New rubber on the 09 Nomad

[jjg3]

02 Jan had a weird vibe coming through the bars making me think the front had an issue. TPMS didn't show low. Close to home heard the telltale pop of a tire giving up and TPMS showed fast loss on rear. Made it home from work with a flat rear. Ordered Shinko 777s from J&P that arrived Tues 8 Jan. Put the rear on that night, front on today. Didn't really need the front just yet but what the hell. At over 8k miles the original rear was waaaay over due. Walking up to the bike from the front, it looked so good I was complacent about the rear. Very, very bad. Rear took about 4 hours. Most time was spent getting the old tire second bead off and getting the rear wheel spacers lined up going back on. The front was about 45 minutes start to finish. Assorted sockets and wrenches to remove bags, bag mounts, and axles. Bead popper, small sledge, several cheap tire irons to remove and install rubber. Good solid grunt work.

Good to have a back up DR650 while waiting for tires. The little DR has served well and has just gotten a RDL on the group buy.

Flat rear


Yes, I let it get too bad.



Bead popper on the rear.


Bead popper on the front along with my favorite tools.


More Photos of the Dirty Deed

[crazygene49]

Judging from the looks of that tire, you are one lucky dude! Glad to hear you got it fixed.

[ringadingh]

You definitely got your wear out of that tire.

[smokey]

You are very very lucky, we almost had a member of the club killed when his tire gave out, it looked like that on closer inspection.

[Jared]

Originally Posted by jjg3

Yes, I let it get too bad.

That tire should have been changed 1.5K miles ago! Please keep a closer eye on your tire tread. Not only do you risk your life when riding with such little tread, but you risk the life of those riding around you.

[redjay]

I take my wheels off the bike and my tire supplier charges me $20 apiece to install and balance.

[Kevinhyland]

I agree with Jared, don't risk your life to save a few bucks and stretch the life of a tire. Imagine having a tire failure at 80 on the highway, game over.

[jjg3]

Got it, thanks.

[danimal2]

Originally Posted by redjay

I take my wheels off the bike and my tire supplier charges me $20 apiece to install and balance.

After messing around running back and forth, them not being able to get to it for more than a day several times I got fed up and learned how to do em myself.

At first I tried with normal tire irons and just couldn't get the last bit on. Finally bought a bigass'd tire iron and now it's a piece of cake. I use the regular tire irons to chase it around to the last four inches or so, then the big one to pop the last bit of the bead over. Even doing the tube tires on my girlfriend's Yammi without problems or tube pinching.

I'll never use the dealers or tire suppliers for tire changes again.

Next time I change one I'm going to do a video of it. With the right tools it's so easy. The only problem is, I just changed all four on two bikes so it'll be a while (and I'm running a car tire on the nomad so it's going to last).

I never had a problem paying them to do it, I just hated when they couldn't get it done when I needed. Although I have to say, I don't mind saving the $27 per tire each time.

[dshelly]

What brand was the tire that blew?

[smokey]

Originally Posted by Kevinhyland

I agree with Jared, don't risk your life to save a few bucks and stretch the life of a tire. Imagine having a tire failure at 80 on the highway, game over.

The guy in our club with a tire like that, had it let go at around 60, he had his daughter on the back, he ended up in ICU and then medevaced back to Canada, his daughter walked away, they were both very very very lucky.

[highwayman2011]

Just did tires on my Voyager in the fall. Found it easier to remove the shocks to get axle out. Just a suggestion of course. You are very lucky, better get a lottery ticket!

[jjg3]

Originally Posted by dshelly

What brand was the tire that blew?

The OEM Bridgestone Exedra. It didn't blow so much as it just went down real fast. It was just way past it's replacement time. My fault entirely.

I've actually gotten less on a tire (6k on a Beemer) and ended up having it changed mid-trip. An odd sized tire (160/60-18) that had to be ordered by a shop I passed in Canada on the way to Hyder so they'd have it on my way back. Figured since they were good enough to order it I'd pay them to change it.

Was generally used to getting around 10k on a tire. Since I always back into parking I walk up to the bike from the front and the front looked very good so it put me to sleep on the rear.

Been doing my own tires for many years so it was just a matter of getting a replacement set. Of course it makes one wonder about the instructions in the manual "The tires cannot be removed with hand tools because they fit the rims too tightly." The rear was a pretty tight fit coming off.

The axle wasn't an issue on this change.

[smokey]

Originally Posted by highwayman2011

Just did tires on my Voyager in the fall. Found it easier to remove the shocks to get axle out. Just a suggestion of course. You are very lucky, better get a lottery ticket!

I do that now as well, way easier and gives a lot more room, you still have to get the rear end up, but a lot easier

[redjay]

I take the shocks off also.