Passes & Canyons Blog

Man, you think it’s going to be so simple and then it’s not.

I concluded I ought to get a new front tire put on my V-Strom before I leave on this California trip in a couple weeks, so I checked around.

Performance Cycle sells tires but they only mount them if you bring the wheel in off the bike. Of course I could get a tire there and take it to One Down Four Up to be mounted but that would require an appointment. I checked with Fay Myers and they sell tires and their website said you could come in and mounting would be first come, first served. So I decided I would do that on Tuesday.

Just to be sure I called on Tuesday morning. Following the phone tree I headed to service and . . . got disconnected. I called back, same phone tree, and . . . disconnected. Dang.

So I called again and this time I asked for parts. I got to parts and inquired about a tire, which they had, and the guy told me the price. Quite a bit higher than I expected but oh well. Then he took my name and number and said he would have service call me.

They called soon after and it turns out the website is technically correct but a bit incomplete. On Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday you need an appointment to have a tire mounted and you have to leave the bike there. No mount while you wait option. You can come in on Friday or Saturday and it’s first come first served, mount while you wait. OK, I’ll probably see you on Friday morning early.

Probably. If it’s going to be other than I expected let’s see if there is a better way, particularly since the price is unexpectedly high.

I called Performance to see what tires they had at what prices. I figured then to call One Down Four Up and see about getting the bike in to have the work done while I wait.

I called Performance, the phone rang and was picked up with a quick “Please hold.” I then sat there for 10 minutes or so listening to the list of things Performance offers and the assurance that “A fellow rider will be with you shortly.” Now and then that would be interrupted by ringing, which would only be replaced with the spiel again. I hung up.

I considered calling One Down Four Up and asking when they could get me in but I hesitated to make an appointment until I was sure I would want to get the tire from Performance. So I called Performance again.

This time I got right through. And despite what their promotional spiel says, the prices they were asking for all but one of the tires we discussed were higher than what Fay Myers had quoted me. The one cheaper one was a Shinko, which I have run before. Because this is an 80-20 street/offroad tire and I pretty much just ride on the street this tire has not worn well for me.

Bottom line, I decided I’ll just run over to Fay Myers Friday morning. I’ll need to adjust my schedule to make it work but oh well. Sure would have been nice if I could have done this Tuesday morning.

Biker Quote for Today

My motorcycle takes me places my car never will.

Here’s a question I know most of you have asked at one time or another: Should I get a new tire on my bike before I leave on this trip?

I’ll be heading out in late April on this 3,200-mile California trip with several guys from the RMMRC, riding my V-Strom. The front tire is definitely not shot but 3,200 miles is a lot. Does it have enough tread to make it?

My friend Jungle has always taken the approach of putting new tires on all around any time he and Willie are setting out on a long trip. But Jungle is a motorcycle mechanic and he can do the swap himself at no cost and then keep the old tire(s) around to put back on when the new one(s) are wearing out. For me or you that swap is going to cost about $60. Or more.

So how to decide? I pulled out my paperwork and found that I bought this tire two years ago and it has 6,000 miles on it. Now, I had the tire put on by one shop and six months later I had that bike in to another shop where they told me I should replace it, not because it was worn out but because it was built in 2017. Well, I just had it put on six months earlier and there was no way I was going to replace it then.

How many miles can I expect to get on this tire? I consulted the Stromtroopers forum, which is for V-Strom riders. Although those guys acknowledge that you might wear out this tire in as little as 5,000 miles, the consensus was that you should generally expect to get 10,000 to 12,000 miles on it. That suggests that I’m good. But I figured I’d check further.

I had the idea of measuring the tread in the brand new tire I just had put on my Honda and comparing it to what is left on the V. It was a rough measurement but the new tire seems to have about twice the tread that the old one has. That would suggest again that I do have enough rubber to do this trip, with the expectation of replacing the tire soon after getting home. I wasn’t done looking around, though.

The next question I Googled was how to know when a motorcycle tire needs to be replaced. Here I came up with an old rule of thumb I had not thought about: They say to put a penny in the groove and if you can see all of the top of Lincoln’s head it is time to replace the tire. I tried that and yeah, I can see all of his head. That suggests I should replace it.

I was talking with my wife about this at dinner last night and her thinking was that putting a new tire on would allow my wife (her, of course) to have peace of mind while I’m gone. And wouldn’t I hate to have trouble on the road, and put my riding companions at such an inconvenience? Particularly when for under $200 I can eliminate all such concern?

I think I can see where this is headed.

