brake on a short straight. If you have a higher entry speed from the first corner, you don't have to accelerate so hard,but this isn't so easy if you have crap tyres, you're heavy and it's wet. If you're used to hanging off round corners, this part of the test is a doddle, but most beginners aren't.
Compare these two:
New module 1 motorcycle test. - YouTube
VFR 400 gymkhana - YouTube

 

[GaRRy]

That seems utterly ridiculous - a cynic might think it's an under-handed attempt to put people off getting a bike. Not that such things haven't been done before.

Yea but in this case the cynic would be dead right. I reckon these days its easier to get a HGV license than a full A1 class motorcycle license.

 

[electric_avenue]

I want to get a 125cc scooter instead. I had a free lesson on one and I enjoyed it.

The Honda Vision 110 is a good shout. Honda quality for £1800 new on the road, complete with 2 years road rescue (I guess they're very confident you won't need this). It has bigger wheels than most scooters - those little wheels are bad for stability and terrible for potholes.

 

[eHomer]

The Honda Vision 110 is a good shout.

Another thought, pessimistic again, sorry, but worth mentioning to anyone who hasn't already got their full motorbike license, and is thinking of buying one.

The ability to buy any bike or scooter up to 125cc, putting L plates on it and using it while learning, and then taking the test on it can now be more difficult.

As I moaned about in my previous post about the new part one practical test, the ability to accelerate to 50kmh between the bend and the camera requires a bike and rider with very good acceleration.

So, for instance, a Honda 90, even with a non-fat rider would be difficult to achieve the acceleration, so for the test, the rider would probably need to hire or borrow a 125cc bike, or pay for a course with a school, who would loan the bike.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

There's loads of training courses, where they'll teach you exactly the best technique for each part of the test. I can remember back in 1978, we used to run a free training course for motorcyclists to pass the old test. We had cones in the car park to do basic manoeuvres because some were absolute beginners. There was no part 1 test in those days. Anyway, I couldn't get my GS550 through the slalom of cones, although I had no problem on smaller bikes. I told the guy that ran the course before me that it couldn't be done on a bike that size. I then had to eat humble pie as he sailed through the slalom on his rather heavy and bad handling Kawasaki Z1000. He then showed me the correct technique (always looking at the next but one cone) and it was a doddle.

 

[electric_avenue]

Another thought, pessimistic again, sorry, but worth mentioning to anyone who hasn't already got their full motorbike license, and is thinking of buying one.

The ability to buy any bike or scooter up to 125cc, putting L plates on it and using it while learning, and then taking the test on it can now be more difficult.[/QUOUTE]

One option is that riders who have held their licence since (I think) 2002 can ride on L plated indefinately.