Has anyone had to run over truck tire?

[roadwarrior]

I was on I-40 near Asheville in my SUV and had to run over a truck recap.I had no wiggle room and hit it about 65mph in a SUV which did fine.It made me think if I would have been on the bike what would have happened.I wish they wold give truckers an incentive not to run recaps.

[Squidley]

Kind of a subjective question, I would imagine it would be all in how you hit the tire and where in the length of it you ran it over. Regardless it wouldn't be fun and lots of pucker fator would be involved. If I had to hit one I would try to hit it square and somewhere in the center of the length, so it would be evenly split by the bike and unable to kick up on the side of the bike.

[BEER30]

Heck Ya , you score points that you can scratch gators on top of your gas tank ! Hey FreeBird , Can we have a Combat Counter placed on the forum by our statistics like we do our Awards ?

As a matter of fact I hit one long azz gator that stretch across the entire lane several weeks ago , coming over a hill bound curve doing 60-ish about 4:00 am . Didn't even have a split second to react as I hit it and it curled up in a ball and hit the foot-peg of the HD behind me . No one hurt , but it woke us both up ! We were just lucky it was laying flat and we hit it at a 90 degree . I was pulling the BEERCART at the time and I assume that was what it cause it to curl up .

It wasn't 500 yards I hit a Wild Hare (not Lowell) which run out in front of myself and missed it with the scoot , but the BEERCART's trailer stand scalp him and slung blood and fur all over the BEERCART and the HD behind me . So that tells me my next addition to the BEERCART is a BBQ pit ! Roadkill and BEER , M&E at any mile post ! :crackup:

 

BEER30

[Rich99]

This happened at 4:30 in the morning on the way to work. It came out of the dark so fast, I didn't even have time to hit the brakes and I think that was the way to go. If I had, the car would have dove down and hit it much harder. As is, I hit it square on and the car bounced over the tire of which I kept it under control and pulled over to the side of the freeway with steam coming from under the hood. I just passed a major over-pass and was a half mile up a grade I was pulling and had to make a fast decision so I wouldn't be stuck on the freeway. The engine was still running and I immediately started to back down the grade to the over-pass I just went under and back down the oncoming on-ramp. About another 1/4 of a mile was a Shell station of which I pulled into and parked the car there to call a tow truck. I made it just in time as the car was over-heating because of losing all the anti-freeze. So the tire took out the front panel underneath the bumper, tore out the bottom of the radiator, bent the front engine mount and a few other things, was in my Datsun which the tires were just wide enough, so it didn't even hurt them, so the damages came to $1,600.00. Afterwards, I thought about hitting the tire if I were on the bike "I wouldn't be here right now". So for that morning, I guess you can say the man upstairs was watching over me and I was very lucky.

[roadwarrior]

Kind of a subjective question, I would imagine it would be all in how you hit the tire and where in the length of it you ran it over. Regardless it wouldn't be fun and lots of pucker fator would be involved. If I had to hit one I would try to hit it square and somewhere in the center of the length, so it would be evenly split by the bike and unable to kick up on the side of the bike.

I know it is subjective and I like your suggestion.I just want to think it out now versus that 1/2 second before it happens.

[BoomerCPO]

2 years ago on I-95 (near New Haven Ct.) I saw a 18 wheeler tire let go just as a biker was passing the truck. Knocked the poor guy right off his scoot. It was not a pretty sight......and yes it killed the guy.

 

I refuse to pass an 18 wheeler to this day....and it don't matter what I am driving.

[BOO]

I've never hit a tire but I ride quite a few miles a year so I'm assuming it's just a matter of time before I do. I also have seen a recap come off a semi and I remember thinking if I were in the right place it would probably take my head off.

I don't like the semi's either but you must pass them from time to time.

I have hit several things on the highway, none of which caused me to go down but a few times I think I sucked the seat right up in my throat.

When I was taking my wife to the airport after the Asheville meet I narrowly missed a big piece of exhaust pipe off a semi, I was following the car in front of me to close and didn't see it till it was too late but I barely touched it.

I don't know how many lives this cat has left but I'm thinking it's not many.

Jerry

[footsie]

I have hit one, it lying on is side with the tread facing me, on I-75 with truck to the right, another semi on my ass, and cars in the left lane. I had no where to go so I jusst ran straight over it. it flatten out and the bike ( was on the valkyire at the time) went right over it. Never the less it scared the crap out of me. Luck counts, guess my angel was on duty that day. Have heard some bad stories related to recaps.

