Tire Replacement

[kiamichiman]

I've logged just over 9500 miles since I purchased my 98 standard last April.  I recently lost my Dad and his sickness is part of the reason for all the miles.  Weekend trips from Yukon to Durant add miles really fast. 

Hopefully I will be able to catch up with some of you for your rides if the future since I have more time available now.

Coming back from Mom's today I had my second flat.  First repaired on the side of the highway about 9,000 miles ago, today I didn't notice the air loss until I was home.  I now have 2 plugs in the rear tire.  The first was a mushroom plug and the second a regular rope type plug, I couldn't get the plug gun to work today.

I know some do not like to run with plugs in tires but I can't afford to buy a new tire everytime I get something in the tire, especially an almost new tire.  What are your thoughts on running with plugs in cycle tires?

I do not know how many miles are on the tires now but I understand that 10,000 miles is about average for a motorcycle tire.  When I purchased the Valk it had 9004 miles and the guy told me that the back tire was fairly new.  They are both Avon Venom R tires.

I'm asking for your advice on whether to replace the tire or keep on riding.  There is still 3/32" rubber left in the center of the back tire and a little more for the front.

If they need replaced I think I will stay with the Avon Venom R tires unless you advise otherwise.  Also would appreciate advise on a local cycle tire dealer in the OKC area.  I don't have a motorcycle lift so I will need a full service shop.

Thank You in advance.

[Scott]

The Motorcycle Tire Store
2301 S Agnew   OKC, 73108
corner of SW 22nd & Agnew in old cow town
405-570-6574

The guy is a one man shop, and a bit of a pain in the rear but he's the cheapest place around to get a tire change without doing it yourself.  He only deals in Avon tires. (You might have to get an Avon Cobra which is the replacement for the Venom R, but i'd be willing to bet he still has some Venom's in stock.)  He used to mount tires for less than $10 plus the cost of the tire....but I haven't done business with him in a few years.  I do my own now.

I wouldn't be afraid of mushroom plugs in a rear tire as long as its a nice round hole, and the plug holds well.  I know guys that use string plugs but I don't care for them myself with the exception of whatever helps you get home in a pinch.

-Scott

[Jim_Orr]

I have used the guy on Agnew and he did me alright too.  I have a mushroom plug in my car tire now, I had to put it in early this year.  I would keep a eye on the rope plug and tire pressure and if it doesn't cause any problem for a month or so you should be alright.  As for having two plugs in the same tire, as long as they are not very close together  it shouldn't be a problem.  If it was a front tire I would probably take the tire off and put a patch on the inside. 

[kiamichiman]

I learned a valuable lesson today coming home from work, the weather was just to nice not to ride.  The string type plug I put in the rear tire weekend before last came out just west of Newcastle.  I put another string type plug in the tire on the side of the highway and it came out just south of the Canadian River bridge between Tuttle and Mustang, my mushroom tire plug gun bit the dust.  That is when I called a friend to bring the trailer.  I am DONE with string type plugs, except just to get me home or to a cycle tire shop which is what I was attempting today.  Both of the string plugs seemed to just blow out of the tire.  The mushroom type plugs for me is the only way to go, I've had one in the rear tire for about 9500 miles and it still does not leak air.

I bought  a motorcycle jack on ebay and it is scheduled for delivery tomorrow.  So hopefully I can remove the back tire tomorrow night and get it to The Motorcycle Tire Store wednesday if it is not very difficult.  I'm sure I can get the tire/wheel off but not sure about getting it back together properly.

Is the removal of the back tire something a newbie can accomplish?  I have a Clymer manual and it appears realitively simple but I have had to take parts to a dealer, in a basket in the past.  I am somewhat mechanical minded.  Any tricks of the trade I should be aware of before I attempt the task?

Thanks
Myles

[Scott]

Several tips.

Don't remove the exhaust.  Its not necessary even though the manual tells you it is.

If you remove the shocks, then lower the bike(raising the wheel with shocks removed), you can then remove the axel ABOVE the exhaust.  Then raise the bike back up to remove the wheel.

You'll need some Moly Paste on re-assembly to lube the splines.  If you don't, you'll pay dearly for it when you're splines are shot.

Lubing the splines is VERY important.  I cannot stress that enough.  Removing the rear wheel is not a terribly complicated process but it does take a few times to figure out what has to happen, and in what order.

-Scott

[sumoslam62]

Myles,

I did it.  You can for sure.
I had problems the 1st time going back together.   It's not really that tough.  As I recall I had a bit of trouble getting things to line up the 1st time and it took me holding my mouth right to get it to line up.  This is definately something you can do though.

As Scott said...make SURE to use the Moly Paste on the splines.  I bought mine from a HD dealership that told me they had gone through it all and it was good to go.  They even put new tires on....but they did NOT lube the splines.  Good thing I just HAD to pull the wheel off for polishing when I got her home.  Was dry and dusty in there.  No visible wear in there though.  This will be a regular part  of my winter service routine from now on.


SuMo

[kiamichiman]

Thank you Scott and Sumoslam62 for your direction.  My cylce lift was delivered today and the adapter is scheduled for delivery tomorrow.  I considered taking the exhaust off tonight but decided to tackle the project tomorrow night rather than a piece at a time..

I plan on tackling the tire/wheel removal tomorrow night and taking to The Motorcycle Tire Store on Thursday.  I talked with the guy there and he said  I would have to go with the Avon Cobra since the Venom R had been discontinued.  Just as stated by Scott.  I'm considering changing both tires to keep them the same type/style.  What are your thoughts?  I know its recommended with 4 wheel vehicles.

I can't possibly thank you enough for all the valuable knowledge I have gained on this website.  You guys are all great in my book and I sincerely hope to have the opportunity to meet you someday, preferable on one of your outings. 

One of my best friends has a VTX 1300, and I was wondering if he could be invited to ride with the SOONER STATE VALKYRIE RIDERS?

Once again I can't thank you enough.
Myles

[Russell]

Lubing the splines on the back wheel is a must if you already have it off.
On my last two Valkyries I have noticed that the drive shaft going into the U-joint only has a dab of lube from the factory so I would go ahead and take the final drive off, remove the drive shaft and lube it up also.
I would also check the "O" rings on the back wheel to make sure they are ok.
If you remove the back wheel the way Scott is saying, you might as well go ahead and double check the rubber mounts on the top of your shocks. They get old and break down.
Make sure the Thrust washer looks ok and there is no huge sign of wear on it, if there is go ahead and replace it.
Last but not least, check your wheel bearings while you have the wheel right there in your lap, there are a few of us that have had the bearing fail on us and thats not a good thing.
I am sure there are a few things I have not mentioned.

[Gryphon]

As I recall, isn't it also important to loosen the four nuts that hold the pumpkin solid and then retighten them after you have put the axle back in.  Someting about alignment?

[LadyDraco]

Why it is important to look at the pumpkin and cup,driveshafts...
Helped Don work on one of his bikes... This was a new one that he picked up.. So we only knew a little history about it..
The fellas dealer did all the work on it.. Well so much for that..
  Just about all the other stuff was replaced before he acquired it but a few things ..Like the u-joint and rear wheel bearings... So the other day that's what we did...
  Well when we took the rear wheel off and all the red dust came out !!! That's when he wanted to pull the whole rear end off...  Well when we took the drive shaft out look at what we found !! 
 
Now this bike has 97 k on it ... But hey we have a lot of bikes with that much mileage on them...And they NEVER looked like this !!
  This is from his  R/B  also with 97+k..
 
Now that's a big difference !!!
  Then we looked at the drive shafts !!!
OH MY !!! This isn't good !!
 
LOL... Now we can see what all that red dust is !!! pssss. we really did know what it was..
 
  Heck even the seal is bad looking... And it's missing the little ring thingy !!! And half of the back !!

