Going to the Dark Side

[beemerdons]

I'm kinda stoopid.

Bust! That you???

ANOTHER FJR REAR CAR TIRE BENEFIT! What is causing me to really consider a Car Tire on my FJR is how the long life mileages will eliminate finding a replacement rear tire while I am traveling down deep into Mexico. In November of 2011 I am riding with Los Hermanos Rodriquez to Guatemala; you folks know them as Patch308 and HotRodZilla here on our FJR Forum. With my big fat old Irish ass on my 2003 FJR "Miss Lucy Liu", a rear Michelin Pilot Road 2 would not make it to Guatemala City and back. My game plan was to ship a new rear tire to mi Amigo Ruben Tenorio, President of the Mexico BMW Moto Clubs. Ruben resides in Oaxaca Ciudad in Oaxaca Estado. I then would have to go to una La Llanterria in Mexico to get it mounted and perhaps balanced. Running a car tire on the rear of an FJR completely removes the necessity of a rear tire change en route. Poor road conditions South of the Border really eat up motorcycle tires muy rapido!!!

Actually, just thinking out loud, but given that you've got the logistics all set up already, I'd consider shipping the extra tire anyway. What if you or one of the other Amigos pick up a nail? Be nice to have that extra tire available.

Hi palerider, Here is the itinerary that Patch308 - Alex and HotRodZilla - AJ have put together with Papa Chuy Medina "El Burrito Ballerina". It would not be the end of the world if we had to divert to Oaxaca on the return leg of this trip for us to get new rear M/C tires, but it does add a day and another 500 miles to our trip. Oaxaca is certainly a beautiful city and we may consider it anyway. Butt (and I do mean BUTT!) I don't think that Los Hermanos Rodriguez will wear out their rear tires as quickly as Papa Chuy will, since I weigh as much as the two of them put together; Senor "El Gordo" Medina. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oaxaca,_Oaxaca

"FJR FORUM NOVEMBER 2011 RIDE TO CHIAPAS ESTADO Y GUATEMALA PARA MOTO FIESTA Y MAS CAMINOS Y MAS AMIGOS!

FJR Forum: Let's ride to Chiapas and Guatemala in November of 2011!!

Phoenix to Guaymas, via Hermosillo: 8 hours and 425 miles.

Guaymas to Mazatlan, via Los Mochis: 11 hours and 490 miles.

Mazatlan to Puerto Vallarta, via Tepic: 6 hours and 285 miles.

Puerto Vallarta to La Mira, via Barra de Navidad: 8 hours and 365 miles.

La Mira to Acapulco, via Zihuatanejo: 5 hours and 225 miles.

Rest Day in Acapulco and have the significant others fly in to join us.

Acapulco to Puerto Escondido, via Cuajinicuilapa: 6 hours and 240 miles.

Puerto Escondido to Tuxtla Gutierrez, via Juchitan: 9 hours & 350 miles.

4 nights partying with our fine FJR friends in Chiapas and into Guatemala.

Tuxtla Gutierrez to Villahermosa, via Palenque: 9 hours and 250 miles.

Villahermosa to Veracruz, via Acayucan: 7 hours and 300 miles.

Rest Day in Veracruz and have companions fly home to Estados Unidos.

Veracruz to Tampico, via Tuxpan: 8 hours and 315 miles.

Tampico to Brownsville, Texas: 7 hours and 315 miles.

2 days: 18 hours and 1,250 miles from Brownsville back to Phoenix, AZ.

These times and miles came directly from the AAA Map and Guide Book.

FJR Forum: Start saving your vacation time and dinero for a 3-week and 7,000+ mile trip to tour Chiapas and Guatemala in 11/2011! Mas Fiestas, mas Caminos y mas Amigos!!!"

 

[meosborn]

OK you got me!!! I've read every word of all 75 pages and after evaluating all the pros and cons I have decided to go to the darkside, however, my riding comes in two flavors there are days that I want to go SPORTS/[SIZE=8pt]touring[/SIZE] and other days I prefer [SIZE=8pt]sports[/SIZE]/TOURING. In the first case several friends on sports bikes and I will go tear up the Cascade twisties from Washington through Oregon, in the later case several friends on cruzers and I will slab it to Anacortes, WA and ferry hop the islands and then return to southeast Washington.
Soooo…….I aquired a second rear wheel on eBay and will mount the Potenza 019 Grid on that and maintain my Michelin intact and mounted. It takes about 10 minutes to pull the axle and switch wheels. I have new bearings, spacer and brake rotor coming to asure the unit is complete for balancing.

