Flat Tire Prevention

[earlwb]

One important tip is to never take the short cut across the grass strip or median of a road. The problem is goathead thorns by the thousands. You'll never get them all out and the thorn tips will work their way on through the tire causing leaks and flats.
Thus if you do, order your new tires right away, as you will be getting flats shortly thereafter.
The railroad tracks are good breeding grounds for these plants as the areas adjacent to the railroad tracks are bare soil which is prime growing areas for goathead thorns.

Note the points on the thorns. the longer points are just long enough to get through a scooter tire. If a point braks off, you may never find it, but it will inexorably work its way through the tire as you ride along.

[earlwb]

The steel belted radial tires on motor vehicles can be a problem too. When a steel belted radial suffers a blowout,. the steel wires break apart into little tiny short pieces that can cause flats on bicycles. scooters and motorcycles. Unfortunately, there is no defense for these wires as they are usually made from stiff steel wire similar to straight pins for sewing.
these pics are from a forum member on the www.dfwscooterist.com website.
A scooter tube shown here, not the wear point on the tube where it went flat:


The infamous tiny piece of a steel belted radial tire.

[earlwb]

If you get a flat and you can't ascertain the cause right away, use some dry toilet paper and gently rub along the inside looking for where the paper snags on the sharp object. That should help isolate it.