Here we discuss everything related to motorcycle (and scooter!) riding, maintenance and gear.
Rules:
A buddy of mine let me borrow his XT250 (I don't have a car right now) which was a godsend. It was fun getting the wheels and tires to the shop. I had to make two trips!
I read the title and saw the main picture and thought it said seat. I was really confused how you wore the seat out in 3500 miles, haha. Enjoy the new tires! Keep having fun
Thank you! I am hoping to replace my seat for a little more comfort soon, even if it isn't wore out. If you're not having fun, you're doing it wrong!
Gorgeous bike! How are you liking it? I picked one up myself last year and have been having a blast with it lol
I've seen your posts! I particularly enjoyed your use of 'halfrica twin'. Considering this is only the second bike I've ever owned (I've ridden plenty others though) and it is MUCH more accommodating than my SR400, I really enjoy it.
I ride as my primary transportation. To work, grocery, etc. With that in mind, the NX500 has been much better for me, especially in winter subfreezing riding. I have a lot going on in life, but when things calm down, I should have more flexibility to do the necessary upgrades that will make it even better for me.
Glad we have a few of us out there! I've seen a couple others in my area. Seems like people like the successor to the CB500X (when so much of it is near the same, haha)
Props to you for riding in sub zero conditions! I haven’t gotten there yet lol. And yeah it’s very much the same bike just with a face lift (not that it’s a bad thing, the cb500 engine is bulletproof)
When I worked doing deliveries on my bike I always did the tyres myself with a bench vice and tyre irons, great workout, but my rim paint couldn't be saved. Nowadays I don't eat tyres so quickly and the bikes are cleaner/nicer, so I pay pros to do it as well!
Last pic of it, the crust on that rear wheel, covers the lack of paint no worries!
The closely guarded ancient ninja secret to DIY tire changes turns out to be to use actual professional tire bead lubricant. I finally got a gallon bucket of the stuff online which will probably be a lifetime supply, and using it almost feels like cheating. Forget about Windex and dish soap.
On every rim I've tried it on it completely eliminated the struggle other than breaking the bead on the crustier examples, for which I have a selection of bead breaking tools anyway. I put a front tire on my KLR a couple of months ago which is a 21" diameter, and using the lubricant stuff after breaking the bead I was able to shove the old tire off by hand without using any spoons at all, and I very nearly got the new tire back on without any spoons, either. I only needed to spoon it for about the last one sixth of its diameter on the second bead.
Widely known secret of cave man, use three tyre irons, hold one down with your knee while you use the other two to stop the tyre coming off and force it the rest of the way, until the one your holding with your knee slips and you get a swift gender change.
But seriously thanks for the info, I'll go find some for the next time.
I misread that as speed rather than distance and nearly shat myself
Conti TKC 70’s are great tires. Good choice! Enjoy.
Seem like the best for my use case! I haven't really pushed them or anything, but I like what I've felt on the road so far.
I changed mine myself. Once. Never again, what a pain in the ass.
I do as much of everything I can on my own to save money, but I understand. When I was younger it was more out of necessity. I used to take the tires off the wheels with spoons. Now I just take the wheels to a guy with machines. Figure that's my compromise at this stage in my life, between paying someone and saving money.
Same. When I buy new tires these days, I wear them like a hula hoop and take them to a motorcycle mechanic shop that's nearby and have that guy do the work that his tools make eary. I'll try to do other work myself, messing it up half the time, but tires, nope.
The innuendo is strong with this one.