Seven hour ordeal

[bstig60]

IMHO you should stay away from plastic compressors, they tend to overheat and quit. I have a small metal compressor kit I purchased from Adventure motorsports in San Jose, I believe. I have had it for years and always carry it on trips. I will take a look in the morning and post the model if the sticker hasn't worn off. I also carry a plug kit, tool kit, and a battery pack that will start my bike or someone else's in case of a dead battery. Hopefully, I will never have to use them.

 

[red one]

I think about it often. Especially when I'm riding by myself on a trip several hundred miles from home. I think I'd rent a U haul trailer and truck and haul it back home. Unlike the Harley Davidson shop who has to stock parts to get thier machines back on the road the Honda dealers don't stock squat. So good luck getting your ST back on the road real quick. I don't want to stay in a Hotel waiting on parts for a couple of days. I guess that's part of the thrill of riding old obsolete machines.....nobody stocks parts.

 

[Andrew Shadow]

I think I'd rent a U haul trailer and truck and haul it back home.

If you have made it to a place where you can rent a U-Haul, I would think that the biggest part of your problem is over and the rest is easy, albeit possibly expensive getting home from there.
I think that the question is more a matter of how do you get to a place where services, U-Haul or otherwise, are available from a break-down in the middle of nowhere, with no communication abilities, and with no one else around to help you out.

 

[Highway STar]

I have had occasion to use the help button on my SPOT tracker and it worked very well. I would recommend that if you are off the grid very often.

 

[red one]

If you have made it to a place where you can rent a U-Haul, I would think that the biggest part of your problem is over and the rest is easy, albeit possibly expensive getting home from there.
I think that the question is more a matter of how do you get to a place where services, U-Haul or otherwise, are available from a break-down in the middle of nowhere, with no communication abilities, and with no one else around to help you out.

As far as getting someone to help you out in the middle of nowhere the answer is cash. When me and a friends Kawasaki broke down in the mountains of Virginia years ago a local fellow stopped to help and loaded it in his pickup truck and drove us to nearest town to get a tire fixed it was a tube tire. Cost him 50 bucks but was worth it.

 

[Williamson]

Had a quite a few punctured tyres over the years, all were plugged to varying degrees of success.

A couple of times i was riding in a group, and a couple of the more mechanical minded mates took over the repair, I just sat back, waited until they got their hands dirty and completed the repair.

Then there was on a gravel section of the Bonang Highway without any mobile (cell to you guys) coverage. Option was to wait for a passerby, but traffic was infrequent, or plug it myself. With plug in place, I was slowly pumping-up the tyre (small 12v compressor), but a 4 X 4 stopped to help, and pumped up the tyre with his huge onboard compressor.

Next time on the Great Apline Road, no mobile coverage where we stopped, but a short walk (by the pillion) found coverage. A call to the RACV (like AAA), advised of a three hour wait, so I had a go at repairing it myself. Three (or was it four?) rope plugs later, the tyre held enough pressure to continue the ride with regular tyre pressure checks, and return to home - 450km. Replaced tyre at 1st service (1,500km) - that's what really hurt the most.

Last time, on the Taralga Road, mobile coverage okay, three hour wait, repaired it myself, regular tyre pressure checks, replaced tyre - but it was pretty knackered anyway...



Not sure how bad the OP's tyre was, the split in mine on the Great Alpine Road looked pretty bad, but at least an attempted repair was better than a three hour wait, and in this case, adequate to get us home.

My repair kit includes, rubber plugs, rope plugs, a couple of tubes of glue, a couple of hole reamers, 5 or 6 CO2 cannisters and 12v pump.

 

[ToddC]

Had a quite a few punctured tyres over the years, all were plugged to varying degrees of success.

A couple of times i was riding in a group, and a couple of the more mechanical minded mates took over the repair, I just sat back, waited until they got their hands dirty and completed the repair.

Then there was on a gravel section of the Bonang Highway without any mobile (cell to you guys) coverage. Option was to wait for a passerby, but traffic was infrequent, or plug it myself. With plug in place, I was slowly pumping-up the tyre (small 12v compressor), but a 4 X 4 stopped to help, and pumped up the tyre with his huge onboard compressor.

