ten year old tires - Page 4

    Getting this tire replaced may be tough.  The only motorcycle
maintanence shop in town, I called them up, tell them "Hey, can you
change the tires on my Honda Rebel 250?"  and the woman on the phone
says "Sorry, we only work on Harleys".  What bullshit.

  So, I don't know what to do.  I don't have the tools to change my own
tire.  I'm not up to riding 20 minutes on the expressway yet, so I
can't take it back to the guy I bought it from.

 
Magnulus wrote:

I used 2 hydralic jack stands to lift my old Rebel 450.  One jack on
each side under the frame. Removed one wheel, took it to shop for
mounting.  Put it back on and removed the other wheel and returned to
the shop.

A hassle, but less $ than having the shop remove the wheels.

20 minutes on the expressway?  Go for it!

Bryan

   Thanks for the advice.  I'll remove the wheels, then get them new
tires.  That would save alot of hassle.  I guess I only need to figure
out HOW to remove the wheels, it can't be too easy.

 wrote:


Turn the bike upside down. It's much easier to work on then.

--
Turby the Turbosurfer

 wrote:


Where do you live that you don't have a jap motorcycle dealer nearby?
I'm in the sticks of Indiana and have at least 8 different dealers
with 20 to 30 minutes of me.  Two are within 10 minutes.
The tires won't cost anywhere near the $250 you mentioned if you order
online.  I've got a set of Avon Vipers sitting in the garage waiting
for the current tires to wear out on my Busa.  I bought them a few
months back when Avon had a "buy a rear get a free front special".
Total cost including shipping was $180 bucks and we're talking state
of the art high performance sport bike tires with a 190mm rear.  
Downside is a lot of dealer don't like mounting tires you bring in.  I
mount and balance my own tires since I go through a few sets a year.

If that bike has only 5K miles on it and the front tire is worn,
something isn't right.  Either the mileage is WAY higher than
advertised (speedo replaced?) or someone put a shit used tire on the
front.

A Rebel 250 won't tear up a rear tire in 5K miles let alone a front
tire.  The front should look like brand new.  I've never worn out the
tread on any front tire of any bike I've ever owned.  My Hayabusa and
CXTs get about 5K to 6K out of a rear tire and I change the fronts
with every second rear...not because of worn tread but just due to
funky wear patterns that effect handling.  My CX500 Custom had 12K
miles on the tires when I sold it and the rear was just about ready
for a change, front looked like brand new.  Not a very powerful bike,
but at 50HP it's about 2½ times more than a  Rebel 250 plus a lot more
weight.  

Your tires should also have wear bars in the tread so you don't have
to worry about using a penny (which won't be an accurate gauge for any
motorcycle tire).  Look for little raised bars in the center of the
tread.  When the height of the tread is even with the wear bars, it's
time for a new tire.  Unless you ride that Rebel as a daily driver
year round, odds are dry rot will win out before a worn tread.


George
CX500 TURBO
CX650 TURBO
'86 Elite 150 Deluxe
'04 Hayabusa