 

Freedom of the road for ALL

Gregg

[Tom]

be aware that its not just recaps that let go....Ive had many New tires let go and I pray no one is ever close to me when it does. From exprience as a driver you never know when thy will blow..Also you can feel the explosion in the cab when they blow even if its in the very back on a trailer. Had a friend stop to check his tires once and just as he passed the right rear set of duals it exploded and broke his arm...This was as he was stopped!. Be Careful Guys. Tom

[Snarley Bill]

heres a good one. one morning years ago i ran over a dead white german shepard. dead center. it was still dark and i was doing about 50. gripped the bars and gritted my teeth and felt a little thump thump and that was it. had visions of a total disaster. when i went to pick up my new gold wing 4 months ago. i was driving my ranger truck and trailer to arkansas and ran over a dead deer in the road at 70 mph, dead center. once again gritted my teeth and heard one heck of a noise. stopped to check for damage and had none. trailer came off the ground when it went over the deer. but no damage, just a lot of blood and hair. i have this thing with animals in the road. i think i attract them. i have hit 3 live dear. two with my car and one on a scooter. almost totaled the scoot.

[eazyduzzit]

I was riding 2 up with my wife one Sunday evening. The shadows were getting long and I still had my sunglasses on. We went from sun to shade coming down a hill and I saw something that looked kind of like a black animal of some sort coming from the oncoming lane. I started slowing down immediately because I could see that it was going to run right across in front of me. As I got closer I could see that it was a recap from the truck going the opposite direction. I just tried my best to miss it, which I did.

It does create a pucker factor though.

[Marcarl]

Part of our training in the Riders training course was to run over a car tire. It had been used before and so was not what would be called solid,,, but it gave you an idea... They demonstrated what to do and what not to do,,,,,what not to do was to use and braking, because then the fool, thing would and did end up coming along with you and cause lots of problems,,,,, what was shown to work well was lots of throttle just before impact,,,, the front end comes up and is lighter, the scoot rolls over the tire and Bob's your uncle. Nice part about doing it right, the tire stayed where it was and so was ready for the next rider. Don't know quite how this all would pan out with a larger specimen, but I would suggest that the best route would still be the throttle and lots of it. It also refocuses the force thing and you'll head in the proper direction,,,,,forward, rather than sidewards. With this training came a saying that was used time and time again through out the 3 days: THE THROTTLE IS YOUR FRIEND, brakes are a scary item.

[nomadicbear]

I have driven (logged) 4.5 million miles, a first place in Texas truck rodeo and a 2nd place 3 years later. I had 2 speeding and 1 accident hit a fence cause I didn't want to get out an look to see what was behind me the first year (1973) that I started driving. I think I might have had 3 tires blow in all those years. I am telling you this cause I have been there done that, and 90% of the tires you see come apart on the road are not recaps but brand new tires. These new tires come apart cause the driver didn't check the air in them and there under inflated which makes them super heat and then blow, also the driver in most cases cant make it around a corner with out going over the curb things like this add up to tire failure. When a truck tire blows things break. Can you imagine what that could do to your head with out a helmet.

[Guest Swifty]

I've hit a retread, 2 up, towing a trailer, straight on...the story is...a van practically cuts me off on the Interstate to avoid a retread tire in his lane (which, of course, I was unaware of at that point), I quickly dive into the lane he just departed figurin it would be a good way to get proper vehicle separation instead of braking, and whamo, there is the tire, and the reason he cut me off, it busted up my lower air dam, and my trailer took a short flight, but that's about it, kept the bike straight no problem, I unpuckered and continued on our way.

[RoadKill]

Heck Ya , you score points that you can scratch gators on top of your gas tank ! Hey FreeBird , Can we have a Combat Counter placed on the forum by our statistics like we do our Awards ?

As a matter of fact I hit one long azz gator that stretch across the entire lane several weeks ago , coming over a hill bound curve doing 60-ish about 4:00 am . Didn't even have a split second to react as I hit it and it curled up in a ball and hit the foot-peg of the HD behind me . No one hurt , but it woke us both up ! We were just lucky it was laying flat and we hit it at a 90 degree . I was pulling the BEERCART at the time and I assume that was what it cause it to curl up .

It wasn't 500 yards I hit a Wild Hare (not Lowell) which run out in front of myself and missed it with the scoot , but the BEERCART's trailer stand scalp him and slung blood and fur all over the BEERCART and the HD behind me . So that tells me my next addition to the BEERCART is a BBQ pit ! Roadkill and BEER , M&E at any mile post ! :crackup:

 

BEER30

 

Sounds like you are trying to steal my name! :rotfl:Those kinds of things are exactly how I was bestowed "RoadKill"

[RoadKill]

heres a good one. one morning years ago i ran over a dead white german shepard. dead center. it was still dark and i was doing about 50. gripped the bars and gritted my teeth and felt a little thump thump and that was it. had visions of a total disaster. when i went to pick up my new gold wing 4 months ago. i was driving my ranger truck and trailer to arkansas and ran over a dead deer in the road at 70 mph, dead center. once again gritted my teeth and heard one heck of a noise. stopped to check for damage and had none. trailer came off the ground when it went over the deer. but no damage, just a lot of blood and hair. i have this thing with animals in the road. i think i attract them. i have hit 3 live dear. two with my car and one on a scooter. almost totaled the scoot.

