First flat on the BA.
Last flat was on the tubeless Trident found while at home in the garage. No big deal, take off the wheel, take it to the shop, new tire, pay, go home, install and life goes on.
Now comes the flat on the BA, at work. Getting ready to go home at the end of the day (1530). There’s a thunderstorm brewing so getting home quickly would be good.
Go down to the parking garage, load up, crank up, and ride... wait a minute... things are feeling a bit mushy... I know what this is, but don’t want to believe it... get off, and take a look... and yes, of course, the back tire is flat.
A quick look reveals what looks like 2 nails but is a 2 inch long construction staple well imbedded... been there a while. I have Ride-on on the tube so all I really need is air.
A Wing rider is fixing to take off... “Hey, Skip... you got air?†I ask. Yes, Skip’s Wing has air. It’s an older GL1500 with a compressor he’s never used. We unwrap the air line and plug it in. The compressor is not pushing air. Skip reads the owner manual and it says nothing about the compressor. No, Skip’s Wing doesn’t have air. I thank Skip for waiting and Skip rides off. A Wing trike rider is fixing to leave and I ask if she might have a can of fix-a-flat and of course she says no but will take me to get a can. I say thanks but no, and she rides off.
After assessing my situation, I need to get home for other reasons so don’t have time to wait for AMA MoTow to respond. A long metro ride and taxi home (in the rain) and then take care of kids stuff (the ‘other reasons’). Pick up a couple of cans of Fix-A-Flat™ at the auto parts store, a new tube at the Yamaha shop, and head back on the metro to get my bike.
Arrive at the office about 2015, go to the garage, get set to go, and do the fix-a-flat thing. I only used half of the large can since it is suppose to heat and increase pressure with travel and as there is a disclaimer to specifically not use it on bicycles and motorcycles. As the tire inflates, I try to guess at about half the can, and crank up and get on my way. About half a mile down the road I still get the feeling the tire is low, so I pull over and pump in some more of the can until the tire is firm.
I arrive home about 2100 and the tire is not too hot to touch, but pretty darn warm. I get down to work and pull the wheel off, get one side of the tire out, remove and replace the tube, reassemble everything, and by 2215 the bike is whole once again.
Now there is a can of f-a-f in the saddlebag. Slime or Ride-on does no good in my case where I didn’t find out there was a problem until the tire was totally flat. Any air supply would have gotten me home. The Yamaha shop didn’t have a CO2 kit, but I’m going to get one from somewhere.
So my list of ‘always-carry’ is now: extra gas, fuses, and f-a-f.
