On the way to work the rear tire when down on me... Now i call the dealer to see what they think i should do. Just put a new tube in it or new tube and tire. Not sure what caused it to go flat on me.. But had to ride it a block before i could park it.. Now once i was told never to just put a new tube in..This was from another dealer the last time i got a nail in the tire. What is the normal on something like this... Now what ever i do HD will pay for it..I have it where if i have more then 3/32" left on the bike they pay to replace or fix... This tire has only 3000 miles on it...What do you think a person should do? The closes dealer say just to replace the tube ......???????????????????

 

Depends on what caused the flat. If the tire is punctured, it's probably best to replace it. But if only the tube is damaged, just replace the tube.

I got a flat on a tubed tire once. The paper sticker on the inside of the tire actually rubbed a hole in the tube! Never would have believed it, but saw it with my own eyes. We pulled out the tube, patched it, and continued riding until the tire was worn out.

 

Hell, if the dealer will replace the tube and tire, then do that. 3000 miles or not.

But normally if the flat was due to a puncture that wasn't in the sidewall of the tire, they will put a small patch inside the tire and replace the tube. This keeps the opening from causing another puncture in the new tube.

 

you say you rode it a block after? Riding on a deflated tire causes abuse to the sidewall of the tire. since you have the tire warranty, replace both.

 

Well took the bike in today...They are replaceing both tire and tube...But had to call harley to get the okay to do this...under the exrended service plan...Well now they replaced everything and told me that i would have to pay for it or leave the bike.. WTF is going on here..Well i had told them i had only 3500 miles on the tire but they did not tell hd that.. so when they called it in the y said i had 16,800 on the bike. So hd wanted to get someone out to see the bike and tire..LOL
So the dealer said he would have to replace the old tire back on the bike so hd guy could see both together...Well i was pi$$ed ...So i left and called hd service center myself... After i talked with them and told them that the tire was only 4 months old and where and who installed it..They siad they would get back to me..after lunch so they could talk with the head person at the service center...I also toold them what the dealer had done and i also told them the dealers was not sure what tire came off the bike as they just throw it into the pile of old tire they had out back...LOL Called the dealers and told him that the service center would be getting back to me and if he had told them about the tire being replace just 4 months ago all this would be over with and i would be riding now...

He said that he hope i had not told the service center about him taking off the tire and then re-installing it...That they had told them they never removed the tire...LOL oh Well i told him i had told them just what he had done. Boy was he mad after that... Well waiting to see what hd says ...will come back and let you know what they say now...

 

Well bike is home with a new tire and tube...$273.14... I did not pay a red cent... the hd adjustor met me at the dealers...After hearing what happened he said HD would not pay for it with out seeing the tire until i proved i had only 3500 miles on it.. After that he said okay no problem... But then he had a little talk with the dealers trying to figure out why they wanted me to pay for the repair after they had filed for the service plan to pay for it...LOL WE think some dealers may be trying to get paid twice for the same work.. Customer pays and then they file under the service plan...Any way after looking around we found the right tire and the inside of the sidewall was shot...the adjustor said if you get a SMALL nail okay replace the tube and ride it.. But anything like this you need to replace both..

I was doing 75 when it went away..so by the time i got it stopped it was shoot...sure made the back side pucker up for a few seconds...LOL so the service plan this time paid out fine....

 

I was on a criss-cross ride around the US of A on my '97 Heritage Springer and had a blow out at 75/80 mph. I previously had the tire and tube changed only 500 (aprox) miles before at Rapid city H-D because I had worn the other rear tire to the cord durring the ride. I also had an oil change while I had my bike on the rack. I then rode around the hills a bit then headed east on the pike. The blow out was a little more than half way across the state of SD. (Not much there) Finally gor a ride with a pickup truck to the H-D dealer in Sioux Falls.

The cause for the flat was pure stupidity. The kid that did the tire change put the tube in backwards. He had to pull the valve stem across to come out the wheel openning then he put the little nut on the valve stem to hold it in place. He filled it with air to match his head and soon I was on my way. NOTE: It was a Dunlop H-D tire and tube, (Stock with Harleys for longer than I can remember). The end result was the valve stem ripped out from the tube and the air quickly followed, yippy I O Ki a!

Anyway, the H-D Dealer in Sioux Falls wouldn't warranty the tire repair (parts or labor). I was told if I go back to Rapid City they might cover it. Ya right, go back some 348 miles just to turn around and ride the same miles again, not happening, I was on my loop back to New Hampshire. The story gets much worse but I won't bore you with all the details.

chappy

 

I had a flat on my front Dunlop H-D. luckily, I found it when I went to go for a ride, and not while riding.I called the dealer and they said they would not just replace the tube. I would have to replace the tire. They said it was Harley policy not to just replace the tube for safety reasons. I took it to a local Indy shop, and they replaced the tube no questions asked. The tire did fine fine until the tread wore out and I then replaced the tire.Dealers [sm=bangbang.gif]

 

I've rode tens of thousands of miles on flats caused by punctures to the tread area where I replaced on the tube. No patching in the tire....just replaced the tube.