tazoom
.040 Over
Just removed the wheels on my 06 R3 this weekend to have the tires changed...changed to Avon Cobras. (Thanks to all that suggested them) A few things I tried/noticed:
1. The service manual is helpful, but leaves out a lot of details that a novice needs.
2. Getting both wheels off the ground at the same time can be interesting!
Have a cycle jack from Sears. When placed under the motor this raises the front tire, but not the back. Read some of the ideas here suggesting pulling down on the front and that would have worked. Decided I "needed" (wanted!) a 1-ton lift for this and other projects. Found one for $129 at Harbor Freight Tools. Cheaply made, but fine for what I'm doing. Removed the seat and used a nylon strap under the frame and the upper shock mounts. Inserted the lift from the left side and tilted the bike forward on the cycle jack far enough for the rear wheel to clear the rear fender/tag without any difficulty.
3. Front tire was easy. Needed a 19mm hex wrench for the axle.
4. The manual says not to let the calipers pull on the brake lines. Found that plastic grocery bags worked well - put the calipers in and hang them by the handles on the turn signal mounts. The rear will hang on the upper shock mount.
5. The rear tire was a bit more of a challenge. The manual says to replace the bolt holding the rear caliper with a new bolt. ????? Haven't talked to anyone that does this. Thoughts??? Think this is the first time this bolt has been out (bought the bike used). What a bear!! Finally got a 14mm box-end with a long pipe and broke it loose! Used the head portion of a large lag-screw head with vise-grips in the left axle and a 24mm on the right nut. Worked well. When I went to remove the rear axle it
wouldn't clear the left stock pipe. Had to remove the two rear mount bolts on the pipe and rotate it upward. (Easy to do, but when I went to remount the bolts the CatBox had moved slightly forward. Had to pry it back a bit to align the bolts properly.)
6. Found that any bike shop could mount the front for me - the rear was another story. Some suggested they've had success with auto tire shops. I didn't. However, the local Japanese cycle shop was able to mount it with no problems.
7. Reversing the process was not difficult. Did check to make sure that the mounting on the tires matched the proper pattern on the wheels, and that I mounted the front wheel in the proper direction of rotation. (The back only goes one way; it appears that the front wheel can be mounted either direction.) Is this correct????
8. A fellow R3 owner made sure that I knew that the tire traction would be a little "greasy" for the first 100 miles or so. Glad he said something, I wasn't aware of this.
Hope something about this is new and/or helpful.
1. The service manual is helpful, but leaves out a lot of details that a novice needs.
2. Getting both wheels off the ground at the same time can be interesting!
Have a cycle jack from Sears. When placed under the motor this raises the front tire, but not the back. Read some of the ideas here suggesting pulling down on the front and that would have worked. Decided I "needed" (wanted!) a 1-ton lift for this and other projects. Found one for $129 at Harbor Freight Tools. Cheaply made, but fine for what I'm doing. Removed the seat and used a nylon strap under the frame and the upper shock mounts. Inserted the lift from the left side and tilted the bike forward on the cycle jack far enough for the rear wheel to clear the rear fender/tag without any difficulty.
3. Front tire was easy. Needed a 19mm hex wrench for the axle.
4. The manual says not to let the calipers pull on the brake lines. Found that plastic grocery bags worked well - put the calipers in and hang them by the handles on the turn signal mounts. The rear will hang on the upper shock mount.
5. The rear tire was a bit more of a challenge. The manual says to replace the bolt holding the rear caliper with a new bolt. ????? Haven't talked to anyone that does this. Thoughts??? Think this is the first time this bolt has been out (bought the bike used). What a bear!! Finally got a 14mm box-end with a long pipe and broke it loose! Used the head portion of a large lag-screw head with vise-grips in the left axle and a 24mm on the right nut. Worked well. When I went to remove the rear axle it
wouldn't clear the left stock pipe. Had to remove the two rear mount bolts on the pipe and rotate it upward. (Easy to do, but when I went to remount the bolts the CatBox had moved slightly forward. Had to pry it back a bit to align the bolts properly.)
6. Found that any bike shop could mount the front for me - the rear was another story. Some suggested they've had success with auto tire shops. I didn't. However, the local Japanese cycle shop was able to mount it with no problems.
7. Reversing the process was not difficult. Did check to make sure that the mounting on the tires matched the proper pattern on the wheels, and that I mounted the front wheel in the proper direction of rotation. (The back only goes one way; it appears that the front wheel can be mounted either direction.) Is this correct????
8. A fellow R3 owner made sure that I knew that the tire traction would be a little "greasy" for the first 100 miles or so. Glad he said something, I wasn't aware of this.
Hope something about this is new and/or helpful.
