I
IanF
Guest
I was riding home one evening and picked up a drywall screw in the Spitfire S11 that has been on the rear of the GS450 for quite a while. The rims are tube-type (TT) so the tire deflated almost immediately. Caught me leaned over at about 25mph but I didn't drop the bike, and wasn't far from my starting point so turned around and limped back at 10 mph thinking I was risking some rash on my rims but the tire protected the rim perfectly. After retrieving the bike and getting it home I attempted to spoon off the tire. Breaking the bead was not hard but getting it up over the rim was a huge struggle. Checked the number and found 3305 for a date code. Aug 05, hmm, this tire is more than a little stale, so maybe just replacing the tube is not such a good idea. So, off to the computer. I'd been buying tires from a local shop who mounts and balances free, but their selection is limited and I wanted a BT45 in 110/90-18 so I knew I would have to order it and wait if I went through them. Ordered from motorcyclesuperstore.com instead. Got a TKC80 for the KLR650 as well. Was very pleased to get free shipping and have the tires show up two days later. They are in Medford OR and I would recommend them to anyone on the left coast.
So, I put ~1.5 oz. of Dyna balancing beads (http://www.innovativebalancing.com/index.php) into the heavy-duty tube and the special valve stem and spooned the tire on. On this bike it's necessary to mount the rear tire with the shocks removed so the axle bolt will clear the mufflers. While they were off I rinsed them out with some WD40 and replaced the oil with 150cc of new hi-tech 10W fork oil per side (Silkolene I think). I should mention that these shocks are from a 1983 Yam XJ650 Turbo and are cool units with internal springs, equalized air preload and 4 position rebound damping. The equalizer hose comes off and that was where I drained and added oil.
Same as with the BT45 on the front, I encountered some difficulty getting the bead to seat straight, but having experience with this problem I just ignored it
and went for a ride thinking that once the tire warmed it would seat itself or be easier to wrestle into position. This turned out to be the case. A three mile trip on the freeway at 42psi did the trick. Stopping for gas before heading up GMR I checked the tire and the bead was perfect and the tire was running true. Yay! Aired it down to 38psi and proceeded. So far the tire has been awesome. Even with the bead incorrectly seated the bike did not wiggle or wobble on the rain grooves and joints of the war-torn SoCal freeways and even before the "new" was scrubbed off the bike was giving me heaps of grip and confidence. The shocks are working better than ever before but require damping to be dialed up to 4, the stiffest setting, likely due to the thin oil. Might have to add some 30W to stiffen it up some more.
Anyone who rides Glendora Mountain Rd. and Glendora Ridge Rd. know it's one of the best sections of tight twisties in SoCal. I counted over 270 turns in 18-19 miles and there's something like 30 miles of road up there. It's the most fun one can have under 50mph in the area.
Anyway, the GS450 with its upgraded suspension front and rear and now matching set of Battlax BT45 tires (only the H rated ones) Just Tore It Up. Previously I had never been able to push the front tire as hard as I can now. The feedback is incredible and it was easy to tell when I was approaching the limits of the front tire's grip, and my pace was way up. Stoked!
Upon returning home I checked the rear tire again and was pleased to find some very narrow chicken strips. I know the width of the strips vary with different bikes and tires but with this setup I was able to use most of the tread width in just the first 50 miles of use. I think it's working
Photo: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/mLMuu8WCxfj9NLK-aAsxi9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink
So, I put ~1.5 oz. of Dyna balancing beads (http://www.innovativebalancing.com/index.php) into the heavy-duty tube and the special valve stem and spooned the tire on. On this bike it's necessary to mount the rear tire with the shocks removed so the axle bolt will clear the mufflers. While they were off I rinsed them out with some WD40 and replaced the oil with 150cc of new hi-tech 10W fork oil per side (Silkolene I think). I should mention that these shocks are from a 1983 Yam XJ650 Turbo and are cool units with internal springs, equalized air preload and 4 position rebound damping. The equalizer hose comes off and that was where I drained and added oil.
Same as with the BT45 on the front, I encountered some difficulty getting the bead to seat straight, but having experience with this problem I just ignored it
and went for a ride thinking that once the tire warmed it would seat itself or be easier to wrestle into position. This turned out to be the case. A three mile trip on the freeway at 42psi did the trick. Stopping for gas before heading up GMR I checked the tire and the bead was perfect and the tire was running true. Yay! Aired it down to 38psi and proceeded. So far the tire has been awesome. Even with the bead incorrectly seated the bike did not wiggle or wobble on the rain grooves and joints of the war-torn SoCal freeways and even before the "new" was scrubbed off the bike was giving me heaps of grip and confidence. The shocks are working better than ever before but require damping to be dialed up to 4, the stiffest setting, likely due to the thin oil. Might have to add some 30W to stiffen it up some more.Anyone who rides Glendora Mountain Rd. and Glendora Ridge Rd. know it's one of the best sections of tight twisties in SoCal. I counted over 270 turns in 18-19 miles and there's something like 30 miles of road up there. It's the most fun one can have under 50mph in the area.
Anyway, the GS450 with its upgraded suspension front and rear and now matching set of Battlax BT45 tires (only the H rated ones) Just Tore It Up. Previously I had never been able to push the front tire as hard as I can now. The feedback is incredible and it was easy to tell when I was approaching the limits of the front tire's grip, and my pace was way up. Stoked!
Upon returning home I checked the rear tire again and was pleased to find some very narrow chicken strips. I know the width of the strips vary with different bikes and tires but with this setup I was able to use most of the tread width in just the first 50 miles of use. I think it's working
Photo: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/mLMuu8WCxfj9NLK-aAsxi9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink
