Passes & Canyons Blog

I’ve been really nervous every time I’ve ridden the Honda since I first noticed the valve stem on the front tire was rotting away. That was in June and I finally got it replaced this past weekend.

I met Ron in Boulder and we went to his friend Jeff’s house where Ron keeps his tire changing machine. The expectation was to remove the wheel and then take the tire off before replacing the valve stem. A good half hour job or more.

Fortunately, Jeff was home at the time and he had a little device that turned this into a five minute job.

With the bike on the centerstand, Jeff pulled out a portable bead breaker, which is like a set of tongs with plates at the squeezing end and enough length in the handles to get leverage. After releasing the air, he positioned the plates on the sides of the tire by the valve and squeezed. That broke the bead free from the wheel and with a couple tire irons to keep the tire shoved aside, Ron removed the old valve stem and then reached in to insert the new one. Hook up the air pump and give it a blast and presto! Job completely finished, just that quick.

Not only that, but this new valve stem is a big improvement over the last one. The last one was the typical rubber kind, whereas this new one is a metal stem with a 90 degree bend that makes it easy to get the air hose onto it. You can see it there in that photo.

It’s not so important on this front tire because there’s plenty of space to get to even the old type. But on the rear wheel it’s a totally different story. The space is so cramped that getting a hose on incredibly hard. Some years ago I bought a metal, L-shaped extender specifically to make it possible to get at that valve easier. The extender is very much like the new valve stem. So anyway, we didn’t put a new stem on the rear at this time because it’s going to need a new tire soon anyway, but now I have a second one for the back when the time comes.

What a huge improvement!

Biker Quote for Today

Murphy’s Motorcycle Laws: 8. “Universal” accessories are so named because that is where you must search to find the bike they fit.

I wanted to ride my Honda CB750 Custom to Loveland last week for the Steel Horse Sisterhood Summit but before I took off I figured I ought to check the air pressure in my tires. Turned out they needed a little air but what really disturbed me was when I saw how badly rotted out the valve stem is on the front tire. Holy crap, is this going to die on me today, and if it does, how dangerous will that be?

Now I would guess the more safety fanatic among us would have told me I was an idiot to even consider riding on it like that. My thought process went like this:
1. It has obviously been like this for a long time and so far nothing has happened.
2. The chances that it will go out on me today of all days is probably quite slim.
3. If I take it slow and easy then if it goes there will be less danger.
4. If it does go it will probably be a gradual deflating, so I can pull over the instant I detect something wrong.
5. And I really do want to ride the Honda today.

So off I went.

I preferred to stay off the highway as much as possible so starting off I went through town. As I was riding along it occurred to me that if I passed a bike shop I might be able to stop and get it fixed on the spot. And then I had an even more brilliant idea (Ha!), when I inevitably passed a car tire shop maybe they could do it for me. It’s just a valve stem after all, surely they’re all the same.

So I did stop at a tire shop but that guy just looked at me and shook his head. No, we don’t work on motorcycles. But it’s just the valve stem, I said, can’t you do that? And he explained that it would be necessary to lift the bike (we don’t have the right kind of lift for a motorcycle) and to break the bead (we don’t have that equipment).

You mean you can’t just yank the old valve stem out and insert a new one? (Can you tell I’m not much of a mechanic?)

On I went to Loveland. Taking it slow.

In Loveland I found that there was almost no sign of the Steel Horse Sisterhood so I figured I might as well head to the local Honda shop. There the guy told me yes they could replace the valve stem but it would involve removing the tire and they would not be able to get to it for at least an hour and a half. It would cost about $45. Or for about $200 I could get a whole new front tire.

This was tempting because this is the whole issue. Because I have two other bikes I don’t put that many miles on the Honda. The tires both have a good bit of tread left but they have been on the bike for 10 years. The rubber is starting to rot. They need to be replaced. Doing both would have been about $450, including new valve stems on both. Why the heck not do it right now?

Because sometimes I’m impatient. And in an hour and a half I could be home. And get the job done some other time.

So I rode home and the valve stem held out and all was well. Now I really do need to do something about these tires.

Biker Quote for Today

Keep calm and ride on.