Gaari Means Car. Car Reviews & Car News

A high-altitude tyre blowout and series of unfortunate events…


Image by Motographer
We got some help from our friendly Fauji folks after several miserable attempts to flag down trucks passing-by. Later, we realized that the Army mens’ sheer brute force only complicated the problem — the tyre carcass was 50% damaged by then, however, at least, it was ride-worthy for a couple hundred kilometers. As always, many thanks to the Army for their timely help. Jai Hind!

Its rather funny that Ananth and I, despite having enough experience changing the tube from a steel spoke wheel rim, had to struggle with an alloy wheel which we thought would be easier. Also, here’s where we flagged down Yogesh & Co of BCM Touring who were good company and ensured that we were back on the road as soon as possible.

[ Thanks guys, that was good meeting you all. Oh, and what a place to meet! ]

That’s not all, we also happened to meet a fellow flickr-ite and motographer, Suyash from Pune, who was part of the BCMT group.

Here’s a pic of me in this same place (from Suyash’s collection)

I also ran into fellow motographer, Mani Babbar, who chased me down from the market to the Petrol bunk in Leh after recognizing me from the decal on my bike. Some eidetic memory, eh?

Ananth, although a tough guy by my standards, had to endure a back-breaking ride from Sarchu to Pang and put up with my crazy riding antics. I lost my mood to ride because of the ‘tyre-situation’ and we decided to stopover at Pang where our intrepid friend Vodka aka Dr.Hash aka Harish (yeah, the cycle dude) had halted for the night before his sprint to the world’s second highest motorable pass.

By the time we got to Pang (about 75 kms from here), Ananth was exhausted and had his bout of AMS the same night despite proper acclimatization.

[ Ananth: Thanks a ton, mate. I couldn't have done it without you! ]

It was so unlike me to fiddle around with the bike just a day before the ride. I changed one of the simplest but most important component of the bike — the tyre. The propreitor of Master Tyres (Nailwala, Karol Bagh, Delhi) wanted to save a few hundred rupees at the cost of my life by shoving in a shrimpy 90/90 section tube inside a fat, 130/80 section tyre which was the obvious reason for the tyre failure. Its high time I paid heed to my buddies who keep warning me about the ‘Notorious Delhi Shopkeepers’. I was riding at 80kmph when the blowout occurred. It was perhaps my rapid down-shifting and progressive front wheel braking that helped me avoid a disastrous fall over the ledge! I came out without a scratch….I didn’t even fall off the bike!

[The last time I had such a terrible blowout was 5 years back on the Chennai-Bangalore highway at 0300 Hrs when trying to overtake a lorry at 110 kmph. I had balcked out for 15 minutes or so, my Enfield was royally totaled (well, nearly) and I had to be hospitalized for over a week]

Besides, the Duro tyre’s carcass was so severely damaged that it looked and felt as though the tyre would come off the rim anytime. Adding to my woes, the chain/brake alignment plates (aluminum) in the swing arm were shattered too. We realized this immediately after we managed to fit the wheel back on the bike. I had to quickly come up with a jury-rigged plate made out of an adjustable caliper from my tool kit! Creative, eh?

Strangely though, I rode the bike like I stole it — if that should sum up the speeds I was doing in such a terrain given the bike’s condition. Like they say in Ladakhi "Key Key So So Laargaye Lo" [ Meaning "Fortune doesn't fuck with the brave"] and the bliss fueled by my ignorance of the impending perils!

Looking back now, it was plain absurd of me to have ridden like that but, fortunately, nothing disastrous ever happened. I lost the mood to do motography as my only attention was on the bike to reach Leh without any further trouble.

More misfortune awaited us in Leh. I had to ditch this barely-1000-kms-old tyre which you can see, even today, at Mohan Sharma’s garage in Leh decking his well sooted wall like a prized trophy!

The tyre was damaged beyond use due to the hard riding and I couldn’t find a worthy replacement. At the time of this writing, none (I mean, NONE) of the shops in Leh stocks tyres for 17" rims. Luckily for us, we were able to locate a shop that stocked a slightly used "Dunlop Geo Cruiser 100/90" tyre. Well, as regards the puny Dunlop: even a skateboard would’ve been easier to handle. GeoCruiser — my arse!

We had stepped in and out of every sorry automobile shop in Leh and wasted enough time by then that our plans appeared to be collapsing. That was my only darn option lest I should sacrifice the trip by being driven around in a cage. And I have the travelers’ worst nightmare — motion sickness if you didn’t know. It doesn’t hit me when I drive or ride — only when I’m made to sit idle in toss-y cages.

Meanwhile, Ananth wasted no time and got hold of a Sardarji who owned a lathe and helped fabricate the chain alignment plates. The problem was temporarily solved and the next day we decided to ride either to Nubra Valley or Tso Moriri.

Lessons Learnt (a costly one at that): Do not change anything in your vehicle a week before you leave home. Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke! This could happen to anyone and it could have been worse. Overall, this trip was a very humbling experience.

4 days later I’d have had another tyre failure – this time the front tyre for a change – except that it was tubeless and we managed it with about 2 cans of Slime and tubeless tyre repair cement but that’s another story!

Fire Breaks Out at Goodyear Tire
Newschannel 12 is following breaking news about what dispatchers call an “industrial fire” that has broken out at the Goodyear Tire store
Read more on News Channel 12 New Bern

NC Man gets 38 years for tire iron beating death
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A man has been sentenced to at least 38 years in prison after he admitted beating his girlfriend’s mother to death with a tire iron in Charlotte more than two years ago.
Read more on The Daily Reflector

Man gets 38 years for tire iron beating death
CHARLOTTE (AP) — A man has been sentenced to at least 38 years in prison after he admitted beating his girlfriend’s mother to death with a tire iron in Charlotte more than two years ago. The Charlotte Observer reported that 25-year-old Daniel…
Read more on The Shelby Star