My first tire change

[paul1149]

I was happy with the stock Bridgestones, but the rear wore out at 8500 miles. So I ordered up a new Battlax BT021 from motorcycle superstore. The tracking page said it would come on the 9th, so imagine my surprise when it showed up today.

I think there's a learning curve for changing tires. But I said a prayer and lit into it. The wheel came off fine. The bead broke with no problem. Getting the tire off the rim was another story.

The 8" tire irons were a mistake; 12" would be much better. And now that my rim paint is pretty chewed up, protectors will be mandatory next time.

The hardest of all was getting the second side of the new tire on the rim. It literally took all my strength. On youtube, guys almost push the tire on with their bare hands, it seems.

I made the mistake of not lining up the weight dot with the valve when I mounted the tire. I would spin it in place afterward, I thought. Nope; ain't gonna happen. When I realized that I forewent even balancing the tire, figuring the whole thing was a crap shoot at that point anyway. And the stock installation didn't have any wheel weight either. So I put the thing together and back on.

In doing so the sprocket just fell off. It was then I realized I didn't have to fight the sprocket all that time. Next time it comes off by design.

Anyway, the tire is on and I scraped it in this evening. Everything seems fine. I don't think it needs weights. I'll probably give it a good run tomorrow and make a final determination.

There's some water in the tire from my soap solution, so I'll change the air tomorrow to help dry it. And I'll touch up the paint on the rims. I guess I'm in the market fon a 32mm socket, since one can't torque the axle nut using the factory road kit wrench.

All in all, I'm glad I took this job on. I learned something and I saved $70 in the process.

I'm not a very aggressive rider, but I like the Battlax. It's a dual-compound tire, meaning the underbase and center is hard rubber for long wear and the shoulders are softer for more traction in the turns. A very smart way to go.

Peace,
Paul

 

[hedmisten]

That is certianly a smart move by getting a dual compound since most of us use our bikes for touring with the occasional weekend twisties.

 

[Hollow]

I was happy with the stock Bridgestones, but the rear wore out at 8500 miles. So I ordered up a new Battlax BT021 from motorcycle superstore. The tracking page said it would come on the 9th, so imagine my surprise when it showed up today.

I think there's a learning curve for changing tires. But I said a prayer and lit into it. The wheel came off fine. The bead broke with no problem. Getting the tire off the rim was another story.

The 8\" tire irons were a mistake; 12\" would be much better. And now that my rim paint is pretty chewed up, protectors will be mandatory next time.

The hardest of all was getting the second side of the new tire on the rim. It literally took all my strength. On youtube, guys almost push the tire on with their bare hands, it seems.

I made the mistake of not lining up the weight dot with the valve when I mounted the tire. I would spin it in place afterward, I thought. Nope; ain't gonna happen. When I realized that I forewent even balancing the tire, figuring the whole thing was a crap shoot at that point anyway. And the stock installation didn't have any wheel weight either. So I put the thing together and back on.

In doing so the sprocket just fell off. It was then I realized I didn't have to fight the sprocket all that time. Next time it comes off by design.

Anyway, the tire is on and I scraped it in this evening. Everything seems fine. I don't think it needs weights. I'll probably give it a good run tomorrow and make a final determination.

There's some water in the tire from my soap solution, so I'll change the air tomorrow to help dry it. And I'll touch up the paint on the rims. I guess I'm in the market fon a 32mm socket, since one can't torque the axle nut using the factory road kit wrench.

All in all, I'm glad I took this job on. I learned something and I saved $70 in the process.

I'm not a very aggressive rider, but I like the Battlax. It's a dual-compound tire, meaning the underbase and center is hard rubber for long wear and the shoulders are softer for more traction in the turns. A very smart way to go.

Peace,
Paul

Do you mind if i ask what did you pay for the tire? Thanks O and one other thing. Is it common for the tire to run out just into 8000 miles? Or were you doing burnouts or something? Sorry new to the bike things.

 

[paul1149]

I paid $130 for the tire, and delivery was free. From what I've read, the fz6 comes with either Bridgestone or Dunlop rubber, and the Dunlop does a lot worse at tread wear. 8500 miles is average or a bit better for the Bridgestone rear (the rear will go first). I do a mix of riding - suburban secondaries, parkway, highway, local shopping.

I think the new tire is going to do very well for wear. For one thing, the tread design is quite different. The grooves do not cross the center of the tire like the old ones did. Therefore, though I haven't really looked closely yet, I don't think there are any wear indicators. If that center rubber is anything harder than the old tire, and I hope it is, it should take a lot of use before the tire shows need for replacement.

We shall see. The old tire got so squared off it felt like I was riding the Batcycle. That made turns interesting...

p.

 

[Tailgate]

Thanks for the recap! Maybe I'll go the DIY route with the new tire(s) after reading. 12" tire irons, huh? But, what if you decide to get tire(s) balanced? Then you have to take into a shop after all?

 

[paul1149]

Not really. I don't know where I picked it up, but in mounting the tire you align its light spot to the heavy part of the rim, usually at the valve opening (take note of where the old tire's light spot is). Once the tire is on you set the wheel upright level on a pipe across two uprights and spin it and let it find its bottom. Tape on a small weight, try again, until the ending position is random. Then glue the weights on. They say that resting the pipe on bearings is far more sensitive, and you can buy stands for that, but that the plain jane way is usually good enough.

I feel guilty now for not doing the balancing, but I was emotionally spent yesterday. I'll probably take it off and do it today. I need to adjust the alignment anyway and torque the nut. Make no mistake, this job was a bear - worked my butt off, thought I was going to rip the tire, thought I had bent the brake rotor. Would I do it again? Definitely. I'm a bit of a bear myself at times. I don't like giving up and I like to learn. Would be a lot easier with at least three irons, too, and someone alongside with a bit of experience. Do a youtube search on change motorcycle tire. There's a "minimalist" guy there who makes breaking the bead a total cinch.