tktplz

1 hour ago, texscottyd said:

Does anyone else remember the XV920R of the early 80s?

Yes I do. I was thinking that was the way BMW was going to do it.

On 8/28/2020 at 9:58 PM, piotrek said:

Doesn't have BMW stamped all over it... there is hope Regina might make it available to the commoners at some point.

That's what I was wondering. Will I have to buy the complete BMW to get the chain for my bike?

The 1 thing I notice after yesterday is do you have a center rod to go through the center of the tire sticking straight up. It made a lot of difference to have the center bar to use as leverage with your hip to pry the mount/dismount bar around the tire.  Looks like a sturdy setup. The NoMar I used yesterday didn't budge a bit. 👍

14 minutes ago, Lone Wolf said:

If you are mounting tires at night, they need to be heated up a bit to be pliable.

Ari Henning has a hilarious way to do that in this video, he gets a hair dryer and has it running inside the new tire before installing.

 

The rear RS2 I put on yesterday sat in the 97-103 degree sun for over an hour.....I'd hate to mount that tire in January, LOL!

18 minutes ago, draco_1967 said:

the rear was quite stiff

Yeah 1 of my buddies said his rear RS2 was stiff, mine was. He said the RS3 he had put on just before this RS2 was much easier. The RS2 are hard to pass up at $161 dollars for front and rear to your door. That's regular price at Rocky Mountain.  draco_1967 what machine or knees and spoons did you use to mount yours?

10 minutes ago, piotrek said:

Did you do the work on the changer start to finish?

Yes I did. I can see how it will get easier and faster each time too.

OK, used a NoMar Classic HD unit today. Found out the Dunlop Roadsmart II sidewalls are stupid stiff. Yes it was very tight to break the bead and get it to scrunch enough to get it in  the valley of the rim.  A friend uses the harbor freight changer with the yellow thing, nomar lube and nomar mount/dismount bar. He also said the Roadsmart IIs are stupid stiff and the Roadsmart IIIs are much easier. I think I'll get the machine from NoMar and probably switch to Q3+ at $173 rears or those Bridgestone S22s at $122 rears that betoney talks about rate pretty high too.  The NoMar machine is sturdy and using your hip instead of muscle does work. there are tips that work and you can get other tips watching YouTube too. There are many choices out there. How much you want to spend is up to you. My shop broke the camels back at $55.00 a tire to mount and balance. He explained it well, it's a half hour of shop time to change a tire, $110.00 and hour and $55.00 a half hour. It just doesn't compute in my brain to cost that much. 

On 8/26/2020 at 8:14 PM, texscottyd said:

Motorcycles are inherently irrational devices.  Listen to that voice...   

Angel on 1 shoulder......the Devil on the other. Who will you listen to?????

7 hours ago, 2and3cylinders said:

don't like bending over and being on my knees excetera

I feel ya there. I work on office equipment and sometimes I work off the floor, in my 60s now. I am very flexible tho, can sit cross legged, work on my knees, off my butt. I can tell that when I was younger I just grabbed whatever it was, lifted it and carried it. Those days are no more. Working on my feet at the machine I think will work better for me. We will see this weekend. I'll report back after my 1st experience with the machine. 

I'm going this weekend to use a friends o-Mar tire changer and balancer. He tells me it's all Technic not all muscle. He's had it for years and still has the original nylon tips.  If this works out I'm buying the No-Mar changer for myself. He says his is the mid priced setup from No-Mar. I'm hopefully because if I can do my own tire changes I'll switch back to sportbike tires for the extra confidence on the road. 

That's of course if he and I are still here in NW Louisiana and East Texas after Laura.......

1 hour ago, Stew said:

Been looking at sheds this evening online, 12ft long * 8ft, what you guys reckon to that size for sticking the bike in, and being able to fiddle around with it? (double doors of course)

I bought a 12 foot wide by 20 foot long. Double doors at both ends. I put the wall at 12 foot on my motorcycle side and 8 foot on the shed side. 12 by 12 is just enough. I'd do 12 by 12 or 12 by 14 if you can. I'll try with these pix to show you the size with bikes in it.