Biker Quote for Today

Keep the wheels turning and the adventure burning.

I knew leaving on the OFMC trip this summer that as soon as I got back I would need to get a new rear tire on the V-Strom. We got back from that trip on August 1. I finally got the tire on yesterday. Yep, right away.

Of course that means I got more miles out of the old one. Really getting my money’s worth. Really running on no tread at all. You get busy, you know, and things get put off.

I’ve still been trying to work out this issue of where to take my bikes now that Joel is no longer running his own shop and this time I figured I’d take it to One Down Four Up, a place out on West Colfax where I’ve had some work done before. They’re pretty far and not particularly convenient but what the heck. I’ve been happy with their work.

So I called a few weeks ago to see about getting it in and I asked the woman I spoke with what they suggest now that the parts store that used to be right next to them had closed. It was really convenient because you could go in and buy the tire and carry it next door and hand it to them. But not any more.

She said they suggest you get the tire at Performance Cycle and bring it in. That seemed pretty odd to me because Performance Cycle is pretty far away. Why not point me to a place on Colfax? I know there are some out there.

It was good that I wondered about that. That ticked off an idea in my head. Have they perhaps moved? Well, score one for me. They have moved, and now Performance Cycle is still not exactly close but it’s a heck of a lot closer than it was before. Also, more importantly, this makes One Down Four Up a lot closer to me, too. I may just have finally solved my problem of where to take my bikes for service.

However, that did not address the issue of how to get the tire from the store to the shop. I have never, ever had to face that issue before. I’ve always just taken the bike to the mechanic and he ordered the tire and put it on. I wasn’t crazy about picking up the tire in my car and then driving it over to the shop and leaving it there, then bringing the bike later. But then I figured it depended on whether they would be able to put the tire on while I waited. If they wouldn’t then I would need to have Judy pick me up there and bring me back later, and she could just bring the tire with her when she picked me up.

Well, they could put it on while I waited so that was out. I thought about putting the tire around my waist and riding over like that but that seemed silly. Here’s a daring thought: how about if I just tie the tire on the bike behind me?

I know that, for a lot of you who probably have done this yourselves, this is the obvious and simple approach. But remember, I’ve never had to do this before. Well it was simple, as you can see in the photo. And yeah, I didn’t get it tied on as stably as I thought, so it shifted a little in transit, but it worked fine. OK, now I know.

So when I called the shop to make an appointment they said, well, we can get you in later today or first thing tomorrow. Really? That quickly? Sounds good to me, let’s do today. And they did the job promptly, for a very reasonable price. And they were nice folks. I think I know where to take my bikes from now on.

Then just a side note. On my way home I was coming across on Belleview and saw this pick-up in the right lane with a sheet of plywood hanging out of the back of its bed bent almost to the road surface. I thought that was odd but assumed it just didn’t fit in the bed any better than that. I also noticed that the car behind this truck was giving them a lot of room.

As I pulled up alongside I could see that in fact the plywood had shifted back from the cab several feet and looked like it might slide out at any moment. I waved to get the driver’s attention and motioned urgently toward his rear. He pulled right over to see what I was telling him. I just wonder if he started out with more than one sheet of plywood, because that was all he had when I saw him.

Biker Quote for Today

We mature with damages, not with age.

I’m still counting on taking the Kawi on the OFMC trip very shortly but nothing has happened yet on the carburetor issue. For insurance I got a new rear tire on the V-Strom a couple days ago.

I got this recommendation from both Bill and Dennis, that I get the tire at Let It Ride, on 8425 W. Colfax, and then take it next door to 1 Down, Four Up Motorsports, at 8427 W. Colfax, to be mounted. That worked out great. I called ahead about the tire and they had it in stock. I asked them to hold it for me and made an appointment so I could have it mounted while I waited.

Mid-way through the job, the guy (whose name I can’t remember–I really should make note of these things) asked if I wanted new rear brake pads because with the old ones, “there’s almost nothing there.” That didn’t surprise me; I had been thinking about that possibility. So sure, put on new pads. He said the front pads are fine.

Then as I was paying he told me they had adjusted the chain as good as they could but there was some stretching and really, the chain and sprockets need to be replaced. That didn’t surprise me either.

The ride home proved interesting then. Of course I was doing some swerving to scuff up the edges of the new tire but I wasn’t so busy with that as not to notice something else. A noise I had wondered about for quite awhile was not there.

This noise is something I’ve always thought of as maybe the chain slapping. I’ve tried adjusting the tension but never made a difference. I take it now that the shop did a better job of adjusting it than I did and at least for now that slapping–which is apparently what it was–is gone. At the very least, the noise is gone. So OK, that’s something to take care of after the trip.

