Dead Dunlop K555

[jp2magna]

I have a standard Dunlop K555 150/80x15 that I put on my Magna last Spring, and it has been working great.

While riding home from work this past Monday (5/14/07), I began to notice that the ride was getting "squishy" (that's the technical term).

At the next stop light, I looked down, but the tires looked fine. Light turned green; I rode on.

After about another mile, the rear end starts wabbling a little more and the bike acted like it had an emergency brake applied. I pulled over (next light was still a ways off), and found a flat back tire.

When I inspected the tire, it had what looked like a slash across the bottom - a big slash! From sitting in the saddle, it would go from a ridder's right side to the left side. It looked like I had rode over a knife blade, but I had not hit anything, and the tire was just fine when I pulled out of work a couple of miles before.

A co-worker looked at it and said it could have been a stress fracture from when the tire was cast that just now showed up.

Has anyone ever seen or heard of anything like this? What happened?

On a plus note, I will say that the K555 has some stiff sidewalls. I was able to limp the bike home by keeping the bike under 30 MPH pretty easy.

~Joe

[roboto65]

I have never heard of that but I guess anything is possible not likely but possible.... Glad you made it home safe!!!!

[jp2magna]

Glad you made it home safe!!!!

Thanks! I went slow so my angle could keep up.

[Greg Cothern]

Yeah very glad things worked out safely!  
I am thinking maybe it had a leak or such and got low and possibly destroyed itself during the ride.  A thought.
Many a K555 have been ridden more miles than once could count and not heard of any failures due to construction..  Anyone else?