DragonRider Posted June 8, 2009 #1 Posted June 8, 2009 The day started out well enough, 86er, Ediddy and myself decided to take the back roads home from MD at Dons. We were doing fine till we reached Ashland, Ky around 5:30 in the afternoon Sunday. While passing through town Eddie picked up a small bolt in his tire, so we pulled into a church parking lot to check it out. Sure enough there is the head of a bolt sticking out of the tire, so off to the auto parts store for some plugs. So after Todd returned with the kit we proceeded to pull the bolt out of the tire and you wont believe the size of this thing.(see pic). We get it plugged up and start to pump it up with Todds little air pump and it up and quits..........guess what, off to the parts store again for a new pump. A short time later we are pumping the tire up with the new pump, so Todd and I try to see whats wrong with his pump, so we plug it into my power port in my saddle bag, nothing, so I plug my Sirrius radio back into it and poof. the wires start smoldering and melting and by the time I get my seat off we have a small fire going on under it.............put it out and remove the tool tray, hole burned in it, and so does the battery, about the size of a dime, we cover that with some clay like sticky substance to prevent he acid from leaking out and causing ore damage.. Cause of fire, something shorted in the plug and the fuse didnt blow, we found it melted into the plug housing still intact. All is well, no damage to the bike, now I have to find a replacement plug for my radio....... While we were there the church members were returning for Sunday evening service, many stopped and asked if we needed help and on older gentleman who pulled in on a V Star 1100, asked if he could assist and that if we became stranded he would gladly put us up overnight till we could get the tire fixed..........great little town that Ashland. All in all not a bad trip even with this, it just kept the trip from being borin Check out the pics, notice how much stuff Todd had to remove from his bags before he found what we needed..............
dave_wells Posted June 8, 2009 #2 Posted June 8, 2009 Glad you made it home You should have listened to Bubba you let the smoke out....
DragonRider Posted June 8, 2009 Author #3 Posted June 8, 2009 Glad we had good ole Bubba with us...........he saved the day.............not too bad for a BUBBA................. Glad you made it home You should have listened to Bubba you let the smoke out....
eagleeye Posted June 8, 2009 #4 Posted June 8, 2009 Isn't it just amazing how a bolt that size can be at the perfect angle to go straight into that tire:shock3: and lodge there. Glad you were able get it fixed. I saw his trunk, I would have thought the pile of stuff on the ground would have been bigger. I just pulled a big bolt out of my 250 a couple weeks ago and plugged it too. Steve
BOO Posted June 8, 2009 #5 Posted June 8, 2009 It never ceases to amaze me how a bolt or nail that long and that big can get in a vertical position and enter a tire. I actually had a pair of needle nose pliers puncher a tire on my pickup. Think someone had put them needle end up in a manhole cover. Glad you guys are okay, BOO
bongobobny Posted June 8, 2009 #6 Posted June 8, 2009 Honest, folks, I did not touch his wiring harness!!!!! Question being, where did the bolt come from?? Sorry about your problems could have been worse...
RandyR Posted June 9, 2009 #7 Posted June 9, 2009 Looks like I missed out on some (ahem) fun.... by not riding with you. Maybe could have gotten Eddie back on the road faster with the tire patch kit and pump I was carrying? That was one BIG bolt to be stuck in a tire. So, did you go in to work on Monday?
GeorgeS Posted June 9, 2009 #8 Posted June 9, 2009 Morel of this story, is, Hook Pump, directly, to Battery Terminals And, read the Instruction sheet !!
Dano Posted June 9, 2009 #9 Posted June 9, 2009 Or, don't use the 18-22 guage wiring on the socket extension! I ran #12 thru the fuse link for power and #12 to ground for my lighter socket. Plus shorter lengths would help. Also, DO NOT coil up any unused wire together as this will create a magnetic field which will induce heat and create a fire also! Dan
ediddy Posted June 9, 2009 #10 Posted June 9, 2009 I don't know how a bolt that big went through my tire. I bet you could run over a bolt like that with a car, truck or motorcycle 1,000 times and it wouldn't go through the tire. We had just crossed the bridge into Kentucky and I was approaching a traffic light that was red. It turned green so I proceeded under the light. I heard a loud pop and a thump and I thought, what in the world did I just run over. I looked in the mirror and there was nothing in the road behind me. I didn't see the bolt before I ran over it. At the next light I hear a thumping in the rear end. I radioed 86ER and said we need to pull over, I think a chunk of my rear tire came loose. We pulled into the church parking lot and you have read the rest of the story. I'm just glad I had two good people with me like dragon rider and 86ER.
