reusing slimed tubes

[jjonz47]

Howdy listers, Based on my reading of the FAQ, I ordered a new set of K270s front and rear to replace my worn Duro rear/Trailwing front. I used swmototires.com and got the usual excellent service - $95.90 for both and they arrived in 2 days. I purchased Moose racing HD tubes at the local m/c shop. The HD tubes are just enough stiffer it makes getting the valve stem through the hole on the rear rim a bitch. The rear 270 was the tightest tire I've ever installed on a motorcycle - you could have strummed a high C on the bead it was so taut. I thought it was going to snap cause I was prying/pushing so hard. I used lube, 15" irons, and a liberal dose of grunts/cuss words before the tire finally gave up and went on. The front was tight but not nearly so bad. The Moose HD tubes with the Kenda 270's don't fit well - the valve stems point to the sides. I got the front valve stem to sit straight but the bead wouldn't fully seat until I pushed the stem back in, seated the bead, and then left the stem canted slightly to the side - my estimate is 10 - 20 degrees. Question 1 - should I just keep cranking down down on the stem nut to try to fully pull the tube into the bead so the stem is flat? It's fairly tight but I can make it tighter (nervously). Very squirrely at first, either the tires got better or my brain adjusted. I took surface streets to a dirt road which parallels to I- 10 east of Indio and the tires felt untrustworthy. But once on dirt, the front end seems better behaved - I didn't have to stay so hard on the gas to keep the front end from pushing. I took I-10 back down the Indio grade at 70 - 75, and there was a new high frequency vibration which tickled my feet and made my hands tingle. Hmmm. The tires felt better on the side roads on the way home but still not as good as the prior tires. The "nubs of shame" were gone from all but the outside nobs on the rear tire but the front will need some more work. Question 2 - anyone else notice the increaded vibration at highway speeds? Jeff Jones

[nakedwaterskier]

glad I ordered the Kings instead!

[takes2serious]

Hey, Jeff, the rear K270 was the first tire I ever changed in my life. I'm glad to hear you found it unusually hard, because that has been my benchmark of what a typical tire change would be. I simply couldn't imagine how I would ever be able to replace a tube on a trail. It took me an hour to do it in my garage. When I switched from the stockers to the K270 there was a huge difference in handling. But once they scrubbed in, the 270's got demonstrably better. I'm not sure how much was just me getting used to them, but I think the break-in difference was significant. Randy

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "jjonz47" wrote: > Howdy listers, > Based on my reading of the FAQ, I ordered a new set of K270s front > and rear to replace my worn Duro rear/Trailwing front. I used > swmototires.com and got the usual excellent service - $95.90 for both > and they arrived in 2 days. I purchased Moose racing HD tubes at the > local m/c shop. The HD tubes are just enough stiffer it makes > getting the valve stem through the hole on the rear rim a bitch. The > rear 270 was the tightest tire I've ever installed on a motorcycle - > you could have strummed a high C on the bead it was so taut. I > thought it was going to snap cause I was prying/pushing so hard. I > used lube, 15" irons, and a liberal dose of grunts/cuss words before > the tire finally gave up and went on. The front was tight but not > nearly so bad. The Moose HD tubes with the Kenda 270's don't fit > well - the valve stems point to the sides. I got the front valve > stem to sit straight but the bead wouldn't fully seat until I pushed > the stem back in, seated the bead, and then left the stem canted > slightly to the side - my estimate is 10 - 20 degrees. > > Question 1 - should I just keep cranking down down on the stem nut to > try to fully pull the tube into the bead so the stem is flat? It's > fairly tight but I can make it tighter (nervously). > > Very squirrely at first, either the tires got better or my brain > adjusted. I took surface streets to a dirt road which parallels to I- > 10 east of Indio and the tires felt untrustworthy. But once on dirt, > the front end seems better behaved - I didn't have to stay so hard on > the gas to keep the front end from pushing. I took I-10 back down the > Indio grade at 70 - 75, and there was a new high frequency vibration > which tickled my feet and made my hands tingle. Hmmm. The tires > felt better on the side roads on the way home but still not as good > as the prior tires. The "nubs of shame" were gone from all but the > outside nobs on the rear tire but the front will need some more work. > > Question 2 - anyone else notice the increaded vibration at highway > speeds? > > Jeff Jones

[Tengai Mark Van Horn]

At 2:43 AM +0000 8/24/04, frankconley wrote:

>When changing tires, can one reuse the tubes if they've been slimed?

I treat 'em like an non-slimed tube and reuse 'em for up to 3 years or swap earlier if I don't like the way they look. I put in new tubes before a big trip, along with new tires. I keep the old tubes on hand as spares if they still look serviceable. Mark