Subtopic	Posts		Last Post
	Archive through July 18, 2003	20		07/25 02:34am
	Archive through July 30, 2003	20		07/31 02:21am

By Amain on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 05:59 am:

Honda sells some rim protectors (made for mounting tires by hand) that are about 4" long and have a hole in them to tie a tether to them so you don't end up with it inside your tire after you air it up. (Don't ask!) Will those work with the tools and methods you're using? 

By Falconer on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 10:10 am:

Fjrtexas, Thanks for the suggestions on cutting the strips wide. I also thought about using pieces of inner tubes on the 3 rim hooks/clamps.

Another question: When I opened the box on the adapter I noticed the 3 hooks that are supposed to hold the rim are all facing outward as thought they're expected to bite into the inside of the rim. But if you check the pictures on the Wikco web site (http://www.wikco.com/MC110a.html) the hooks face inward so that they grab the rim from the outside, which seems the correct way to do it mechanically. It looks like the 3 rim holders should be turned around ro work properly. Have you tried this? Does this make sense?

Another thought on covering the long bar might be to locate some adhesive-backed teflon pads, or at least something similar. Not sure where to find that kind of material though. 

By Twistyroad on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 06:04 pm:

It sounds like the Harbor Freight tire changer is even more similar to the Wikco rig than I thought. The Wikco also holds the rim via 3 metal "hooks." I simply lined them with plastic electrical tape to protect the rim... works fine. And yes, mine arrived with the hooks facing outward, and I turned them around.
My standard car-wheel bar is probably similar to the Harbor Freight piece. The Teflon-lined bar is an additional piece that came with the motorcycle-wheel package. It has a completely different shape on the business end... round profile, with a bulging tip. I'd post a pic, but it'll be several days before I return home (I'm in Ft. Irwin, CA, 22 Jul - 7 Aug).
Rock 

By Jhee on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 10:31 pm:

hey everyone , go here and look at the pretty pictures,,http://www.pbase.com/fredharmon/tirechange.....this guy did a bang up job......your welcome 

By Fjrtexas on Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 02:21 am:

Of course. And don't pull in behind him when he's on that wingding. Fred Harmaon or his riding buddy, Vern, may get in the mood to despense a lesson and you'll need all the FJR you can find. One of those guys where the experience shows. Fun to ride with and he treats his motorcycles similar to the F-16's he is a project engineer on. A motorcyclist's motorcyclist. There's a good chance some of the guys going to Heber Springs might meet Fred if he makes the COG ride that same weekend in H.S. He is usually there.

@ Rock and Falconer.. There must be some reason they face the rim hooks out, I guess. I just turned them around and shrugged my shoulders. What is up with that? I like the tape idea and have some thicker insulating tape used for heavy gage wire splices laying around somewhere.

I'll be changing the new tires out in September for newer track day school tires. Right now it's looking like Avons unless I here from Ken at Cee Baileys/Tomahawk Tires. If they get production going he said he would send me a set to try out. I think they are gonna do the first few in blue for FJR's but I think it would be fun to run a set in red.

And the balancer worked okay, too. Mounted 4 very cheap bearings on a 2x4 stand with shoulder bolts. The bearings are spaced to provide a v-groove for the axle to ride in. Not real free wheeling but I can find the heavy spot. The bearings are much better than just the axle and wheel. The axle didn't turn in the wheel at all. My rim's heavy spot is actually only 30 odd degrees from being directly opposite of the valve stem. That kind of surprised me. I retrieved 5 quarter oz. weights from the last install and only used 2 of them to balance the tire. Finding the heavy spot on your rims? Now, there's a little item that most shops don't bother with.

Wayne in Texas 

By Boggs on Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 05:22 pm:

That teflon coating sure sounds like a good idea Rock. I called Wikco and they don't sell those pry bars separately, or at least what the sales person said. Hmmm... I wonder what's involved in the teflon coating process? Is that something that we could have done somewhere? I'll try and do a little investigating. BTW, my search for other suppliers of teflon coating levers was also unsuccessful.

In any case, I sure am finding out a lot from y'all, thanks.

Hey Jhee - thanks for the tip on Fred's website.  

By Twistyroad on Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 07:18 pm:

The "Teflon coating" on my M/C bar isn't a coating at all, but Teflon parts of the bar tips. They look like lathe-turned pieces secured onto the round bar. I doubt they're actually formed on a lathe, but the point is that they more closely resemble blocks of plastic than coats of paint.
As I said, I can't provide pics because I'm not home. If you're still curious when I get back, I'll post photos then.
Rock 

By Barmy on Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 08:25 pm:

All of you who are changing your own tyres out there will nave found the need for lots of lubrication to let the rubber slide over the rim. Please be aware that there is an undisclosed ingredient in what we call 'washing up liquid ' in the U.K.- this is salt, in large amounts. This will be a real corrosion enhancer for aluminium alloy. I use 'Swarfega', a green gloppy hand cleaner. Does anyone have a better idea? 

By Dickmcway on Friday, August 01, 2003 - 01:30 am:

In the US, get some RuGlyde. Specifically for tire mounting. Got a gallon jug at Pep Boys.

Dick 

By Boggs on Friday, August 01, 2003 - 03:11 am:

Ah well, it was a thought anyway. You'll have to show the pry bar when I make it your way Rock, what are we looking at, about 50 days?

Dick, I'll keep my eyes open for the stuff. Keep the tips coming guys. 

By Boggs on Saturday, August 02, 2003 - 01:11 pm:

Outstanding service Southwest Moto Tires!!! These guys did right by me and have my enthusiastic support. I placed an order with them on Thursday morning and had the tires in my hot little hands on Friday afternoon (I live in Arkansas). Not only that, but since I bought two tires (BT-020 Rear non-N - $112.95 each) I didn’t have to pay shipping! Man, now that’s service! This is especially great since Discount Motorcycle tire had been giving me the runaround for over two weeks after having placed the order (and been invoiced) and, they still said it would be at least another week before they could even ship one. That might have not been so terrible except that when I first placed the call, I was assured that they (Discount Motorcycle tire) had one in stock and that I would have one in 5 to 10 business days. Discount was a couple bucks cheaper ($106.00) but would have charged me $10.69 a tire to ship.

Way to go Southwest Moto Tires! You guys know how to treat a customer. As for Discount Motorcycle Tires, I hope they don't expect to see any more of my business. 

By Petey on Sunday, August 03, 2003 - 02:44 am:

Boogs, I agree with you, great people to do business with. I have bought my tires from "Southwest Moto Tires" for four years now.
Ride save on those new tires. 

By Twistyroad on Sunday, August 31, 2003 - 05:40 pm:

(delete) 

By Twistyroad on Sunday, August 31, 2003 - 05:42 pm:

I finally got around to taking pictures of the Teflon tire tools. I added pics of the standard tools for comparison.
Don't be thrown off by the blue paint... the tools were painted after the Teflon pieces were assembled. The areas showing white are where my use of the tool has rubbed the paint off, exposing the Teflon.
Rock