| Author | Message | ||
     Ckj |
I want to run the D220 190/50/17 rear tire. Also dealership wants 1.5 hours to install seems excessive and expensive to me. How difficult is it to change the rear tire and what do I need to look out for. All advice would be greatly appreciated | ||
| Blake |
It is inadvisable to run the wrong size tire. It will screw up the handling and can overstress the tire mounting it on a rim that is significantly too narrow for the tire. Stay with the stock 180 series tire. | ||
| Darthane |
And just to add to that, yes, 1.5 hours is excessive. They should not charge more than 1 hour (it's $70 for Harley dealers around here, they charge half that if you just bring in the wheel and tire) at the worst. Are they trying to gouge you because they didn't sell you the tire? check around, chances are a Jap shop will do it cheaper. Getting the rear wheel off an XB isn't difficult. Loosen the rear axle 15 turns, remove the idler pulley, remove the axle and voila, it drops out. Be careful not to twist the belt. I suggest you remove the wheel yourself and then take the tire/wheel somewhere to have it mounted. For XBs, make sure whomever you have mount the tire balances the wheel without the tire on it FIRST. The heavy spot on an XB wheel is NOT NECESSARILY the valvestem, which everyone assumes is the case. My front wheel's heavy spot was about 1/4 way around from the valvestem. And ditto what Blake said about tires, keep the 180/55/17 size. edited by darthane on August 25, 2003 | ||
| Glitch |
I've not done this with my XB and won't. I did something similar with my Bandit and the bike felt like it was falling into the turns, not a good feeling... | ||
| Court |
Don't do it. | ||
| Skully |
Hey Darthane, Did you forget to remove the foot peg brackets and the belt guards? Also, do you really want to *balance* the wheel before you mount the tire or simply find the heavy spot and put to dot on the tire at that point? This would reduce to amount of wheel weight required.  Keith | ||
| Darthane |
Aww, shoot, Skully caught that. I hadn't had my coffee yet. You also need to remove the right footpeg mounts, belt guards (unless you took them off for 'looks' already), and the swingarm brace. All in all, it takes me a half hour to forty-five minutes to get both wheels off. Worth the $70+ I save, in my opinion, plus then I know they didn't kink my belt removing the rear wheel. And no, that was a poor choice of words on my part, you shouldn't 'balance' just the wheel, but you should put it on a balancer and find the heavy spot. A couple cups of coffee later and I'm doing much better. Anyone know of a replacement aftermearket O2 sensor that'll fit an XB? Bryan | ||
| Dblhaulxb9s |
I am with Bryan, take those wheels off yourself. It is no big deal and you save money. I mount and balance my own tires and I think it is worth it. It takes a while but after you factor in the time you actually don't get to ride the bike, I think it is about equal. Morgan PS, I really like my D220's I think they stick really well and last longer (about 3000 out of a rear and 6000 for a front). Mine stay round until the end too. I ride a lot of twisties. | ||
| Ckj |
How do I go about jacking up the bike or putting it on a make shift stand as I remove the rear tire? Is it necessary for my to buy a pit-bull racing stand? | ||
| Ckj |
How do I go about jacking up the bike or putting it on a make shift stand as I remove the rear tire? Is it necessary for my to buy a pit-bull racing stand? | ||
| Blake |
Some type of purpose built stand is in order. | ||
| Darthane |
A regular old swingarm-style rear stand will work. Mine cost me about $60. Take the belt guards off first, though, and make sure the supporting arms of the stand do not cover the rear axle pinch fastener. I am building a 'dry-dock' of sorts for my XB soon. A chock for the front wheel, along with eyebolts sunk into 2x4s mounted on a 3'x6' piece of 3/4" plywood. Roll the wheel into the chock, tie down the front end, and that puppy ain't going ANYWHERE while you work on it. I might even put a mount for a jack in there, then I can lift the whole bike off the ground using it. And all for ~$30 worth of lumber and hardware. Bryan edited by darthane on August 25, 2003 | ||
| Ckj |
Can I use a jack under the stock muffler? I do have the D&D muffler that I will be putting on soon. So if it damages the stock just a little that will be OK. Jack the bike up and then tie down to balance and then change the rear tire? CJ | ||
| Chainsaw |
Ckj: I use a regular old Sears Craftsman Motorcycle Jack. It fits under the stock muffler. The stock muffler is marked with 2 triangles on the right side to designate the "jacking points". The Buell stock and race mufflers are the only ones that I know of that will support the bikes weight. If you're getting a D&D, you're gonna need wheel stands or a home-brew straps in the rafters type deal. Toughest part of the rear wheel removal for me was the idler pulley. I spent 30 minutes trying to pry and otherwise remove that puppy before I stuck a broomstick handle from the opposite side and gently hammered it off. Take your time, don't twist the belt, and you'll be fine. (Buell issued a service bulletin months ago that says twisting the belt will cause a premature belt failure) Good Luck!  | ||
| Darthane |
I had that idler pulley problem as well. I finally got sick of dealing with it and drilled the smaller of the two holes (they aren't the same size) out to the next size up and bam, no more problems. The jack will work fine, CKJ, just make sure the bike is tied down well for stability. Bryan | ||
| Adam2 |
190 no no no. With the rim size you're using, you may well end up with less rubber on the road. In any case you'll ruin the handling. Here in the UK some folk tried that stunt with tubers and found out the hard way. I have known of some people going one size smaller tho'! | ||
| Steveford |
It really isn't necessary to remove the idler pulley to pull the rear wheel off. Had one that was stuck on there like you won't believe last year and the job went off without a hitch (or a twisted belt). |