DragonRider Posted June 9, 2009 Author #11 Posted June 9, 2009 That was not the cause of the fire......... Morel of this story, is, Hook Pump, directly, to Battery Terminals And, read the Instruction sheet !!
Eck Posted June 9, 2009 #12 Posted June 9, 2009 Im like BOO on how something that big can get into a tire..It is beyond me.. I once had a pair of sissors in my tire... ????????? The handles were broke off but BOTH sharp edges were in my tire.. ex-wife maybe..??
YamaDuck Posted June 9, 2009 #13 Posted June 9, 2009 Well I'm glad everything worked out for you but you were not alone that weekend. Nine of us went to Scottsboro, Al from Fayetteville, Ga. We stopped a a truck stop in Bremen, Ga. When we left I was the middle bike and we got about 1 mile from the truck stop and I noticed my rear end swaying back and forth. I let off the gas and it quit swaying. I gave it the gas and it started swaying again. I got on the CB and broadcast I had a problem. We got as far as I could out of the way of traffic. We looked at the back tire and it was completely flat. As luck would have it the hole was right at the back. No nail or anything. Jim had a small plug that was didn't look like it would hold. I had a air compressor so I hooked it up. The air compressor would only inflate the tire part way because the air leaking out of the hole kept the tire from inflating all the way. As luck would have it after burning my arm on the hot exhaust pipe I patched the tire with the funny looking plug Jim gave me and I looked up and a pickup truck had stopped. A very nice young man named Chad said he had a shop about two miles from there with a big air compressor and tire plugs (the old fashioned kind). So I made it to his shop and we plugged the tire and I offered him some money that he refused to take and just said to pass along the favor to the next needy guy. So my flat happened on June 6th and yes I guess I do ride on plugs now. We rode all weekend and the tire still has the plug in it. So I'm glad every thing turned out alright for you as it did for me.
Venturous Randy Posted June 10, 2009 #14 Posted June 10, 2009 Neat story yamaduck. Just shows there are good people out there. RandyA
bugfish69 Posted June 11, 2009 #15 Posted June 11, 2009 I may have a cord for you. I have several radios I am no longer using. Send me a PM. Glad everyone was safe!
silent67 Posted June 11, 2009 #16 Posted June 11, 2009 Well I'm glad everything worked out for you but you were not alone that weekend. Nine of us went to Scottsboro, Al from Fayetteville, Ga. We stopped a a truck stop in Bremen, Ga. When we left I was the middle bike and we got about 1 mile from the truck stop and I noticed my rear end swaying back and forth. I let off the gas and it quit swaying. I gave it the gas and it started swaying again. I got on the CB and broadcast I had a problem. We got as far as I could out of the way of traffic. We looked at the back tire and it was completely flat. As luck would have it the hole was right at the back. No nail or anything. Jim had a small plug that was didn't look like it would hold. I had a air compressor so I hooked it up. The air compressor would only inflate the tire part way because the air leaking out of the hole kept the tire from inflating all the way. As luck would have it after burning my arm on the hot exhaust pipe I patched the tire with the funny looking plug Jim gave me and I looked up and a pickup truck had stopped. A very nice young man named Chad said he had a shop about two miles from there with a big air compressor and tire plugs (the old fashioned kind). So I made it to his shop and we plugged the tire and I offered him some money that he refused to take and just said to pass along the favor to the next needy guy. So my flat happened on June 6th and yes I guess I do ride on plugs now. We rode all weekend and the tire still has the plug in it. So I'm glad every thing turned out alright for you as it did for me. Something for you folks to think about. I drove long haul for a while and have been in many truck stops, ( as I am sure all truck drivers have ). Most of the time unless it was just a fuel stop I would get out and walk around to stretch my legs. I can't tell you how many nails, bolts and pieces of metal I always picked up in these areas. In one truck stop I filled up a paper sandwich bag a third of the way full with this stuff. The next time you stop at one, just walk around and look and you will see what I am talking about. Of course keep one eye on traffic, you can get wacked real easy in a truck stop, by a truck or a car.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now