San Diego potholes from Hell!

[skovacic]

Huge potholes! All the rain in San Diego has left these cliff-like potholes in many major roads. I got nailed by one...four feet square and 6 inch deep) and now the wheel rim has a noticable bulge. My tire looks fine but a friend told me that if there was enough energy in the collision to bend the wheel rim then the tire is also likely to be damaged within and it is unsafe to ride it. Thoughts?

[Rog(UK) - Yorkshire Dales]

Hi Scovacic,

I totally agree. The tyre is toast. It is no more. It is an ex-tyre. It has gone to the great tyre graveyard in the sky. Bin it. (after using an angle grinder on it so that nobody else is tempted to use it.

Rog

[SDMAX]

SD pot hole victim as well; new little wang in the front rim; I noticed the wang when I had new tires put on last week; wang source complicated by the fact that I bought the bike used with existing wang which dealer had repaired off site. I am thinking I may be seeing that wang back after the new tire replacement...dealer says no..we didn't do it...

Quien sabe... as for your tire being toast...oh bull poo...if it's a steel belted radial and holds air and looks same as before I'd bet it's ok...look at it very carefully if you can't see any damage except the rim wang and it's holding air then you are just the newest member of the Rim Wang Club of San Diego.

[email protected] --- the holes are really everywhere; after I pointed out the rim wang to the dealer after the install, I was told that they hadn't mentioned the damage to the rim BEFORE the tire replacement as everybody has rim wangs; from now on I really check before they do the work.

My plan: I fix the rim wangs when I get a new set of tires. Next time. I think you're good to go as is. Rock on.

[Rog(UK) - Yorkshire Dales]

Hi SD,

I've ruminated on your message a while and I'm not quite sure whether you are joking or being serious. (I'm not being adversarial). The only reason I am posting this is that I hope Skovacic WON'T take your advice because a tyre can look perfectly OK whilst being dangerous. I can testify to this because I had a significant accident 7 years ago on my beloved Moto Guzzi when a Range Rover pulled directly across me after waiting for two cars in front of me to pass. I hit it at the legal maximum of 60mph and the bike was totalled. When I got the bike back, it was interesting seeing the damage. It looked as if a giant had squashed it! The full fairing had seemingly exploded because there was none of it to be seen. The forks? Well one leg was completely missing and the other had been forced back into the engine. The rim was still there, but literally ONLY the rim -and that was bent almost beyond recognition (hub and spokes had disappeared)

You might ask why I'm rambling on. Well..... I haven't mentioned the tyre. One would have thought that there would have been signs of that violent collision but no; it looked perfect. There were no apparant cut marks or grazes. I'm not just saying this for effect. Apparently, my good old faithfull Guzzi had managed to knock the sump off the Range Rover (RESULT!!!!), BUT the tyre still looked good. If I had cleaned it up and put tyre blacking on, nobody would have been any the wiser.

When I go out riding, I probably stay below 40mph for 99% of the time because I explore the Dales and Moors here in Yorkshire and do a fair amount of photography, but I always give it a blast for the last five miles. In that five miles, there is a cracking very fast left-hander and I love that bend. I don't think I would enjoy it as much if I was not confident in my front tyre.

A tyre is designed to absorb energy. That's what makes it compliant, but if that energy is above a certain level, then it can do all sorts of things inside the tyre which MAY remain unseen. A radial tyre is a wonderful design, but if, amongst other things, delamination occurs between the steel cords and the rubber, then its safety is severely compromised.

Yes, it's a pain in the butt scrapping a tyre when it may still have good mileage left, but is the gamble on using it actually worth it? The same reasoning applies to motorcycle helmets, of course.

Anybody else with an opinion?

Kind regards,

Rog

[tikiabitia]

you should throw that tire away life cost more than a couple hundred buck's... just to be on the safe side.. the tire can look fine from inside and out but you never know whats going on between the rubber..

[BoxerSteve]

I agree, you don't want to take any chances on your all-important tires, a failure could cost you your life. Motorcycle tires are one place you don't want to skimp or compromise.

It is not worth the risk. Trash the tire.

[skovacic]

Thanks to all for the good responses. I'm going the audience on this one (ref: Who wants to be a Millionaire) and replacing the tire. Insurance company will end up owning it and the "wang'd" wheel. Anyone care to wager if they will try to sell the tire as a used tire? OK, maybe that is too cynical but perhaps I should pass the word to the shop to cut it badly before handing it over.

[SDMAX]

Karma sucks. Today on EB 94 just past the Border Check I hit a pot hole so hard it put a huge wang in the front rim; mini wang in the back rim and blew the Givi top case off the bike. Motored slowly to the dealer. The front rim may be toast or may be something that can be repaired. The rear rim is repairable for sure. I do not have tire and rim coverage.

If you are buying a motorcycle, I now know too late about this coverage and recommend it. My tires are 8 day old Michelin PR 2's. I'm sure the back is ok. The dealer will examine the front inside and out.

I have in mind the last post re replacing tires in this type of situation. We'll see what the dealer says. They will look at the tire inside and out, off the rim. The tire is probably ok as it held air and did its job. The rims are light and made of magnesium. They are simply not tough.

The tire is not covered by American Express 90 day purchase protection. My collision deductible on the bike is very high and exceeds the probable costs.

Finally, to make it a great day; my Northface jacket with prescription glasses was stolen during a pit stop at Starbucks. Looking to be a 1K to 2K day depending on whether or not the front rim can be repaired.

The Givi top case stayed intact but the locking mechanism is destroyed and the case will need to be replaced.

I'm going for a walk.

[SDMAX]

PS: I rode through the whole thing without losing control of the bike despite the fact that I used up all or nearly all of the front suspension travel. I think a lot of that goes to the fact that I was moving in a straight line. The other major factor was the design of the telelever front suspension which is certainly amazing. I think telelever saved my ass today. Money and time will handle the rest.

The pothole was had the appearance of a large shallow depression; but the far side was sharp and steep....I never saw it coming.

[dnat928]

Indeed! A San Diego area resident here. Not just the rain, but our derelict city govt. has squandered so much $ to pay retiree pensions...there's scant little for services and ROAD REPAIR! OK, on the other hand, we get to go ADV-Riding - on the paved roads! Test your cycle autocross skills daily! Dodge the holes!