18 hours ago, Willie17FJ-09 said:

I need to shop for insurance. I am paying $789 a year on my 17 FJ-09 through safeco! 

I use State Farm and I have liability and uninsured motorist. I already have healthcare so I don't need that.  And if I buy a close to new bike I pay mostly cash and take out a signature loan so I don't have to buy collision. I'm covered for most things unless I screw up and wreck myself. If that happens I buy another used bike. It works for me. Same with my cars. If I screw up I'll buy another but if anyone else hits me I'm covered even if they are un-insured.

2 hours ago, nhchris said:

Went for a camping trip.  Riding great. Sleeping on the ground not so much!

 

 

I camped a couple of times in Arkansas and both times got chiggers. There is no more camping in Arkansas, PERIOD!

15 hours ago, roadwarrior said:

Sitting on the bike, my right hand side knob adjuster continually comes loose.  I don't want to Locktite it down because I do move the shield.

It's maddening...

Use liquid "White Out". We use it on copier screws we need to get loose again but that we need to stay tight until needed to get loose. Small bottle of white out will fit in the smallest tank bag or under the seat. 

41 minutes ago, texscottyd said:

Time to play everyone’s favorite game: ‘Plug, Patch, Replace?’

Plug unless you have a No Mar tire changer. If it's easy to pull and put a patch on the onside do that. That tire is too new to replace......

Oh yeah, nice no chicken chicken strips there bud. You can tell it's hot down Houston way. The tire is erasered even in the center.......hot roads......

6 hours ago, wordsmith said:

I have just 'discovered' this bike, and wonder if anyone here has one, or has ridden one, and if so with what opinions and conclusions.   

I understand that the SP is not (or has not been) imported into the USA and Canada.   From some early reading and on-line reviews and test-rides from the UK it appear to be an upgraded MT-09 (FJ-09), with different headlight 'styling' at the front, an attractive paint job, a ghastly-looking rear fender/ plate carrier, and seriously upgraded suspension comprising a fully-adjustable KYB fork and OHLINS rear shock.   

Of greater interest to me - with my wonky stiff knees, hips, and ankles - is the seat-height of only 820mm (vs the helpful 804mm of my BMW R9T).

Keenly-priced, tho' more day-ride/ sports oriented than (say) the Tracer GT.

I'd be very interested in any comments, links to any other reviews or posts, etc.   

Wordsmith

That looks a lot like our FZ09 here in the states besides the KYB and the Ohlins.

5 hours ago, jdavis said:

In Australia, artists are painting the outback grain silos, went and had a look at two of them.

 

 

 

 

 

Those silos look impressive. And it looks like you got the good out of that rear tire for sure. Good Job! Best to do it on a ride by yourself. Don't want to be at a meet and be "That Guy", LOL!

Do the troopers there have bad eyes???? Hell of a license plate ya got there. I'm sure it helps with wheelies.

Hey 1Moreroad, Hwy 341 is an excellent ride. It's about the same mileage from my place in NW Louisiana. We have a fall meet in Mountain Home, AR every year now. 1 of our faves for eats is Heidi's Ugly Cakes. 

Heidi’s Ugly Cakes & Sandwich Shop - Takeout & Delivery - 23 Photos & 28 Reviews - Cafes - 71 Fishermans St, Norfork, AR - Restaurant Reviews - Phone Number - Yelp

---

Cafes in Norfork, AR

She has a killer Rubin and of course her Ugly Cakes are to die for. Her place is in Norfolk, AR and in Big Flat, AR there is a brewery to stop at and pick up a 6 pack of beverages for the evening after the ride. Glad you got to get in a little Push Mountain. We will be there in October. 

33 minutes ago, texscottyd said:

Yeah, at that price there’s no reason to try and do it yourself.   The drop ramp for loading is a nice feature.   Out of curiosity,  size wheels does it have? 

15 inch rims/tires.

23 minutes ago, betoney said:

Hopefully its good to go for another 10-12 years before it needs any serious attention.

Should be. Mine stays under a garage so it gets a little sun from the south end but besides that it's covered on 3 sides.  Gives ya a warm fuzzy after you give the trailer some attention. 

