Unofficial Royal Enfield Community Forum

Royal Enfield Motorcycles => Bullet with the UCE engine => Topic started by: emskee on October 01, 2009, 08:08:55 pm

Title: Flat tire on freeway: I lived, RE quality control problem
Post by: emskee on October 01, 2009, 08:08:55 pm
Rear wheel on the C5 went flat at 60 mph today on the freeway.  Tire stayed on rim, I did not crash, I did not die.  (I don't think....what if this is hell?)

Bike ran so well with flat I didn't know it was flat until someone pulled up next to me and told me.  Limped on sidewalls about 1 mile to work and swapped out the tube.

When I yanked out the tube, there lying in the tire was a second stem washer, just like to one on the stem.  On the tube, near the stem was a nice circle eroded into the tube through the presence of the washer dropped into the tire during assembly.  If I were a quessing man, and I am, I have some dude at the factory trying to wrestle the tube in, the stem washer falls off into the tire interior, hmmmmm, that'll take time to fish out, leave it and slip on a new one, fish the stem through the hole and continue.  Nice.

See the attached.  There is a picture of the hole cut into the tube and to the right of that the extra stem washer, provided to me at no charge.

Kinda sloppy, sorta negligent.  If I had crashed, looks like the wife could have cleaned up.  So close......

Anyhow, for what it's worth.

Mike

Title: Re: Flat tire on freeway: I lived, RE quality control problem
Post by: ace.cafe on October 01, 2009, 10:25:17 pm
Not good to happen, but good that you didn't get hurt.
Glad you're okay.
Title: Re: Flat tire on freeway: I lived, RE quality control problem
Post by: Cabo Cruz on October 01, 2009, 10:40:35 pm
Amen, amen and amen!!!
Title: Re: Flat tire on freeway: I lived, RE quality control problem
Post by: emskee on October 02, 2009, 06:06:48 pm
Thanks you guys.

I am seriously impressed with the wheel/tire and suspension design on this thing.  Tire stayed put and suspension and wheel-on-sidewalls combination preserved ridability at speed save for some wallowing on the off ramp (not enough to make me think flat).  I saw a bike once that threw right side bead completely off the rim at about 30 mph on a straight away with a holed tube.  The Bullet just stayed together and rode. 

Some piece of mind there.

I still think RE owes me a T shirt or something........
Title: Re: Flat tire on freeway: I lived, RE quality control problem
Post by: Vince on October 02, 2009, 06:30:29 pm
Thanks you guys.

I am seriously impressed with the wheel/tire and suspension design on this thing.  Tire stayed put and suspension and wheel-on-sidewalls combination preserved ridability at speed save for some wallowing on the off ramp (not enough to make me think flat).  I saw a bike once that threw right side bead completely off the rim at about 30 mph on a straight away with a holed tube.  The Bullet just stayed together and rode. 

Some piece of mind there.

I still think RE owes me a T shirt or something........
     Don't count on this type of event. You were LUCKY !!! The next flat may act completely differently.
Title: Re: Flat tire on freeway: I lived, RE quality control problem
Post by: emskee on October 02, 2009, 06:40:06 pm
Vince,

Dig it.  Point taken.

Hmmmmm.

Okay, then I want a T shirt AND a coffee cup.

Mike
Title: Re: Flat tire on freeway: I lived, RE quality control problem
Post by: Chris-G5 on October 02, 2009, 09:31:23 pm
Glad the tire stayed on the rim and you weren't hurt or worse. As far as the extra washer in the tire, that's what happens when companies run the assembly line as fast as possible to make as many products as possible per hour/day. Also they overload the jobs giving the assembler just enough time to perform the job and no time to correct errors. A repair man down the line should have been notified to retrieve the extra washer and maybe was, but I bet the more repairs an assembler ships down the line the greater the chance that he could be fired, so they don't notify of the repairs. I used to work at an auto assembly plant and the line ran at a rate of one vehicle every 45 seconds!
Title: Re: Flat tire on freeway: I lived, RE quality control problem
Post by: ScooterBob on October 03, 2009, 07:59:49 pm
Glad the tire stayed on the rim and you weren't hurt or worse. As far as the extra washer in the tire, that's what happens when companies run the assembly line as fast as possible to make as many products as possible per hour/day. Also they overload the jobs giving the assembler just enough time to perform the job and no time to correct errors. A repair man down the line should have been notified to retrieve the extra washer and maybe was, but I bet the more repairs an assembler ships down the line the greater the chance that he could be fired, so they don't notify of the repairs. I used to work at an auto assembly plant and the line ran at a rate of one vehicle every 45 seconds!

This is quite true - and ESPECIALLY at the RE factory as of late, where demand for the bikes is requiring TWO shifts! The fellows in the factory are going FLAT OUT for us - and CMW is doing the same to make sure that everyone gets the chance to HAVE a new C5 if they want one. Incidents will occur - the good thing is that the bike behaved and didn't toss a fellow off - and I even heard that CMW was giving out a new tube to keep as a spare in addition to the one that was supplied WITH the bike. That probably resulted in a fist fight over in "Warranty and Claims" - Hahaha!!  ;)