runflats?

[mikehallbackhoe]

over at the goldwing forum, it seems like almost everyone runs a runflat tire. I never hear valk owners running a runflat. is it not available in our size?

[dennisraz]

The reason I run the darkside is to save $1000 a year on tires.
Spending $200 on  a run flat tire changes the equation for me.
I don't see any sizes to fit the valk anyway.
Runflat technology seems like a scam,IMHO.
 

[MrBones]

WOW Dennis at a $1000 a year savings on tires you would have to go through at least  5 rear tires a year!! You must put in allot of mileage per year. I personally get 20,000 + on my Dunlop 3s. So its hard to understand what your milage per year must be?

[dennisraz]

When your tooting around at 130 MPH,you don't want to be riding on a dunflop.
 
I don't wait for every inch of rubber to be worn.
When tread wear gets suspect and the tire starts making weird noises,I change them.
Was doing two sets a year,one at the beginning,then again before winter storage.

[LHMC001]

Runflats?? I have several peace occifer friends that ride for a living and they run those tires and I was told they cannot handle the weight of more than one up riding...has anyone else heard the same thing???

[MrBones]

Mike must be I got my explaining mixed up. Easy to do for me. No I get my tires through Direct Line then take them to a Kawasaki store to be mounted. Last time they went up to $80. a tire for mounting abd balance. That's on the bike. Drive in and out. Might try to take the wheels off myself someday. But sounds like allot of work for an old guy like me (76) so not sure.

[Nogrey]

Mike must be I got my explaining mixed up. Easy to do for me. No I get my tires through Direct Line then take them to a Kawasaki store to be mounted. Last time they went up to $80. a tire for mounting abd balance. That's on the bike. Drive in and out. Might try to take the wheels off myself someday. But sounds like allot of work for an old guy like me (76) so not sure.

Hey MrBones, When I got my Valk in November it needed tires so I thought I'd go ahead and replace them to get her ready for spring. No pressure as had the whole winter ahead. I read about how to do it in the honda manual and on the forum. I've never done it before. It really was no big deal, and that's on an Interstate. I really was going to just have Honda do it, but when I asked them at the "stealership" they quoted me a price of $120 for mount and balance, no tires in that equation. I tipped my hat with my middle finger and walked out of there with more determination to do it myself. I removed the front and rear tires and took them in to the local Yamaha dealer with a set of Avons I had purchased off ebay for $199. Yamaha charged me $40 for the mount and balance. Putting them back on the bike was easy. The big plus is that you get to inspect/grease the rear splines. Some folks on the forum here have found that the stealerships occasionally skip this process. As I've mentioned before, I'm no mechanic. I took a whole saturday to do this, but could probably do it in a few hours next time.

[dennisraz]

I do all my own maintenance.
The local shop charges me $25 to mount and balance a tire.
Removing a tire takes less than an hour with basic hand tools and a floor jack.
You can nearly take the whole valk apart with nothing more than the tool kit under your seat.
I love Japanese bikes.
 

[LHMC001]

I found a car shop that does bike tires also...$20 bucks to mount and $10 to balance...was thinking dynabeads, will be replacing the rear tire when ever it gets here....but to pull the rear on an I/S is not that bad....here is a pic with front and rear pulled...she looks very naked...

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[Valker]

Be sure to loosen the 4 bolts holding the rear end to the drive shaft. Tighten them back up last.

[MrBones]

Thanks for the input. Guess I will try the taking them off myself. Like the dyna-bead thing so maybe give it a try. Also any tips for a guy that can't lift too much weight?? And should I worry about the bearings at the same time? 45K on the bike.

[LHMC001]

Mr. Bones,

Once you have your bike jacked up, I use wedge shaped 2x4 opposed to suuport the tire during removal of the spindle (axle) that way you have no side angulation or torque on the spindle during removal. Once the spindle is out, gentle pull the wedge towrds the back of the bike and your tire will come rolling out. Remember to loosen your 4 final drive bolts so you lessen the interference.

Good luck and if you get stuck...we will be here...

Dave

[MP]

Sounds like a good deal.  That is the mechanic to have.  Plus, he knows if he does bad work, he will go out of business.
MP

[rodeo1]

went over and had him mount and balance two new tires for the goldwing. he fiddled with them, rotating them on the rim till it only took one oz. of weight on the front and zero on the back to balance. thats my kind of mechanic.