  Now the odd thing is the wheel splines are fine on this messed up cup pumpkin... But the splines are toast on the good cup ..
Due to our trip last year~long story again it was a dealer screw up.....
So yes all we did was change out cups... and the good drive shaft... And of course while we had it all down changed that U-joint that we needed to replace... That BTW wasn't that bad.. 2 seals where just starting to be oozy..... Some slop not that much... But with 97k might as well replace... And did replace both bearings ... Getting better at that too now...
    He test drove it and he said some of the slop feeling and vibration was gone...

Yes Gryphon the 4 bolts are an important part of alignment..

Tracy

[Blackjack]

Gryphon...You're getting plenty of very valuable advice and it's all free. The SSVR/VRCC is great isn't it?

I can personally attest to the importance of checking your driveshaft splines. Mine went out recently while I was on the road. The mechanic who replaced it said the manual specified three ounces of the appropriate grease be applied when it was replaced. But I've never seen anything about regular maintenance on this part. Maybe I just missed it or Honda dropped the ball or maybe driveshafts just wear out. Still beats the hell out of a chain drive.

[LadyDraco]

Very true BlackJack....
 But in the two drive shafts shown above... They both had 97k on them ... Just one was taken care of during it's use...
Now for the story from last year........
The splines on Don's R/B The dealer in WA.state ,didn't lube the splines as Don had ask him to...
They wouldn't let us in the back... The kid that worked on the flat rear tire NEVE saw a Valk before..We knew we could be in trouble at that point..   Plus it took him 5 hours to change a tire !!!!!! And a small $$$$ to boot.....
The slice in the tire was a bad one and the stop n go plugs kept leaking...
 They left the thrush washer out !!! Didn't loosen the 4 bolts..And my oh my.. After 9+k The rim is toast and the splines also toast ... But the Cup was fine .. Thank goodness we had a rear end w/shaft given to us by a dear friend in Ga.Who triked his valk after 2,500miles so we put that rear in his R/B...  Took the cup from his toasted rear and put it in his Blk I/S...

[Scott]

Baby steps folks, baby steps.  You're gonna freak Myles out with all this doom and gloom. Please remember he's attempting to remove the wheel for the first time......so easy on the doom and gloom!

Yes, the driveshaft should be inspected often. I pull it each time I remove the rear wheel, and use Moly Grease to lubricate it.

None of the dealerships do it.  And I don't suppose its mentioned that often but I'd say its as common a failure as the drive splines or even more so because they rarely get checked.  The good news is John's lasted a LONG time before failure!  It made it to Alaska twice!

Guess we should have been more informative John!

-Scott

[LadyDraco]

  Don't want to spook anyone...Ya hear that Myles.... NO Gloom & Doom !!! Here....
   Some of us have ladies that have many many miles on them...
There things that they need to keep them that way...
The Valkyrie is one of the best bikes Honda ever made...
Bike of the Decade !!!
Bike of the Year 3 times !!!

They are better then the Energizer Bunny..
Our youngest valk bike in our stable of 6 has 73+K and the oldest has 125+K
With all numbers in between...

And as Scott said baby steps.. Starting with a rear wheel removal is a great start...
Enjoy your Moto !!!

Now Don has been using a Marine Moly paste.. Doesn't wash out as fast in rain riding...
He really seems to like it..

[Russell]

Myles, dont you worry none! There are plenty of people here on this board and some even live close to you. If you have problems, we have answers.....lol
It sounds like someone needs to attend our next wrench party. It is a great way to meet new folks and work on bikes but most important, we get to tell lies!
I know all the info you have recived might seem like alot but it is all important.
If you have a service manual you should be able to perform all the maintance that is required and then some.
Here is another "TIP" for you make sure you use anti seize on bolts and nuts and thread lock where required.
You can also check the VRCC home page for valuable information about bike maintance.
I know most people enjoy riding there bikes more than working on them but I also enjoy working on my bike.
Good luck and remember the only stupid question is the one you dont ask.