The V-Strom gets new shoes!

Flush with my "almost" successes with modifying my tire changing tools, I started the day off by tackling the new tires for the V-Strom. This is the second time I have tried to do this. The first ended ingloriously with me handing my rims off to a shop for them to finish the job I started. This time I was determined to do it all myself.

Warm tires are soft tires as any racer will tell you. I set the new rubber out in the sun to warm up so the whole process will go easier. I got that tip from a Motorcyclist Magazine video on YouTube. Thanks Ari Henning!

After an hour of work that included repositioning the bike and rearranging my shop so that I had free space to do the work I had the rear tire off the rim. I did this the day before to get a jump on the day's work. I won't bore you with a play-by-play, but needless to say Ari made it look a little bit easier than it actually was. Once the old rubber was off I cleaned up the rim as well as all of the nuts, bolts, spacers and hardware that are part of the rear axle and brake assembly. I also installed a new angled metal valve stem. This is the shot I took just before I worked the new tire on the rim. Again, easier said than done, but with some patience, sweat and a few naughty words it all came together. I used my compressor to set the bead and cleaned off all of the leftover soapy water I used to lubricate the bead.

What you see here is the chalk mark I used to mark the lightest spot on the tire and wheel assembly once I threw it up on my new balance stand. The balance stand worked perfectly. I was able to get consistent indications of the heavy point with numerous repeatable tries. I ended up using 21 grams or 3/4 oz of wheel weights to get it all balanced.

 Here is the completed rear end. I had a "bit" of trouble getting all of the hardware lined up and in place while I was single handedly lifting the rear wheel in place. All the while I was chasing dropped spacers and fighting the rear brake bracket, but again after a few choice words I learned from being in the Navy it all went home. I adjusted the chain and maneuvered the bike around to get to the front wheel.

Here is where I stand at the moment. After 4 hours of work I had one complete tire change done and the other one well on its way. That doesn't sound great when compared to a shop doing the work, but when you take into account that to do a tire change in a shop without taking off the wheels first you basically get charged through the nose. If I do the work of taking the wheels off myself, I'm doing most of the work this same already. I imagine that I'll have another hour and a half to get the front wheel done and then I get to ride! I need to scrub in the tires with a few heat cycles and warm up the chain so I can check it again. While I'm at it I think I'll give the old girl a wash too. I'm looking good to go out and get a ride in with some buddies this weekend.

More projects are on the way so come back soon and check it out!

Blue