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Lesson Learned...hitch racks and exhaust pipes

3K views 9 replies 9 participants last post by  kelstr 
#1 ·
So, a friend of mine gave me a ride to Flag this morning. I loaded my bike on the hitch rack; got it all secured and off we went. Got to Flag and unloaded my bike and noticed the front tire was flat...hmmm...I just aired it up before we left. Tried to pump it up and it wasn't taking air so I removed the tire... the stans goop was cooked...looked at the tire; the side wall was melted and cords showing. Sh*t...one brand new rampage...toast.
 
#3 ·
What kind of rack and car? My T2 seems intentionally be designed to be high and hold bikes above that as well as improve approach/departure angle, but I'd imagine some combos may still not work.
 
#8 ·
D'oh! I did the same exact thing last November coming home from BCT. Decided to hang the bike on the rack the opposite way to get some different stress and wear on the rack tie-downs, which put my front tire about 4 inches from my rear exhaust. Too bad I didn't realize it until I drove the hour home. Totally cooked the tire. Sorry for your loss. The Rampage is a pretty good tire. I thought you had like 2k miles on that thing anyway?
 
#9 ·
Friend had a Subaru. I actually was going to remove the front wheel since I was worried about the clearance to the ground. Should have done it!
Unfortunately, I took off my old Rampage with ~2200 miles just before Casner.
If anyone has smelled burnt stans, lemme tell ya, it's not a nice smell!
The upside is that I bought a new tire in Flag and was able to salvage 44 miles of my planned 62 mile ride.
Ah well...live and learn...
 
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