Next time on the Great Apline Road, no mobile coverage where we stopped, but a short walk (by the pillion) found coverage. A call to the RACV (like AAA), advised of a three hour wait, so I had a go at repairing it myself. Three (or was it four?) rope plugs later, the tyre held enough pressure to continue the ride with regular tyre pressure checks, and return to home - 450km. Replaced tyre at 1st service (1,500km) - that's what really hurt the most.

Last time, on the Taralga Road, mobile coverage okay, three hour wait, repaired it myself, regular tyre pressure checks, replaced tyre - but it was pretty knackered anyway...



Not sure how bad the OP's tyre was, the split in mine on the Great Alpine Road looked pretty bad, but at least an attempted repair was better than a three hour wait, and in this case, adequate to get us home.

My repair kit includes, rubber plugs, rope plugs, a couple of tubes of glue, a couple of hole reamers, 5 or 6 CO2 cannisters and 12v pump.

Dude..you are a badass rider..!!
T

 

[ASPC]

You need a license to operate this which can be purchased from the FCC.

https://www.amazon.com/Radioddity-GM-30-Handheld-Receiving-Overlanding/dp/B08SLR7W7F/ref=sr_1_16?dchild=1&keywords=Portable+GMRS&qid=1629866745&sr=8-16

 

[oude geit]

Im still wondering about trashing your tire at a restaurant. Wth..
I notice a lot of these flat tires where trash before the ride....jmo

 

[Willsmotorcycle]

Not an endorsement and I don't use one.

Garmin inReach Explorer®+ | Satellite Communicator with TOPO Maps

inReach Explorer®+ is a satellite communicator featuring TOPO maps. This device is your go-to connection for off-the-grid contact.

buy.garmin.com

 

[Bee]

Yep it’s always at the back of my mind. I have been stranded a couple of times and it’s horrible. One time the bike kept cutting out on me the other time (different bike) was my fault, I filled it up with diesel (night time in heavy, tired fed up and not paying attention). Got home about 3am.

Nice to hear so many kind hearted people stepped up to make sure you were ok.

 

[ST Gui]

Hi, on my last solo ride, the ST got a nonrepairable flat rear tire.

Very first sentence in the post. Not "I didn't have a tire repair kit" but "the ST got a nonrepairable flat rear tire".

I like the idea of a sat phone but I too looked into one a few years back. They're pricey. Yes they don't work everywhere. Specially they don't work there there's no satellite looking down on where you are. So like many aspects of life there are no guarantees. Still the chances of completing a call are much greater than with a cellphone. Most/worst of all monthly fees are really expensive.

My interest was piqued and subsequently (and quickly) killed a few years back so some aspects of a sat phone may have improve to some or a greater degree.

Some of the stories I've heard about waiting for AAA in some areas (never mind remote areas) make me think of the Gahan Wilson cartoon of a the skeleton of a blind man ringing the doorbell at a school for the deaf.

Other than some sandwiches and beverage plus a Very pistol and foil rescue blanket I don't know how to prepare for the OP's predicament. Maybe the tire was a little marginal to start with?

I like the Tube in a Can that can be sprayed into a valve stem. I'd get the Run Flat of TiaC though. You can't be too careful.

 

[Jethro]

You want heat? Try riding an Yamaha RZ500. The exhaust exits under the seat. Not a bike to be stuck in stop and go traffic on a hot day - ouch!

I think about it often. Especially when I'm riding by myself on a trip several hundred miles from home. I think I'd rent a U haul trailer and truck and haul it back home. Unlike the Harley Davidson shop who has to stock parts to get thier machines back on the road the Honda dealers don't stock squat. So good luck getting your ST back on the road real quick. I don't want to stay in a Hotel waiting on parts for a couple of days. I guess that's part of the thrill of riding old obsolete machines.....nobody stocks parts.

 

[Jethro]

Try Ely Nevada.U-haul with nothing on the lot! Thurs. to mon. For tyre to arrive. Not much there but a motel a chicken ranch,& casino. Tire shop let me use a service bay& their tools.re & re tyre & bay for $7. Gave him a$20. Heat & sand can sure chew a tyre.
nice folks at motel gave us a discount fr distress. Cool locomotive shop to tour,free,& a steam locomotive ride.
Never tried the “chicken ranch”.

