Inner tube failure survey

[sign216]

Have you noticed any balance issues?

I haven't.  It's a liquid, so I imagine it spreads itself uniformly.

[blackcat]

I buy Michelin tubes which are pretty thick and Slime. The last time I had a tube leak was about 20 years ago before using Slime and even then I made it home with the use can of sealant.  Never had balance issues with Slime, just take it for a ride after filling the tube.

[Moparnut72]

I probably have close to 250,000 miles on tubed tires. I have had only two flats. One was on a scooter, just threw the spare on and continued on my way. The other was on my R75/5 close to home, I heard the tire getting noisy so I turned around and got it home before it went completely flat. When I bought my R75/5 the dealer told me that BMW used tubes made from natural rubber as they resisted tearing as opposed to synethic rubber. Any truth to this? I have never had a tube failure.
kk

[Ronkom]

One failure "rapid-air-out" as I was pulling on to the Blue Ridge Parkway from an overlook, so I was able to get stopped w/out incident. Was two-up on my Eldo. Problem turned out to be broken wires in the tire sidewall gouging a hole in the tube. Must have hit something HARD to damage the tire sidewall internally. Don't remember an incident, so don't know how long it took to puncture the tube.
 Was riding w/a small group on the way to the New Cumberland WVa rally years ago. One of the bikes (Cali III I think) developed a flat rear tire, fortunately near a country store w/a compressor. . We had a group to help, so we were able to lay the bike over & hold it to pull the rear wheel, found culprit (nail, screw don't remember) pulled it out of the tire, pulled the tube, patched it & got rolling again in less than an hour. Would have been a PITA riding alone, he was 2-up & the bike was loaded for a rally weekend.
ronkom

[ITSec]

I have had tube failure from a pinched tube that was caught ever so slightly between the rim and the tire. Mind you, this was on my ice-racer (car), and the cornering and tire stress were pretty murderous...

[normzone]

My wife was eating pistachio Hagen Daaz, sitting on the couch in the living room, and she dropped the spoon.

We cannot find it anyplace.

You guys may want to check your motorcycle's front tires.

[normzone]

One failure "rapid-air-out" as I was pulling on to the Blue Ridge Parkway from an overlook, so I was able to get stopped w/out incident. Was two-up on my Eldo. Problem turned out to be broken wires in the tire sidewall gouging a hole in the tube. Must have hit something HARD to damage the tire sidewall internally. Don't remember an incident, so don't know how long it took to puncture the tube.
 Was riding w/a small group on the way to the New Cumberland WVa rally years ago. One of the bikes (Cali III I think) developed a flat rear tire, fortunately near a country store w/a compressor. . We had a group to help, so we were able to lay the bike over & hold it to pull the rear wheel, found culprit (nail, screw don't remember) pulled it out of the tire, pulled the tube, patched it & got rolling again in less than an hour. Would have been a PITA riding alone, he was 2-up & the bike was loaded for a rally weekend.
ronkom

Something similar happened to me about forty years ago, but I was riding solo. I made it to a gas station, where the attendant loaned me the six inch tire irons from his moped. In taking off the wheel by myself, I dropped the bike on top of me, pinning me to the pavement.

The attendant came over and said " Would you like some assistance?"

[JoeB]

Only one I had was on a midsize dual sport bike. No rim guard, but a rubber button on the rim hole for it.
The button went somewhere along the way without me noticing it.
Evidently the tube rubbed there and caused a leak.
When replacing I noticed the rim strip was in place but the area around that hole was not what I would call smooth.
On the road fix so I layered a couple strips of adhesive tape from the ER kit I carry over it.

[Tom]

I run Slime in the rear tire.  Last tube failure was a puncture.  In fact all the tube failures that I've had have been from nails/screw punctures.  No seam or tube construction failures.