Has anyone ever used a run flat..

[DMAGOLDRDR]

I just pulled a worn out Run Flat off my bike last week but never had to test the Run Flats capabilities.

[Patch]

I've also lost pressure on a runflat tire on a motorcycle, but not on an F6B. I can echo what was said by valkmc, only I didn't realize it for about 10 miles. I was riding my NM4 with a Bridgestone RF out in the rurals around here running between 40 and 60mph. I only noticed that the rear end was a bit squishy after I stopped for fuel. When I got back on the bike it felt like I was running on 10-15psi...kinda the way a set of drag tires feel on a car. I was pretty sure where I might have picked up the screws (yep, 2 of em) (which is why I thought it was about 10 miles of riding on un-inflated tire) and it being a Sunday in the middle of nowhere with a closed store, I had no choice but to try to limp home or wait several hours for a tow...so I rode home on it. I put just at 34 miles overall on that tire before pulling into my garage. The tire worked pretty well.

As for beads that lock into place...those only happen on rims called beadlockers. Regular automotive and motorcycle rims are not beadlocking in the true sense. The lip that the bead(s) rest against are a tad taller than the beaded rings on the tire and once the tire is installed, along with enough internal pressure to "seat the bead", the tires bead generally doesn't move unless you have a blowout/lose nearly all pressure to the point you shred the sidewall or throw the tire (which happens when both beads come unseated and your rim rolls at least one side off)

To give you an idea of what a car rim looks like in comparison to the motorcycle rim posted...this is a runflat tire on a car rim in cross section.
Attachment 22800
Notice a couple of things...the profile of the rim area is not that different from the motorcycle rim. As long as the bead can seat against the rim, it physically works the same way. Second, the car tire on the motorcycle rim is a regular type of car tire. Notice the extra rubber thickness of the sidewall on the runflat. While it's still only a couple of ply in tread strength as opposed to the multiple plys of the motorcycles sidewall, it has an excessive amount of rubber throughout the sidewall...looking almost MC tire-like in overall thickness. This is how it can handle the added abuse of running an automobile without pressure for somewhat prolonged distances compared to a normal car tire.

I'm not advocating for or against the use of a car tire here...I certainly wouldn't run a normal tire on a bike, not after seeing just what happens when a sidewall goes (have scars to show for it). I prefer the ride of a bike tire on a bike but I have no issue putting a runflat CT on a bike and accept the risk in doing so.

Below is a single side beadlocking rim from a truck wheel. Notice the bead is physically locked into place between the inner and outer plates. This keeps it from peeling away from the rim and allowing the tire to float off the wheel.
Attachment 22801

[willtill]

Thanks Patch, for your experiences. All of this is very informative.

[HBWinger]

I rode home from work-6 miles-on my Michelin run flat without tire pressure. The valve stem (metal) went bad and I did not realize it at the time. I thought about going to the house and get my mounted MC tire and changing it in the parking lot but rode the bike around the parking lot a couple of times and it felt ok. I did not go much faster the 35-40 miles per hour. I did think the rear end felt squishy so I was careful. Got home, felt the tire and it was not over heated.

Not sure I would want to do it on the highway but I would go father than the 6 miles if conditions were right.

Great real life input. What do you have against Idaho anyway?

[valkmc]

Great real life input. What do you have against Idaho anyway?

Nothing , I planned on riding through it on my return trip from Alaska a few years ago until my C-14 screwed up and I had to take a different route. I'm a school teacher so iwill get there one of these summers.