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First Bad Experience on the FZ-07


haze87

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I'm a fairly new rider, but have enjoyed the hell out of this bike - until today. I was headed down the highway going about 70mph and I felt something I had only read about... a death wobble. The rear just completely lost traction and was sliding from left to right like crazy. I almost lost control and went down and how I didn't, I'll never know. I was a bit exhausted from being out on the boat all day and I'm glad that I still reacted as quickly as I did, as I'm not really sure how someone prepares for that situation.
 
I maintained control, dropped speed to about 20, and threw on hazards. There was a ton of traffic, which didn't help the situation. Well as soon as I hit sub-40 speeds I heard a terrible rubbing noise and felt like the rear tire was on an oil slick. I pulled over and there was a tear / rip in the tire and it was completely out of air. The source of the tear was a piece of metal a little larger than my thumb and pretty thick, like a mounting bracket almost, but sharp. The tire is definitely ruined and I am hoping no additional damage occurred, as I was only on the bike for about 1 minute after the initial fiasco.
 
I was really pissed off about the entire situation at first, as it had started to pour and tow times were ~2 hours. I had more than a few bikers stop in the parking lot that I was in and ask if everything was okay, there was anything they could do to help, etc. One guy even helped load the bike on the flatbed, as the towing company didn't really prepare for the bike, regardless of being informed it was a motorcycle. I'm now home and the bike is in the garage. I realize that the situation could have gone a lot worse and I'm very grateful that it didn't. I've only been riding for all of 2-3 months and I'd be lying if it didn't shake my riding urge a little bit at first, but I think that was temporary and all I can think about is fixing whats broken and getting her back out there.
 
TLDR; Rear tire blew out / tore while driving at highway speeds. Kept shiny side up and hopefully only have to replace a tire.
 
An added note, if you don't have roadside assistance or towing on your current insurance - get it! I neglected that option as my buddy has the whole set up on his pick up and lives next door; however, this was the weekend he went to the track a couple hours away... Needless to say, I added the coverage.
 

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Wow .. that's a wet your pants moment ... glad you are OK, glad it was not a front tire!

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Wow, glad your OK and had the presence of mind to keep it under control, that definitely qualifies as an "Oh Shit!" moment.
Thanks for sharing as this is a good "heads up" and reminder for me, and hopefully others to be alert all the time and ready for all the bad stuff that is out there.

Why can't left turners see us?

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Wow .. that's a wet your pants moment ... glad you are OK, glad it was not a front tire!
That was literally all I thought once I got it pulled into a parking lot. Thanks man! 
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Wow. Good job keeping it on its wheels. Do not let it scare you off riding. If you can ride it with one tire anything else will be a piece of cake

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hippiebikerchick

That's definitely a scary situation but it sounds like you handled it quite well! I'm glad you and the bike are ok. Do you have any idea why the tire would blow out, was it debris in the road?

Illegitimi non carborundum

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Eastern Kayaker

You did a great job maintaining control and glad your ok! Hope your bike just needs a new tire, keep us updated.

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Pucker factor was high for sure on that one, but awesome job keeping the shiny side up :)
 
- Paulie

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TLDR; Rear tire blew out / tore while driving at highway speeds. Kept shiny side up and hopefully only have to replace a tire. .... 

Rider's instincts are a wonderful thing. Apparently you've got 'em... 
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I'm a fairly new rider.
You pass one of the real world test with great success.  So now you can just say that you're a rider.  ;) 

past bikes: WR250X, KLR650, V-Strom 1000, DR650, FZ-6, SV650S, Seca II, GS400S, Seca 750, YZ80.

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Excellent control of the situation, i dont think i would've fared as well as you. Glad you're alright and hopefully with a new tire we hear about some awesome adventures in the future.

ATGATT... ATTATT, two acronyms I live by.
 

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