Jim and Kris'...

[bruiser]

Not so excellent adventure. Left early yesterday morning headed to Myrtle Beach to spend the day with my brother and his family vacationing there. All went well until one mile short of the NC/SC state line, 8 miles short of North Myrtle Beach. I heard and felt a rumble from my RTS and then the back end started acting squirrely. I told Bruisersbaby we had to pull off and she confirmed a flat drive tire. We pulled in to a CVS parking lot. Yep, it was flat. It didn't blow out, just went down. I didn't see anything like a nail. Ok, so we started calling for repairs. There was a tire shop 1/2 mile north of us. After talking to four different people, one of whom said they work on motorcycles, the manager came on and said no, can't work on Spyders. BB found a Spyder dealer in Myrtle Beach. They said get it to us and we'll take you right in. So we went in search of some Fix a Flat. Found a can at Food Lion. Got the hose to screw on the tire valve, not fun in 95 degree heat laying on hot asphalt. Hit the nozzle, tire inflated about two inches, that was it for that can. Pulled the hose and heard escaping air. . The tire valve was cut at the rim. . Called Redline to see if we could get towed, was put on hold, then disconnected. Called back, they gave us a number for a wrecker service. I called, the driver was in Charleston on a job and said it would be late afternoon or early evening before he could get to us, no guarantee. Called the tire shop up the road, nope, no driver available. Called another service, they said not until tomorrow morning . We were only 20 miles from Redline . Made one other call, no rollback trucks.

So, we covered the Spyder, mounted two up on BB's Spyder, made the two hour trip home, through a 4 mile down pour, thank heaven we had rain gear. Home, changed to fresh clothes, hitched up the trailer, two hours back (140 miles one way). I had my portable air pump, aired up the tire and drove on the trailer before the tire went flat again. Drove home. A total of 13 hours.

So this morning I'm going to trailer the RT to the dealer for repairs. I will need a new tire as I noticed a large bubble on the side wall when I was putting air in the tire.

We'll be looking in to AAA or something like it.

There was an upside. We stopped at McDonald's for a biscuit yesterday morning. We saw a friend we hadn't seen for a few months. He is being treated for liver cancer. We had quite a conversation with him.

[PrairieSpyder]

I'm sorry to hear about your friend's health issue.

At least you were 2 Spyders and had a way to get home. Too bad these thing happen when you're out of town, huh?

[SpyderAnn01]

Sorry to hear that your trip was somewhat less than fantastic. I carry a rolled up pad (a Harley item) that can be used for laying on the hot pavement or for using as a sunscreen or rain tarp. In the desert you could get some serious burns if you had to lay on the pavement.

AAA RV coverage is the policy that you would want as I don't think the standard AAA covers motorcycles.

[murphybrown]

Sorry to hear that your trip was somewhat less than fantastic. I carry a rolled up pad (a Harley item) that can be used for laying on the hot pavement or for using as a sunscreen or rain tarp. In the desert you could get some serious burns if you had to lay on the pavement.

AAA RV coverage is the policy that you would want as I don't think the standard AAA covers motorcycles.

Ann you are correct standard AAA does NOT cover motorcycles. But the RV Premium is GREAT...I had the opportunity to use when broke down in TN...worked wonderful. 200 mile tow plus pay up to $1500 expenses while you are unable to use vehicle. BUT make sure you get an incident # and have proof (get a police statement if nothing else available) that you are indeed unable to drive....anyone have any ? on how to "do" get ahold of me. I've got the t-shirt and experience!!!

[bullant12]

Sorry to hear about your troubles! At least no one got hurt... just rained and a flat that no one wanted to tow!
I thought BEST gave you towing on these types of situations...

Has anybody tried GWRRA's Rescue Plus Plan? http://towbusters.com/rescueplus.html You do not have to be a GW owner or be a member (Members get discounts).

[mindman]

Oh Boy that sucks!
Glad you were able to get everything straightened out though.
Good idea re: AAA too. We've never been disappointed with the response from them.

[2 Stricklands]

Sorry to hear about your troubles! At least no one got hurt... just rained and a flat that no one wanted to tow!
I thought BEST gave you towing on these types of situations...

Has anybody tried GWRRA's Rescue Plus Plan? http://towbusters.com/rescueplus.html You do not have to be a GW owner or be a member (Members get discounts).

