Monthly Archives: July 2011
July 17, 2011
New tires, front and rear
My PR2's were getting a little long in the tooth, but I thought they had another 700-1000 miles left in them. When I got back from Kauai, the rubber valve stem on the rear had failed, so it was time for a new pair.
I found a great deal on a matching set from an online retailer - no sales tax, free shipping - and it took a week for them to come in. While I was at it, I ordered a pair of 90 degree aluminum valve stems from Bike Effects - it's really a pain to get the air hose onto a standard front stem. They came in on Thursday morning while I was working on some repairs for our asphalt driveway.
Later that afternoon, I pulled the wheels off the bike, and took everything up to Pasadena Yamaha. Kel gives me a great deal - $20 per wheel to mount and balance a tire. I could have waited for them, but told Kel to take his time and I'd pick them up the next afternoon.
Friday after work, I stopped by and they had everything ready. The rear had a couple of balancing weights taped on, but the front was completely untaped. I talked to the head technician, and he said he was able to balance it perfectly by finding the right orientation. Very cool.
With the rear wheel off, I found a lot of gunk on the inside of the pumpkin. I sent photos to my buddy Hal for advice - Hal knows (almost?) everything about DIY bike repair and maintenance. He hadn't seen anything like my gunk before, and suggested I use carb cleaner to clean up the whole mess. It worked like a charm. I regreased the geared area, and mounted everything up - front and rear - late this morning.
Thanks, Hal!
The mileage at the tire change is 70,272.