I did the same thing and it works great. The only thing I'd suggest (since you didn't mention that you were going to) would be to get a second set of brake pads so you have a set for each wheel. Since the pads and rotor wear together you don't want to be using the same set of pads on two different rotors.

 

[Poorbob]

OK you got me!!! I've read every word of all 75 pages and after evaluating all the pros and cons I have decided to go to the darkside, however, my riding comes in two flavors there are days that I want to go SPORTS/[SIZE=8pt]touring[/SIZE] and other days I prefer [SIZE=8pt]sports[/SIZE]/TOURING. In the first case several friends on sports bikes and I will go tear up the Cascade twisties from Washington through Oregon, in the later case several friends on cruzers and I will slab it to Anacortes, WA and ferry hop the islands and then return to southeast Washington.
Soooo…….I aquired a second rear wheel on eBay and will mount the Potenza 019 Grid on that and maintain my Michelin intact and mounted. It takes about 10 minutes to pull the axle and switch wheels. I have new bearings, spacer and brake rotor coming to asure the unit is complete for balancing.

I did the same thing and it works great. The only thing I'd suggest (since you didn't mention that you were going to) would be to get a second set of brake pads so you have a set for each wheel. Since the pads and rotor wear together you don't want to be using the same set of pads on two different rotors.

Excellent point meosborn I had not considered a second set of brake pads but it makes good sense, I'll get those ordered......Thanks, Poorbob

 

[Fred W]

Don't forget to mark the pads "inboard" and "outboard" when you take them out. You'll want to return them to the same side if you are wanting to maximize pad and rotor mileage. Or if one side pad wears faster that the other (as they sometimes do) you can rotate the pads at intervals.

 

[mattster31]

I did the same thing and it works great. The only thing I'd suggest (since you didn't mention that you were going to) would be to get a second set of brake pads so you have a set for each wheel.

I guess it makes sense......but isn't that a bit much?? I don't think it makes that much of a difference, especially on the rear......but that's just me. If we "darksiders" are throwing CT's on just to save a few bucks why spend any more on brake pads?

 

[Fred W]

I did the same thing and it works great. The only thing I'd suggest (since you didn't mention that you were going to) would be to get a second set of brake pads so you have a set for each wheel.

I guess it makes sense......but isn't that a bit much?? I don't think it makes that much of a difference, especially on the rear......but that's just me. If we "darksiders" are throwing CT's on just to save a few bucks why spend any more on brake pads?

Ah, but you won't be spending any more, grasshopper. You'll be spending less in the long run, and getting better brakes for the duration.

Brake pads are wear items. They will wear out eventually and you will have to buy a second set anyway.

So, there is no added expense, assuming that you intend on keeping the bike long enough to go through a set of pads.

You'll just be buying your second set earlier.

OTOH, Putting a set of partly worn pads on a rotor which they are not wear-matched to will cause them to wear away much faster than normal (and give inferior braking power) until they are worn to match.

 

[RadioHowie]

OTOH, Putting a set of partly worn pads on a rotor which they are not wear-matched to will cause them to wear away much faster than normal (and give inferior braking power) until they are worn to match.

"inferior braking power"?

Fred, really? Inferior? On the rear? It's a hill-hold and parking lot maneuver device. It's not really a "brake" per-se.

 

[Fred W]

Inferior \In*fe"ri*or\, a. [L., compar. of inferus that is below, underneath, the lower; akin to E. under: cf. F. inf['e]rieur. See Under.]

1. Lower in place, rank, value, excellence, etc.

If you are only using your rear brake in hill holding maneuvers and parking lots, then you are not using the bike's full braking potential.

Yes, I understand that if you fully unweight the rear tire there is no additional braking power available there.

Hopefully, you are not always be in a panic stop mode.

I know post is in the "Darkside" abyss, but I meant for the the pad swapping explanation to apply to both axles, should you decide to swap front wheels too.

 

[Big-D]

If several additional members move on over to the Darkside, maybe the creation of a DS-FOG (Darksider FJR Owners Group) would be in order to establish a yearly gathering of Darksiders!!

 

[camdenlake]

With the flat spot from commuting these days i have been thinking of the darkside. At least i am putting some miles on finally. Just seem to mostly be well loaded and straight. Hmmmm...... Will keep on eye for best tire choice info.

Josh

 

[palerider]

Inferior \In*fe"ri*or\, a. [L., compar. of inferus that is below, underneath, the lower; akin to E. under: cf. F. inf['e]rieur. See Under.]
1. Lower in place, rank, value, excellence, etc.

If you are only using your rear brake in hill holding maneuvers and parking lots, then you are not using the bike's full braking potential.

Yes, I understand that if you fully unweight the rear tire there is no additional braking power available there.

