New Front Tire on my 1990

Well today I changed the front tire myself, mounted a new Roadsmart. Pretty easy job, changed the fork oil too, very easy job.

Took a test ride, very nice indeed. I found 50grams of weight right at the valve stem, and on the edges of the rim.

Good thing I balanced the wheel before mounting the tire. I had to take all those weights off and when I did the wheel was almost perfectly balanced. I marked the heavy spot and it was right at the stem but close.

Then of course I put the light spot of tire there and the whole thing was almost balanced but I did end up with 7 grams of weight and a perfectly balanced combo. Beats the hell out of me why shops can't do this right.

My rear for example has one small weight but instead of putting it near the center it's way near the one edge. I might yank it and check it too.

The PO had obviously changed the rear tire to new not long ago but had left the front - bad idea. Although it had tread left it was worn strangely with a ridge in the center and drop off to either side. Man it sure turns in better now!

I'm not sure if this tire will wear the same, the PO wasn't big on leaning but I am. Which is strange considering the wear, it looks like he was leaning most of the time yet he lives in Tokyo the flattest place in Japan and I'd have though the center would be worn flat.

Depending on how this one wears I'll likely get another make next time but it sure feels good now with a nice roundy profile and lots of tread.

Hey did you know that when a tire is mounted many places leave the tire lube on and don't clean it off. And brother they do slather it on sometimes. Guess what, it flings out onto the tire and will dump you on the road. No wonder they say go easy for 100 miles on new tires. Bet your arse I cleaned mine off really well.

Truth is I only put a thin coat of lube around both beads, nothing to fling off really - a clean new tire looks better anyway.

No special equipment needed to change, got a bead breaker and two tire irons. Oh ya, I have a pocket balancer that hangs and works great, got it from Eric at Beemer Balancers:

Beemer Balancers :: Value Ridden BMW Motorcycle Accessories

I got it when I had a Beemer but it fits perfectly into the bearings of both my Hondas!

Well, that's it for now, let me know if anyone has any questions, I don't see why everyone doesn't change their own tires!