 

3 Deer! You only have 15 to go to catch up with me. At least they have all been in cages.

[autopilot]

3 Deer! You only have 15 to go to catch up with me. At least they have all been in cages.

 

Good grief....Do you still have insurance? And do I even want to know how much it costs? I realize they wouldn't have been your fault, but insurance companies don't like paying off THAT much...esp. for 1 person! Wow!

[saddlebum]

I have driven (logged) 4.5 million miles, a first place in Texas truck rodeo and a 2nd place 3 years later. I had 2 speeding and 1 accident hit a fence cause I didn't want to get out an look to see what was behind me the first year (1973) that I started driving. I think I might have had 3 tires blow in all those years. I am telling you this cause I have been there done that, and 90% of the tires you see come apart on the road are not recaps but brand new tires. These new tires come apart cause the driver didn't check the air in them and there under inflated which makes them super heat and then blow, also the driver in most cases cant make it around a corner with out going over the curb things like this add up to tire failure. When a truck tire blows things break. Can you imagine what that could do to your head with out a helmet.

 

I have been a truck mechanic for 34 years and what nomadicbear says is very true. this not to say that there are not a few bad recaps out there but most are as good as any new tire. quite often an inside tire that is flat or under inflated gets missed and its mate having to do double duty overheats and blows or the underinflated tire overheats and ignites itself. On a positive note at least this is not as common with tubless tires as it once was with the tube type and many states and provinces now require that the driver perform a full circle check of their rig before heading down the road. However it still pays to be careful and alert.

[nomadicbear]

I have been a truck mechanic for 34 years and what nomadicbear says is very true. this not to say that there are not a few bad recaps out there but most are as good as any new tire. quite often an inside tire that is flat or under inflated gets missed and its mate having to do double duty overheats and blows or the underinflated tire overheats and ignites itself. On a positive note at least this is not as common with tubless tires as it once was with the tube type and many states and provinces now require that the driver perform a full circle check of their rig before heading down the road. However it still pays to be careful and alert.

 

 

Thanks for the backup on this. The last five years I was a driver trainer the knuckleheads and the ones that have been driving for years as you know they just don't want to take the time to put a gauge to the tire so they bump them thinking that they can tell if the tire is low but that just dosnt work that way. Soo take care hang back a bit and when you can pass get past them as fast as you can. Watch out for gators or what ever you want to call them. Oh and its not just the tires you have to watch out for those chrome lug nut covers that look so nice and all but make the truck go faster there only press on and they come off all the time and when they hit something it breaks or bleeds. One last thing there are lots of blind spots aroound a truck if you cant see the driver in the side mirrors he cant see you. Be safe!

 

 

Oh I dont mean to make this sound like all truck drivers are bad or dont take the time to do things right. Its like everything the good you dont here about to much but its the few bad ones that screw it up for everyone.

 

I kinda think that the pro drivers that are the real iron butt drivers you run hard take a nap run hard make your delivery reload run some more take a nap and do this till its your day off and start it all over again the average driver runs 160 thousand miles a year as a single driver thats about 438 miles a day for 365 days a year... Thanks for letting me rant a bit.

Now lets RIDE

[RoadKill]

Good grief....Do you still have insurance? And do I even want to know how much it costs? I realize they wouldn't have been your fault, but insurance companies don't like paying off THAT much...esp. for 1 person! Wow!

It hasn't had any effect. They are comprehensive claims which DO Not effect rates. I have been with the same insurance company, State Farm, for 32 years.

[1 - UP]

I was on I-40 near Asheville in my SUV and had to run over a truck recap.I had no wiggle room and hit it about 65mph in a SUV which did fine.It made me think if I would have been on the bike what would have happened.I wish they wold give truckers an incentive not to run recaps.

 

On October 4th I was on my way back from Indiana. I was south of Austin, Tn. riding in the center lane behind an 18 wheeler. I had cars on both sides of me. The 18 wheeler ran over a pice of tire about 12"-18" long. It bouced up and came down in from of me, I couldn't evade it due to the cars on both sides of me. I was lucky that it wasn't any higher. When it came down it hit my lower fairing and crushed it. (another $200). I was lucky that I was riding a trike, (pulling my camper), if I had been riding 2 wheels I don't know what would have happen. All the time I thought I was back far enough from the 18 wheeler to avoid or stop if need be. Boy was I wrong.

The rest of the trip home I kept thinking if that tire had hit my windshield it would have knocked me off the trike, then what????????????

Ken