Oof

[Bounce]

X got a flat on his rear tire and called Fri for a rescue. Went over

with the tire kit I keep in the bike and got him back on the road but

the tire still had a slow leak. We talked about plugs and replacements

and such and he decided to replace the rear. I also showed him what

could be used for a flat kit that could fit under the rear cowl of his

bike; something I don't think he'd considered before.

The Triumph came with Pirelli Diablos on it. He had about 4k miles on

them but no one in town had a replacement in stock. Cycle Gear had a

bigger selection but only mounts tires if you bring in the rims/tires

off the bike. Two Wheel World would do the tire swap on the bike but

only had a few Dungflops, some Cheng-Shins, and a few Metzlers. On top

of that buying the tires at CG and taking them to TWW would have TWW

charging us a premium for mounting and balancing a tire that wasn't

bought from them ($65 a tire).

After talking tires, X decided to go with Cycle Gear and get front

and rear stands so we could do the tire removals ourselves. I've been

recommending he get at least a rear stand to simplify chain maint, etc.

He got the Michelin Pilot Powers ( https://tinyurl.com/gcewf &

https://tinyurl.com/otj3e ) front and rear. Yesterday he got a Pit Bull rear

stand ( https://tinyurl.com/qbtsr ) and we did the rear swap along with

some cleaning and general housekeeping "while we were there". We

called it a day when it got hotter and we were going to have to rush the

job on the front to get it back to the shop before they closed.

It's the first time I've worked with bike stands and it was

"interesting". Didn't know until today that you can't use the one stand

for front and rear because of the differences in widths (the rear adjusted

but not enough). Also had an incident where were were trying to use the

rear stand on the front and the bike came off the stand. X was top side

steadying the bike while I was pulling the axle. He dead lifted the front of

the bike while I got something to rest the forks on (and keep the plastic

off the ground). Good thing it wasn't a bigger bike or we'd have had

domino bikes as his fell toward mine before he pulled off the save.

He headed to the shop for the front tire M&B and also picked up a

Motoboss ( https://tinyurl.com/pdtqs ) front stand. He's not real happy

with the total cost (considering we did most of the work ourselves) but

we both agreed that the investment (stands) will pay off in the long run

(I told him he now has his collection of "garage bling" started). Along

the way we did a lot of "while we're there" projects that a shop

wouldn't have done, so we really did more than the $65 per tire would

have gotten us. If you figure tire changes at $20 each for bringing in

the rims, he'll amortize the stands in 3 changes (not counting the benefit

of the stands when used for other projects). Any time it's not 100 degrees

out and I can arrange to get across town where I share a HF tire

changer with a friend we'll save even more.

We worked out of the big red tool chest ( https://tinyurl.com/hqdkd &

https://tinyurl.com/kxbqw ) and anything that wasn't there got "organized"

as we finished using it.

Hot sweaty work, but we both learned a lot and walked away from it

knowing that the job was done right and with improved "kits".

 

[madmike2]

Yeah, but he's learning alot and it IS quality time. I'll bet he'll appreciate what he's learned, too. Puls, oh dang, you get to see your daughter another day.

 

[rangerray]

I've been changing my own tires for almost as long as I have owned the FJR. My wife would really be riding my ass if I paid the additional $50 to the shop every time that I need a new one mounted. She already complains about the quarterly fee for a new rear. I still need to get a good balancer bought or designed; I'm not too confident in my methods. What I'm doing is adequate, but I'd like to have the store-bought set-up to do the balancing.

 

[Groo]

I still need to get a good balancer bought or designed...

I've never used one, but have heard good things about the Marc Parnes balancer.... for do-it-yourselfers...

 

[MotorSWATCop]

I've been changing my own tires for almost as long as I have owned the FJR. My wife would really be riding my ass if I paid the additional $50 to the shop every time that I need a new one mounted. She already complains about the quarterly fee for a new rear. I still need to get a good balancer bought or designed; I'm not too confident in my methods. What I'm doing is adequate, but I'd like to have the store-bought set-up to do the balancing.

This brings up a question I have. Whet tire changer do you use. I'm condidering the Harbor Freight manual changer w/ motorcycle attachment. Input?

 

[Bounce]

This brings up a question I have. What tire changer do you use. I'm considering the Harbor Freight manual changer w/ motorcycle attachment. Input?

That's what a guy and I share. He has it bolted to the floor of his garage. I go over and use it when it's not 100° outside.

 

[Rogue]

So did you get the front done today?