| Author | Message | ||
     Maximum |
OK, so I had an appointment to get my tire change today (6/22), but yesterday on the way home from work I got a flat on I-70.  The good news is that I carry a tire plug kit in my tool kit (stow-n-go bag).  Here is the expanded view of the stuff I carry in my tool kit.  More good news is that I also carry an air compressor in one of my saddle bags along with bungee cords, misc riding gear, and a few other odds and ends.  So I went ahead and plug the tire, but the bad news was that the plug was leaking, and I can only get the tire to hold about 20 psi. I guess the Wal-mart special motorcycle tire plug kit is not the best. Any suggestions?  I ended up limping the bike home and took the wheel off to get the tire replaced today (appointment set a week ago). More good news, I had no corrosion and the wheel came off with no trouble. The moral of the story is, don't be cheap an try to stretch the tires a few hundred more miles. Replace earlier rather than later. Lesson number two is the confirmation that it is a good idea to carry some basic repair tools! | ||
| Florida_lime |
Maximum, Great pictures as always, and I never tire (  ) of seeing your Uly, but how much time does it add to the repair to document it ?  | ||
| L_je |
I cast my vote for Maximum being the most likely to have the best photographic documentation of an alien abduction. | ||
| Maximum |
Hey Florida, the hardest part of taking pictures is remembering to bring the camera with me. Actually, the most time consuming part of posting my adventures is the cropping, resizing and compressing the pictures! I guess I was influenced by "EOR", after closely following his adventures while I was in Iraq last year. He was a much better writer though! I'm glad to know that at least one person is enjoying my pictures!  | ||
| Cyclonedon |
Max, that Bell tire patching kit is the same one I have, but as far as the mini air compressor, I purchased a Slime model. The night when I plugged my tire I was at a gas station and used their air hose. Did you have a nail or something in your tire or was it just wore through? My last motorcycle (M2 Cyclone), I put just over 15,000 miles on it and was out riding one Saturday morning when a car behind me at a stop light said that my back tire was showing the white nylon cords at the center seam. Sure enough when I got off to look at it, the whole center was showing the white cord, so I went straight to the dealership and replaced the rear tire that day. The front tire was still the original and had over 19,000 miles on it when I traded my Cyclone in on my Ulysses. btw, I also enjoy seeing your pictures that you post on here and am looking forward to seeing your Uly at homecoming. | ||
| Snowscum |
Bummer Max! I-70 would suck to have to pull over. Which side of I-25 were you on? Kinda looks like the east side. | ||
| Maximum |
Thanks guys! Cyclonedon: I also have the slime compressor, seems to work pretty good. The tire did not have anything stuck in it, all I saw where some very small circular lacerations. Probably my trip down a gravel road last weekend didn't help. Snowscum: I had just got on I-70 from Airport Blvd when I noticed that something just did not feel right. It was a little intimidating being on the side of the Interstate, but it all worked out. | ||
| Birdmanrh |
I have an AMA MoTow card....they take the bike to the dealer. ;) | ||
| Adamd |
Hey Max, I use Fastone Photo Resizer, it automatically resizes and assigns a new name or overwrites the old one. It's free too! | ||
| Bearly |
Nice Pics as always Maxium. What kind of camera to you carry? I have a Canon 5d and it takes up a lot of room in my bags especially if I have a long lens with me. I did take them to from Northern VA to Texas and back, but I had all three bags on. Adamd: I use Adobe Lightroom. A really great tool for color balance, white balance adjustments, cropping, straightening and it will auto convert to DNG files if you wish. But since it's from Adobe, it's definitely not free. | ||
| Captain_nartman |
Everythings free if ya know where and how. Great Pics btw.. I need to get an Emergency Tool Kit Sorted.. Carry Ziltch at the Moment N x  | ||
| Chinook |
nice plug kit well reviewed by MC http://www.stopngo.com/ | ||
| Hughlysses |
I've got Stop-n-Go plugs, and they work great for straight punctures (nails, screws, etc.). OTOH, I've read that if the hole's irregular, the sticky plugs work better. Steel chords can also cut the Stop-n-Go plugs in two after you're ridden a while. I was able to do a temp patch on a ~2 inch long cut in my Pirelli Sync a couple of weeks ago by putting 3 of the Stop-n-Go plugs side-by-side. See thread here: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/284227.html?1181605852 It was good enough to get me a couple of miles up the road to a shady spot to wait for my wife and the pickup, but I wouldn't have trusted it for much more. | ||
| Maximum |
Adamd: Thanks for the software recommendation, it looks like a pretty good utility. They also have an executable version that should be pretty handy at work where I cannot install programs. Bearly: I use a Casio Exilim. I bought it before going to Iraq a couple years ago; I was looking for the smallest good camera I could fine. I would never take as many pictures if the camera was too big to comfortably fit in my pocket.  As far a the tire plug business goes, I stopped by the NAPA store today and spent a couple bucks to add some "rope" style sticky plugs. These should work better for emergency repairs that would allow me to fill it with air and ride right away. The blue strips are the ones that came with the Bell kit.  Here is one final picture of the new tire, just because I know you guys like pictures!  | ||
| Imonabuss |
Yuh, pxtrs gud, writng tu hrd. we be dum Buell rydrz. |