Biker Quote for Today

I was born intelligent, but my bike ruined me.

I’ve had this ongoing issue with the Concours not running properly, where I’ve used carb cleaner to much benefit but not total. Every time I had ridden it lately it had run better so when I took it out the other day I was hoping for it to perform perfectly.

It did not. In fact, it ran much more poorly than before, needing me to rev the engine before taking off from a stop and dying repeatedly as I came to a stop. At least that settles the question of whether I’m going to be able to address this myself or if I need to enlist professional assistance.

This business of the bike not running properly matters for several reasons. First, I want the bike to run right. That’s a no-brainer.

More pressing, however, is the fact that it is now July and that means the annual OFMC bike trip is coming up in just a few weeks. Having gone through all the hassle with getting this new top bag mounted I was really hoping to take the Kawi this year. I’ve tried to reach Joel, my mechanic, but I suspect he is up in Montana at the family farm for an extended period.

The issue here is that if I can’t take the Kawi, I’ll need to take either the V-Strom or the CB750. And both of them need new rear tires before they can go on an extended trip. So obviously, if I need a new rear tire I need to get cracking on that.

Why not just get new rear tires on both of them if they are in need anyway? Well, regarding the Honda, as little as I ride that I can probably pretty easily put that off until next year. It’s only if I want to take it on a long trip that I’ll need a new tire sooner. But the V-Strom could use a new one now. Except that, to cover my bases, I contacted Ron, my sometimes V-Strom mechanic, to see if he would be available to get a tire on this bike and he is out of the country until August 3. Ouch.

Now it’s getting serious. Frankly, I’d rather just put off new tires till later if there’s any way I can take the Kawi on the trip. So it hinges on Joel. Who I have not heard back from.

Calling Joel: Please get back to me ASAP. Meanwhile, I better find somebody to put a new tire on the V-Strom.

UPDATE
OK, this has been evolving as I’ve been writing. Joel just got back to me and will be back in town in a couple days and can get the Kawi running good before we’re scheduled to leave. In the meantime, I spoke to Bill, who directed me to a shop he and Dennis like for getting new tires put on and I’ll go ahead and get a new rear on the V-Strom just to play it safe.

Biker Quote for Today

Motorcycle mechanic only because freakin’ awesome is not an actual job title.

Have you ever watched the tread melt off your tire? I have. Not literally turning to liquid and dripping off, but being worn off in a matter of hours.

What you need to understand is that motorcycle tires are an entirely different critter than car tires. With car tires you have a broad, almost flat tread that the car rides on top off all the time. Motorcycle tires have a round profile because when you turn, you are leaning the bike. The round profile ensures that you always have tread in solid contact with the ground.

With only two tires, and those having very small contact areas, it is extremely important that you have good grip. Car tires have a hard rubber tread that will last 35,000 miles and more. In order to get a good grip, motorcycle tires use a very soft rubber. And guess what? That soft rubber wears away a whole lot quicker than hard rubber, generally not lasting much more than 10,000 miles.

Then there’s the effect of air pressure in the tires. It’s common knowledge that under-inflated tires wear out quicker, on cars as well as bikes. And while under-inflation can ruin a set of car tires in just a few thousand miles, that’s nothing compared to the soft rubber on motorcycle tires.

Which gets me back to my story.

In the early days of the OFMC, John and Bill and I went one year to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. While there I noticed that I was getting a bit thin on tread and mentioned it to the guys, who looked and agreed I would be needing new tires pretty soon after we got back home.

We only rode on to Page, AZ, the next day, which is about 100 miles. While unloading the bike I happened to glance at my rear tire and I was shocked. What little tread it had just a few hours ago was almost completely gone! I called Bill and John over and they gasped in amazement. Somebody had a tire gauge and when I checked my air pressure it was very, very low.

Of course I put air in, and it’s no surprise I was nervous the rest of the trip about the possibility of a blow-out. Realistically, I should have had a new tire put on right there in Page, but ever the optimist and a cheapskate to boot, I didn’t. And it did get me home safely.

But I tell you what, these days I have it on my calendar to check tire pressure on both my bikes and my car at the first of every month. And if I’m getting set to go on a trip I check the pressure before I leave.

This is really all just common sense, but it’s so easy sometimes to ignore common sense. It is far, far harder to ignore your own eyes when you see the tread vanish from a tire that quickly. We all learned a good lesson that day.