Hopefully, you are not always be in a panic stop mode.

I know post is in the "Darkside" abyss, but I meant for the the pad swapping explanation to apply to both axles, should you decide to swap front wheels too.

As usual, Fred is correct and RH is wrong.

 

[wfooshee]

As usual, Fred is correct and RH is wrong.

So?

 

[RadioHowie]

What am I wrong about this time?

 

[beemerdons]

As usual, Fred is correct and RH is wrong.

So?

Really palerider, Walt is right; tell us something we don't already know!

 

[RadioHowie]

Alright guys, we're screwing up Eric's thread again....me included....let's get back on topic -- if possible.

 

[Fred W]

The brake pad swapping discussion is on point, and pretty worthwhile idea IMO.

The discussion about me being right all the time (and you wrong) although valid might be wandering fftopic: , but hey, this thread at 76 freaking pages of spine tingling posts, is already longer than War and Peace. Can't really expect anyone to wade through it all and digest it in its entirety anyway.

Someone with a keen interest in maintaining the topic for posterity ought to copy / paste the pertinent stuff into a pdf document and host it somewhere.

Not sure who that would be

 

[juniorfjr]

Just couldn't let this thread die. Where is Eric (ocfjr), I've got the tire on and want my darksider number.

 

[user 213]

Just couldn't let this thread die. Where is Eric (ocfjr), I've got the tire on and want my darksider number.

Just got home from doing the MERA 10 n' 10 ten day endurance rally. 800 miles to the rally start, corrected mileage of 11,008 miles during the rally, 800 miles home. The rear tire is fine. The front PR2 is actually not too bad either. It was looking pretty hashed this morning after a few thousand miles of cross winds in NE and WY, but the relatively non-windy ride home wore down the center ridge and evened things out.

FWIW, I tried to do a four corner ride during the rally, including the mandatory mid point checkpoint at 5 days. On the last day I realized I wasn't going to make it to the 4th corner and back to SLC from Michigan, so plotted a route strait back to SLC, then couldn't help myself and picked up 3 boni on the way, thus ensuring that I didn't have enough time to make it back to the finish on time. Whatta *******! :crazy:

juniorfjr - You are officially Darksider #32

 

[Big-D]

I'm kinda stoopid.

Bust! That you???

ANOTHER FJR REAR CAR TIRE BENEFIT! What is causing me to really consider a Car Tire on my FJR is how the long life mileages will eliminate finding a replacement rear tire while I am traveling down deep into Mexico. In November of 2011 I am riding with Los Hermanos Rodriquez to Guatemala; you folks know them as Patch308 and HotRodZilla here on our FJR Forum. With my big fat old Irish ass on my 2003 FJR "Miss Lucy Liu", a rear Michelin Pilot Road 2 would not make it to Guatemala City and back. My game plan was to ship a new rear tire to mi Amigo Ruben Tenorio, President of the Mexico BMW Moto Clubs. Ruben resides in Oaxaca Ciudad in Oaxaca Estado. I then would have to go to una La Llanterria in Mexico to get it mounted and perhaps balanced. Running a car tire on the rear of an FJR completely removes the necessity of a rear tire change en route. Poor road conditions South of the Border really eat up motorcycle tires muy rapido!!!

I missed this response from BeemerDon before stating he may install a CT for his trip way south. I totally agree with his reasoning. Car tires being made to support so much more weight, far exceeds the dependability of a lighter and thinner motorcycle tire. The biggest enemy of a tire is heat, and under inflation causing more tires to fail than anything. Mounting a car tire on a bike may effect your cornering ability a little, but like so many others, I spend most of my riding going in a straight line. That car tire will never experience over heating with as little weight that is being placed on it mounted on a bike. Car tires will withstand punctures much better also.

If a puncture should occur, if a typical nail or something like that, repairing will be much simpler also. However, a flat caused by a valve stem failure or something that would require removal would be a bitch, especially if shops refused to repair and remount the tire. I had a problem finding a shop to mount my CT. I admire those of you that mount the CT yourself, but at $20-$30, putting that tire on is a bitch. Harley shops seem to be unconcerned about liability issues. The shop that mounted mine said "I don't give a **** what you want mounted on your bike, you can put a car tire on the front if you want"!

 

[user 213]

If a puncture should occur, if a typical nail or something like that, repairing will be much simpler also. However, a flat caused by a valve stem failure or something that would require removal would be a bitch, especially if shops refused to repair and remount the tire.

An interesting point of view. One of the reasons I run aluminum valve stems is peace of mind. I also carry some cores and a tool in my flat repair kit. And in this particular case, I don't think Don would have issues in Mexico or farther South with liability issues. :lol: