Page 1 of 1
tire changing fun
Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 3:05 pm
by Tom Zangla
Well I got my MEFO front tire from Arrowhead Motorsports a few day
ago and I went out in the yard YESTERDAY and tried to change the tire
with NO PROBLEMS. I got the old tire off and the new tire on and
when I put the air in the tire it came out as fast as I was putting
it in.
So off the wheel came and I took one side of the bead off and took the
tube out. Some how I managed to cut the tube with my tire irons.
No screwdrivers were used. I called a friend of mine who works on
motorcycles part time to see if he had a tube and I told him what I
was
up to. When he told me that since I had the wheel off he would
install
the new tube for 5 bucks plus the cost of the tube. Lucky for me my
daughter left my car home for me to use and off I went for the 5 mile
drive. After a bullshit session I was back home and got the wheel
back
on and went around the block a few times. Instead of the regular
valve stem caps I have ones that show green if the air pressure is OK
and red if the pressure is low. When I got up this morning the green
was not showing. Sure enough it only had 10 pounds of air in the
tire.
I filled the tire up and got out my spray bottle with dish
soap and water and begun to spray the hole tire looking for air
bubbles.
I thought I may have picked up something when I rode around the block
a few times. I finally saw some bubbles on the valve stem and it
looked like it was coming straight out of the threads of the stem.
I took the wheel off and got the tube out and sprayed it again and
no bubbles were showing. Must have been a chemical reaction the
first time. I sprayed the whole tire over and over and could not
find a leak. I then took the tube down to the stationary tube in
my cellar and put the tube under water and still I could not find
a leak. I did not want to put this tube back in and I was lucky that
when I was down my friends place I picked
up a used tube (almost new) and put that in with no problems. I
sprayed the wheel again and saw no bubbles. One thing I did notice
was on the factory tube there was only one nut on the valve stem
which was on the outside of the rim. On the two tubes I got from
my friend there were two nuts on the valve stem and when he put the
tube on one nut went inside the rim and one on the outside.
I did a Google search and found a post which showed.....
Per an inner tube manufacturers instructions:
"The first nut must be securely fastened to the rubber stem base with
a wrench before inserting the tube into the rim and casing.... The
second nut must be securely tightened to the rim with a wrench."
Well that is my Fun with Tire Changing Story.
Tom
SW Pennsylvania
tire changing fun
Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 3:20 pm
by Arden Kysely
Sounds like a nightmare. I once changed a tire 3 times at a shop,
pinching the tube twice.
So...you never found out where the first tube was leaking?
__Arden
--- In
DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Tom Zangla" wrote:
>
> Well I got my MEFO front tire from Arrowhead Motorsports a few day
> ago and I went out in the yard YESTERDAY and tried to change the
tire
>
> with NO PROBLEMS. I got the old tire off and the new tire on and
> when I put the air in the tire it came out as fast as I was putting
> it in.
>
> So off the wheel came and I took one side of the bead off and took
the
> tube out. Some how I managed to cut the tube with my tire irons.
>
> No screwdrivers were used. I called a friend of mine who works on
> motorcycles part time to see if he had a tube and I told him what I
> was
>
> up to. When he told me that since I had the wheel off he would
> install
> the new tube for 5 bucks plus the cost of the tube. Lucky for me my
>
> daughter left my car home for me to use and off I went for the 5
mile
> drive. After a bullshit session I was back home and got the wheel
> back
>
> on and went around the block a few times. Instead of the regular
> valve stem caps I have ones that show green if the air pressure is
OK
>
> and red if the pressure is low. When I got up this morning the
green
> was not showing. Sure enough it only had 10 pounds of air in the
> tire.
>
> I filled the tire up and got out my spray bottle with dish
> soap and water and begun to spray the hole tire looking for air
> bubbles.
>
> I thought I may have picked up something when I rode around the
block
> a few times. I finally saw some bubbles on the valve stem and it
> looked like it was coming straight out of the threads of the stem.
>
> I took the wheel off and got the tube out and sprayed it again and
> no bubbles were showing. Must have been a chemical reaction the
> first time. I sprayed the whole tire over and over and could not
>
> find a leak. I then took the tube down to the stationary tube in
> my cellar and put the tube under water and still I could not find
> a leak. I did not want to put this tube back in and I was lucky
that
> when I was down my friends place I picked
>
> up a used tube (almost new) and put that in with no problems. I
> sprayed the wheel again and saw no bubbles. One thing I did notice
>
> was on the factory tube there was only one nut on the valve stem
> which was on the outside of the rim. On the two tubes I got from
>
> my friend there were two nuts on the valve stem and when he put the
> tube on one nut went inside the rim and one on the outside.
>
> I did a Google search and found a post which showed.....
> Per an inner tube manufacturers instructions:
> "The first nut must be securely fastened to the rubber stem base
with
> a wrench before inserting the tube into the rim and casing.... The
> second nut must be securely tightened to the rim with a wrench."
>
> Well that is my Fun with Tire Changing Story.
> Tom
> SW Pennsylvania
>
tire changing fun
Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 9:00 am
by J. Christopher Krok
> 5a. Tire Changing Fun
> Posted by: "Tom Zangla" tomzangla@... zeegadget
> Date: Thu Jun 12, 2008 1:05 pm ((PDT))
>
> I did a Google search and found a post which showed.....
> Per an inner tube manufacturers instructions:
> "The first nut must be securely fastened to the rubber stem base with
> a wrench before inserting the tube into the rim and casing.... The
> second nut must be securely tightened to the rim with a wrench."
For offroad riding, you don't want to tighten that second nut down to the
rim; you should back it up agains the valve cap once you're done.
Chris
--
J. Christopher Krok, Ph.D.
Big Cee Engineering
KLR650 Accessories and home of the FAQ
tire changing fun
Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 10:06 am
by Jud Jones
--- In
DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Tom Zangla" wrote:
>
> Well I got my MEFO front tire from Arrowhead Motorsports a few day
> ago and I went out in the yard YESTERDAY and tried to change the tire
>
> with NO PROBLEMS. I got the old tire off and the new tire on and
> when I put the air in the tire it came out as fast as I was putting
> it in.
>
> So off the wheel came and I took one side of the bead off and took the
> tube out. Some how I managed to cut the tube with my tire irons.
>
> No screwdrivers were used. I called a friend of mine who works on
> motorcycles part time to see if he had a tube and I told him what I
> was
>
> up to. When he told me that since I had the wheel off he would
> install
> the new tube for 5 bucks plus the cost of the tube. Lucky for me my
>
> daughter left my car home for me to use and off I went for the 5 mile
> drive. After a bullshit session I was back home and got the wheel
> back
>
> on and went around the block a few times. Instead of the regular
> valve stem caps I have ones that show green if the air pressure is OK
>
> and red if the pressure is low. When I got up this morning the green
> was not showing. Sure enough it only had 10 pounds of air in the
> tire.
>
> I filled the tire up and got out my spray bottle with dish
> soap and water and begun to spray the hole tire looking for air
> bubbles.
>
> I thought I may have picked up something when I rode around the block
> a few times. I finally saw some bubbles on the valve stem and it
> looked like it was coming straight out of the threads of the stem.
>
> I took the wheel off and got the tube out and sprayed it again and
> no bubbles were showing. Must have been a chemical reaction the
> first time. I sprayed the whole tire over and over and could not
>
> find a leak. I then took the tube down to the stationary tube in
> my cellar and put the tube under water and still I could not find
> a leak. I did not want to put this tube back in and I was lucky that
> when I was down my friends place I picked
>
> up a used tube (almost new) and put that in with no problems. I
> sprayed the wheel again and saw no bubbles. One thing I did notice
>
> was on the factory tube there was only one nut on the valve stem
> which was on the outside of the rim. On the two tubes I got from
>
> my friend there were two nuts on the valve stem and when he put the
> tube on one nut went inside the rim and one on the outside.
>
> I did a Google search and found a post which showed.....
> Per an inner tube manufacturers instructions:
> "The first nut must be securely fastened to the rubber stem base with
> a wrench before inserting the tube into the rim and casing.... The
> second nut must be securely tightened to the rim with a wrench."
>
> Well that is my Fun with Tire Changing Story.
Similar adventures used to befall me all the time. I stopped pinching tubes when I started
using my Motion Pro T6 spoons.
The manufacturer to whom you refer must like the extra sales in replacement of those
tubes that fail when the tire shifts on the rim and rips the stem out. Can't patch those.
Running the nut up under the cap will allow the stem to tilt if the tire shifts, giving you a
chance to spot the problem and correct it before the tube fails.
newbie - what is a dohickey?
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 2:44 pm
by Mike Frey
http://www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html#knownissues
*Balancer chain tensioner ("Doohickey") prone to failure*
The counterbalancer tensioner arm (clamped down by the small bolt on the
bottom left engine cover) has a tendency to get brittle and break. This
has happened on bikes of all years and mileages, while many other bikes
(of all years and mileages) are fine. If anything, later bikes seem to
be more prone to failure, perhaps because of the change to solid
balancer sprockets. If this system fails and the balancer chain jumps,
it can sieze the engine. Eagle Machine
http://www.eagle-m-e.com/index.html> makes a machined adjuster arm
(available from Arrowhead) that is vastly superior to the stock unit.
(Both units are of equal quality, although they offer different spring
lengths.) In addition, the adjuster bolt and spring were upgraded in
1996; earlier models can be upgraded by replacing the bolt and spring,
and adding the washer. The required parts are: Idler spring,
92144-1860; 7mm O-ring, 670B1507; washer, 92200-1263; idler adjuster
bolt, 92150-1923. See the links section for a way to report
balancer failures.
knandyal wrote:
>
> Hello there. Newbie considering KL650 - Please go easy on me for this
> question.
>
> What is a Dohickey? I understand what the word means (From
> freedcitionary - something unspecified whose name is either forgotten
> or not known).
>
> I am trying to understand, what this means in KLR650 world?
>
>