Biker Quote for Today

If you think it’s too dangerous, go home and cut your lawn, and leave us to it. — Guy Martin

For the first time since I don’t know when, I have six good tires on my three bikes. I went up to Boulder on Wednesday where I was meeting Ron Coleman, of Western Dual Sport Motorcycle Adventures, so he could put a new rear tire on my CB750 Custom. Get together at 9 and I should be home again by noon.

Wrong.

First off, Ron forgot. I was late but he was later, so at 9:30 I called him. Got voicemail and left a message. No big deal for me, it was a beautiful morning and I was sitting in the shade outside a coffee shop drinking a mocha and reading a book. I called again at 10 and this time he answered.

“Hey, where are you?”

“Oh my god! I forgot. I’m leaving now.”

So it was another half hour plus before he made it there from Lafayette. Again, no big deal for me.

We then headed over to Jeff’s, where Ron’s tire-changing machine lives. The wheel came off quickly and the tire came off with no problems and then it was time to put the new tire on. And it was on, though not inflated, when it occurred to me that we had forgotten the new valve stem.

There’s something you need to understand about valve stems on old Hondas, at least the CB750s. They’re almost completely inaccessible. Checking your air pressure is really hard and getting a pump head on is even worse. So we were planning to put on a valve with a 90-degree bend that would be easy to get to. We had put a new valve in on the front tire last fall but now it was time for the rear. And we had forgotten it before the tire was back on the rim.

No problem. Just shove the rubber out of the way and insert the valve. Then pull it through.

Did I say the valves are almost impossible to reach? Ron managed to grab this thing with some pliers but couldn’t get much leverage. And after a lot of trying and a lot of effort . . . it broke off. Now we had to go buy a new one.

Off we went to Mike’s Motorcycle, which was cool because I had never been there. I always like seeing a new shop. But the only 90-degree valve stem they had was the wrong size. So we figured just stop at a car tire place; they always have valve stems. Well, this one did but not anything we could use. Push on.

So we ended up at the Boulder store of G-Force Power Sports. I knew there was a G-Force in Denver but didn’t know they had a shop in Boulder, too. And they had what we wanted. Normally a valve stem costs about $2. For a 90-degree one, however, $10. I bought two just to ensure we didn’t need to make a return trip.

Back at Jeff’s, we took the tire off so as to get the valve stem in as easily as possible, and all went well. And then it all went back together easily and quickly. And presto, I had a new rear tire.

Of course, then between lunch and shooting the bull we ate up some more time. It wasn’t much after 4 by the time I got home. Nothing like spending your entire day getting a new tire. I enjoyed every minute of it.

Biker Quote for Today

We’ll stay up all night working on a bike to just go thrash on it tomorrow.

Some people simply won’t start out on a motorcycle trip without new tires. I know Willie and Jungle are like that. And then there are people like me who look at the tire and think, “Well, this trip will be about 1,500 miles and I’m sure I have that much left on this tire. And if not, I’ll get a new one along the way.”

That was the case on this recent OFMC trip. Literally. I had that conversation with myself and then every day at the end of the ride I inspected my front tire to answer one question: Is there enough rubber on it for tomorrow’s ride?

It’s not enough to only ask that question before you start out. I learned that a few years ago when I went down to Arizona Bike Week. I looked at my tires and concluded I had plenty of rubber to get there and get home, but by the time I got there it was evident I had been wrong. As soon as I got to Scottsdale I headed to a local dealership and got new tires.

The tires I was riding on on the Kawi this trip were not a pair. I had gotten two new tires out in Ohio a few years ago when I went out for Vintage Motorcycle Days, but barely 1,200 miles later my rear got ruined by a puncture. I was able to get to Eagle where Jungle set me up with a used rear tire he had taken off his Concours before they went on a trip sometime earlier. And that one was good enough that I only had to replace it finally last year. But now my Ohio front tire was wearing thin.

Each day I checked it, and each day I concluded it would be fine tomorrow. Until the last day, when the disappearance of the rubber was more pronounced than it had been the other days. Hmmmm. I figured it was still good for 250 miles. And it was.

So I was over to Mountain Thunder on Friday to have Joel put a new one on for me.

“Wouldn’t you agree I could have gotten another couple thousand miles out of this tire?” I asked him jokingly.

“I think you should have replaced it a couple thousand miles sooner,” he replied, not joking.

Joel’s probably right. And I probably won’t change my ways.

Biker Quote for Today

Motorcyclist: A person willing to take a container of flammable liquid, place it on top of a hot moving engine, and then put the whole lot between their legs.