2 hours ago, texscottyd said:

@tktplz - Nicely done!  I’ve been without a trailer since I stopped racing and sold my Wells Cargo.   For now I can get by just hauling one bike at a time in my Ram 1500.  

I’ve considered not getting another truck when it comes time to replace this one, so a trailer would become an imperative again.   Did you buy the frame structure already assembled, or did you fabricate that all yourself?   My oldest son is an outstanding professional welder, so I’m thinking we could make one ourselves.   

Got the 6X10 trailer in Mount Pleasant, TX. Double A Trailer. At 865.00 I couldn't pass it up. That's a pipe top not angle iron on the top. Sturdier. Another 93.00 for the matching spare tire and rim mounted on the trailer. A qt of polyurethane, anti-skid powder, a 6 pack of tie downs plus the 2 wheel chocks from Amazon and it came to just over the 1,200.00 dollar stimulus check.  So I did my job, spent the money and stimulated the economy. I'm sure you can make 1 for less. It's just drawing up plans, getting the angle iron, an axle with tires, expanded metal and 2X6s. Buy or make your fenders and a trailer light kit. My neighbor behind me does blacksmithing. He goes and buys metal regularly.  

5 hours ago, betoney said:

@tktplz - Great job, that looks really good.  I have often considered doing the same thing, trailering the bikes to a location to save a few travel days.   As it is though, I always make the most of the 'travel days'.

I'd love to betoney but I maxed out with this company at 15 work days a year. We have 4 bike meets a year. That's three 4 day weekends, that's 6 days and a week long stent, 5 week days at Deals Gap/Blowing Rock, NC. so that's 11 of 15 and then 4 days left for 3 or 4 day weekends in Arkansas. Try to make the most of my days as riding twisties days, LOL!

I'm running the redesigned Roadsmart IIs and I have no pros or cons on them. They seem to be your average ST tire. Good grip, wet or dry. Wear is good so far, 2,400 on the rear and some wear but not bad. I usually get about 3,200 to 3,600 miles out of a rear and these might last longer, we'll see.  I still have an extra rear, I buy 2 rears to 1 front. Should last till next spring. 

I tried the Angel GT on the rear and it preformed well. Got 3,600 I think and grip was good, wet or dry. Still not the confidence inspiring feel of sportbike tires. 

I'm thinking of going to the Bridgestone S22, not an ST just a sportbike tire on the recomendation of betoney. Going to 1 of the guys in our group to try his No-Mar tire changer. He says it's easy, just need the Technic. He will show me. If it's that easy I'll get 1 myself and can spoon on Sportbike tires at will,  😁 👍. Watching the MOTO GP race this morning and my bike feels like their bikes look going into corners. The rear tire seems to slide a bit as they brake hard with the front and the rear gets light. I use the rear brake just a smidgen to "set" the rear going into corners. With sportbike tires I get 1,200 to 1,800 miles out of a rear and can do most trips, that's 1 meet per rear on sportbike tires. They don't last long but man are they inspiring!!! betoney tells me when the Bridgestone tire rebates are on so I have my own alarm built into this site, Thanks betoney!! 

betoney, after I saw the 2020 Ninja 1000 review where they gave kudos to the Bridgestone Battlax S22 Hypersport I'm interested. I'll probably wait for the spring or summer sale next year. I still have a new Roadsmart II rear and only 2,400 miles on the current front and rear. So don't want to buy 'em and have them sit till next fall or so. I know they will have another sale then. 

1 of the guys in or group has a No-Mar Tire Changer. I'm going to use it and see how it goes. Him showing me how to change a tire correctly. So if it's as easy as he says, Technic, Technic, Technic as he says, I'll end up getting 1 and switch back to sport bike tires that don't last me long but man the confidence! He changes his rear tire after every trip. He has a Gen 2 VMax and smokes the rear in 2nd every time we leave from a stop sign, LOL! 

I've run a set of the "New" Roadsmart II's because of the price, $166.00 for a set for our bikes but not the stupid grip you get from sport-bike tires. Thanks for the tip! saving money is saving money!!!!