Attorney chases motorcycle tire deflations
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Touring Motorcycle Tire Deflations Require Investigation, Attorney Says
Harley-Davidson, Honda and Goodyear Dunlop should investigate a number of motorcycle crashes involving sudden deflation of Goodyear Dunlop D402 and other tires, attorney Billy Edwards said today. The tires, installed as original equipment or sold as replacement tires on touring and cruiser motorcycles, may need to be recalled, he added.
Harley-Davidson, Honda and Goodyear Dunlop should investigate a number of motorcycle crashes involving sudden deflation of Goodyear Dunlop D402 and other tires, attorney Billy Edwards said today. The tires, installed as original equipment or sold as replacement tires on touring and cruiser motorcycles, may need to be recalled, he added.
Five more instances of sudden deflation of the Dunlop D402 tire have been reported to the safety website, UnsafeMotorcycles.com, he noted. Four of the incidents involved Harley-Davidson classic touring motorcycles and one involved a Honda GL 1800. All occurred in the last 13 months, he said. The latest incident occurred in Marino Valley, CA, he said. Others have been reported in Massachusetts, Texas and Georgia, he said.
"We believe this is the tip of the iceberg. The defect in these tires appears to be worsening as the tires age, leading to more instances of sudden deflation and serious injury," Edwards said.
These reports join at least two lawsuits filed recently involving allegations of Goodyear Dunlop tire deflations, one in Butte, MT, the other in Atlanta, GA.
According to the allegations described in a lawsuit in the Butte, MT crash, a defect in the bead seat area of the tire allowed excessive leakage of air leading to a "sudden and catastrophic deflation" of the tire. Stephen Gageby, Butte, MT, was killed, and his wife was seriously injured in the resulting crash, the suit says.
The Georgia suit was filed in U.S. District Court, Middle District of Georgia, Athens Division,(Case no. 3:09-cv-74 ), and involved the death of a passenger Patricia Morris. Among other things, the suit alleges Harley-Davidson knew it was "false and misleading" to represent that its 2007 FLHTCU and its tires were safe for carrying up to two riders weighing more than 250 pounds each, plus their cargo and motorcycle accessories.
The Montana suit (Cause No. DV-08- 480) was filed Nov. 10, 2008, in the Second Judicial District Court, Butte Silver-Bow County. Attorneys representing the Gageby estate are Michael McKeon, with the law firm of McKeon and Anderson, PC, Butte, MT, and Billy Edwards, with the Edwards Law Firm, Corpus Christi, TX.
I have run Dunlop 401/402 tires on my bikes for many years and the only “sudden and catastrophic deflation” happened because of innertube failure. I run tubeless tires on my newer bikes, and I put thousands of miles on them without a problem.
Many motorcycle owners rarely check there tire pressure, and low tire pressure causes heat to build up in the tire, which can cause failure. It is also possible that a tire with low air pressure could break the bead or even roll of the wheel while going to hot into a corner. That along with overloaded tour bikes and inexperience in handling a tire blow out, can be deadly.
I don’t know why Dunlop is being singled out, maybe because their tires are standard equipment on many touring bikes.