 

[Sadlsor]

Stuff happens.
And that's when the REAL adventure begins.
Prepare best you can, but no one can totally anticipate every conceivable situation, IMO.
Think of Noraly.
I'm not off in the real boonies now, without my dualsport -- the ST just doesn't handle it well. Or maybe I'm just not as good a rider as I think I am?

 

[JimTid]

You persevere and overcome. You preplan the best you can and improvise as necessary. "ALWAYS" carry some cash, hundred dollar bills generate action.

 

[Sunday Rider]

I had to wait by roadside I-70 an hour west of Grand Junction, with spotty cell coverage, had to keep walking to get a half decent one. I was 2,000 miles from home, had tire repair kit, but it was my fuel pump gone. Made the mistake of calling AAA in Colorado instead of Utah, as I was just west of the Utah/Colorado border. Waited 3 hours and AAA saying truck had left and should be there. Finally get a call from truck saying he's at the mile marker, but I am not there. He was in Eastern CO. So had to call back and explain my mistake, and wait another 3 hours until truck and trailer came to get me. I was passed by many of those huge double trailer trucks, many moved over but a few didn't and swore we'd be in the ditch. A nice couple from PA on a Gold Wing pulling a trailer stopped by and gave me a frozen bottle of water and a cold one. I was so glad as it was 95F and my water had run out. Luckily I had filled it at the Arches visitor's center with the running tap there. Many folks stopped by to see if I was okay. But my biggest help was another rider, from Canada who let me use his cell phone for the initial cell call to AAA and waited over an hour with me, as I couldn't get reception at all at the beginning.

So stuff happens, you can prepare as best you can, but many times, it is something else. As Sadlsor says "that's when the real adventure begins".

I-70 not as desolate as OP stranded spot, but it felt as helpless and daunting.

 

[mortenk]

A few observations: I always replace tires before they reach the wear indicators. Just an added feeling of safety I guess. Of course, you can still end up with a damaged tire, but you may lower the risk. Also, you can drive slowly on a flat rear tire (I haven't the front). I once had some scrap metal rip a 2" tear in my tire, and I rode it a mile at very slow speed. Certainly an option if you have a town or cell coverage in the vicinity.

 

[red one]

Kinda gives you an appreciation of those 1800's horse back riders on those dirt trails they called roads back then. I mean think about it your horse could throw a shoe or become lame or if you were solo driving a wagon the axle could break. I bet it was day's before you'd see another rider. Although I guess with a wagon you could unhitch the team and go looking for help on a horse.

 

[Team2010]

Hi all, thanks for all the observations and well wishes. I thought I was prepared for things. The tire is a Road Pilot 4 with about 5k miles on it. I'm going to look into the Bridgestone Drive-Guard Run flat tire. I do carry a Stop & Go repair kit along with a poncho, warm clothing and a foil blanket. My regular riding buddy carries a can of fix a flat.
Sometimes (ok, always) while I ride, I'm looking for off-road riding opportunities, be it double track, single track or just game trails for my plated EXC. This time while not paying attention to my riding I hit a rock in the road (not the first time ).
When I was doing a lot of riding in the desert, I had considered getting the SPOT in case of emergency. As cash is king, I do make it a habit of carrying money both in the wallet and with the registration/insurance papers. I gave both the forest service worker and the tow truck driver some cash. The cost of the tow wasn't a problem as we have AAA's RV coverage for both the MC and a travel trailer.
I think MY biggest problem was I did not have a mental plan to follow. During the situation is not the best time to come up with a plan. Among other things, I was irritated with myself for not making additional calls to my wife and friend from the fire station to let them know what's going on. (Remember, AAA stated the tow would arrive in less than an hour.)
I am going to make a list to print out to keep with the registration and on the cell phone notes as to what should be done. What calls to make, info to include, make sure AAA knows it's a large touring MC with full fairing (The tow truck driver thought he was picking up a Honda car.), GPS coordinates, quarters for a working pay phone and ???
Hopefully this will help incentivize others to make a mental plan before they have some sort of situation. Stay safe !