Rescue Plus is what I have. It does everything AAA plus does at 1/2 the price. We do belong tol GGRRA as an Associate Member because we do not own a GW. They (at least here in Roanoke, VA) welcome Spyders

[bullant12]

Rescue Plus is what I have. It does everything AAA plus does at 1/2 the price. We do belong tol GGRRA as an Associate Member because we do not own a GW. They (at least here in Roanoke, VA) welcome Spyders

Great to know!!

Pretty much GWRRA Chapters are welcoming. We took the Trike Course in AL and they were very impressed with them. We even have a SL that made into their magazine: Cavman.jpg

[exwinger]

The package from GWRRA is really great . Not only will it cover your bike but any vehicle you're using at the time. Go for the towbuster plus. They respond no matter what the call is for unlike some others. I've been aWRRA member for years and now you don't have to own a wing.I've used it several times and have been totally satisfied , both on the wing and the spyder.

[Bob Denman]

Do you have any idea what could have caused that damage to the valve stem?
How many miles were on that tire?

I'm at least glad to hear that it's an inconvenience, and not a show-stopper!

[Chupaca]

No one from spyders to the rescue..?? Hope they check the tire to see what flatten it. Doesn't seem it would have been the stem. You mentioned a bubble on the side, at any rate glad you both fared well and ended on a happy note.

[CyncySpyder]

Sorry to hear about the mis-adventure

But like you said, at least something good came of it, in re-connecting with your friend

And now you know, as we do, about the AAA RV+ service really is top-notch, as we've used them a time or two ourselves

Now please, don't be like us when we got our flat rear tire last year, returning from Lamonts Bar-B-Q. That's when I decided since I was already getting a new tire, I had might as well go ahead and learn how to replace the rear seals and bearings myself, which lead to another mod, and another, and another and ultimately ...... to me not properly strapping the Spyder to the lift, and Teddy trying to kill me by accidently pulling the Spyder off the lift and directly on top of me when I was trying to push it over to the side for the night
Subsequently injuring my arm by catching the Sled mid-fall and somehow pushing it back up onto the lift, thinking I had broken my arm......

See, your mis-adventure, while not good, isn't nearly as bad as it could have been ...................................
Teddy sends lick'ns

[PrairieSpyder]

Adventures are better told than lived.

Glad you both made it home safe.

I checked into AAA and their RV membership is high here in KS. I joined American Motorcyclist Assoc (AMA) and they have roadside service/towing. The membership is reasonable and it includes discounts at hotels. I used the heck out of it on my OE trip.

[bruiser]

The tire only has 6100 miles on it. Still looks (looked) new. It's in the shop as we speak. The tire has gone up $40.00 since last September when we had a new one put on BB's Spyder. As to the bubble on the side wall. What I think happened is the tire probably began to go down and may have started to heat up. Hot day, interstate speeds, flat tire = failed side wall. I drove it about 1/4 mile at creeping speed to the pull off. Earlier, we traveled I-40 for about 60 miles @ 70 mph. Then to US-17 where the speed limit varies between 55 and 60. Where the tire went flat was 60. We were running around 65. We were 139 miles into the trip when it went down. Will follow up with the dealer to see what they found. More later.

[ARtraveler]

Glad to hear your mis-adventure worked out okay. It is never fun to have something happen on the road, and worse, when you cannot get any help.

I also got surprised when I replaced the tire on the Black Widow about a month ago. Back tire price also up $40 from the previous one.

[bruiser]

$320.00 bucks later and the Lead Sled is back home. Tech said he didn't find anything sticking in the old tire. He did say it was pretty much shredded inside, thus the bubbles in the side walls. He also said the valve stem had a 1/4 inch cut where it meets the rim. So, the mystery remains as to what caused the tire to go down. Anyway, we're back on the road looking for the next adventure.

[KatLen0405]

I've got AAA with RV Premium and have also had excellent service. But, don't forget about the towing and trip interruption insurance you may have through your regular motorcycle insurance. I've got Safeco and my policy includes towing, trip interruption expenses, car rental, etc. We pay for these things - use them!

[bruisersbaby]

I've got AAA with RV Premium and have also had excellent service. But, don't forget about the towing and trip interruption insurance you may have through your regular motorcycle insurance. I've got Safeco and my policy includes towing, trip interruption expenses, car rental, etc. We pay for these things - use them!

I had called our insurance company to see if we had any type of roadside assistance for the Spyders, but we don't. This was a learning experience, and we learned that we'd better get coverage. Appreciate all the recommendations and will check them all out. After all, Bruiser may be the CEO, but I'm the CFO!!

Seriously, though, I am very thankful and PTL that he wasn't hurt, and we were able to get home and bring his bike back safely.