Im on my second flat now on the rear tire. Both times the valve stem ripped out of the tube? This is on a 2006. 1st time was around 1300km's and now this one at 2600km's. Are my tubes built to self destruct every 1300km's??? When I went to the dealer to get a tube he couldn't believe the valve stem ripped out....Is this not common on bikes? I dont have very much experience with bikes so I dont know..All the driving was city/highway and didnt hit anything other then the regular pot hole.

 

The lower you keep the air pressure, The higher the chance of ripping a valve stem off. This is a result of the tire slipping on the rim during braking. I'm guessing it was the rear tire?? They make rim locks to keep the tire from slipping on the rim. Just put a weight 180 deg. from the lock.

 

Remove the lock nut from the stem. Keep an eye on it. If you spin the tyre the valve will have a little play before it's ripped out. Small insurance.

 

Keep the air pressure high or get a rim lock. I spun a tire on the rim awhile back on the street which so many say can't happen, and it's not like I had 10 psi in the tire. When the tire was repaired I kept the trire pressure high which was fine for the street but not so good off road.

Get a rim lock. It's worked out great for me off road and on.

Mike

 

What kind of PSI would be high? I remember filling it after the last flat and dropping some air shortly after but I can't recall what I dropped it to. Where would one find these rim locks? Are they pricey?

 

Run up to 30 PSI on the OE Dunlop 603's for road use. Use less for off road. I've gone down to 18 PSI front and rear for off road without a rimlock. No issue so far. Most countries have Eshops where you can get the rimlocks mail order. Shops in the USA I've used are BTO sports and Bikebandit. Both gave great service and shipped the goods to Australia without a problem.

 

10,000 miles on gavel, blacktop, trails, and have never had a flat. I keep my tires maxed out with air pressure. I don't wan a flat tire ever!

 

1500 on my 09, no flats. i do keep 2 tubes, 2 irons, and inflator with me (backpack) when i go off road. tools are always on the bike.

 

Agreed, after my tire spin incident I kept a high tire pressure around 30 psi. Unfortunately I experienced terrible traction on some ambitious hill climbs and it was a total failure at such a high psi rating. Running a lower pressure would have helped me through it. Off road I ask the KLX to do many of the same things my KDX does and for the most part the KLX will rise to the challenge even with DOT tires and at 'bone stock'. Gravel and dirt will 'give' more than pavement so I was more worried about spinning a tire on pavement. I now have peace of mind running 18 psi with a rim lock. But I do run a high psi for the front tire as I have no rim lock installed in it. Once bitten twice shy.

Mike