Life on the road

[LAB3]

Maintenance doesn't stop just because you're 1500 miles from anything resembling "Home" Actually I haven't really had one for close to seven years now although I generally do put down somewhere for a couple months at a time on occasion work depending.

Anyhow, (beyond) time to check those valve clearances, sure enough #4 intake was too tight to get a feeler gauge under. In fact they're all a bit too tight but hey after 12k miles that's bound to happen. Gonna order up what I need and have it sent to the next spot on my wandering, get 'em installed and sync the carbs. It'll be nice to have a fresh gasket and cam seals on it too, RTV and I don't get along quite as well as advertised!

[DEEBS11]

Hi LAB3, I have spent some considerable time on the road myself. Rode my KZ1000 MKII to Alaska from Connecticut a few years back. Last September I rode to Colorado, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, California & Mexico on my Valkyrie with a car tire on the back. 6,000 miles in two weeks. Stay safe! Nothing better than being free!

[LAB3]

Man I'd love nothing more to do the "darkside" with a rear tire and avoid trying to run down a replacement 2-3 times a year! I've already resigned myself to going all-out on the Michelin Classic next time. Shinko's are "good enough" and the Bridgestone BT-46's are a disappointment wear wise. PRO-TIP: I wouldn't trust using a Dunlop 404 as a condom! Although I will say this, it's a decent front tire grip wise for running dirt/gravel roads.

[DEEBS11]

I am going to try this car tire on an XS11 Special rear rim on my standard. I already have the slotted bracket and different wheel spacer. Not sure if it is too tall (around 26 inches) This set up will drive the sidecar set up.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/191924611264

[DEEBS11]

A slightly larger version. Not sure if it would hit the shaft tube.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/181684428655

[DEEBS11]

Going to the Darkside was the best thing I ever did for my motorcycle. Now I get 30 thousand miles out of a back tire. I am on my second unit. Handles great.

[LAB3]

I am going to try this car tire on an XS11 Special rear rim on my standard.

I'll certainly be looking forward to hearing the result on that! I've considered swapping out a Special rim in order to get more choices but I order for that to make sense I'd need to do the drive swap as well. It may work out to where I'm going to park myself awhile in one spot this summer, I'll be in a better position to play with those ideas if/when that happens.

[DEEBS11]

Question: Why would the drive need to be swapped out? You got a 850 drive on there?

Oh, I see, you want an 850 drive.

[LAB3]

Looked at that first one a little closer and cross referenced it to a metric sizing chart. Heck yeah, that certainly looks like it would do the trick. The only question would be whether or not it'll stick to the rim properly. I've always been under the assumption that you can put a tubeless tire onto a tube type rim but not a tube type on a tubeless rim. Then again, you're not supposed to put a car tire onto a motorcycle either.

[DEEBS11]

I will be using a tube in this case. My Valkyrie works fine tubeless. All the B.S. on-line about about bead issues are from people who never lived the dream. I put this one on for a customer last summer. Pretty cool looking tread.

[DEEBS11]

Ha. Funny thing. I guess I forgot I bought the 5.00 instead of the 4.5. However, it matches up pretty good. Same width (13CM+) deflated. This tire is for the antique car crowd. Tube type which is why I will run a tube. Not a big deal.

[LAB3]

Tires seem to be one of those subjects where the truth is more a function of what people repeat amongst each other than the facts! Here's a video covering the 'truth" about tire age vs performance I ran across a whole back, everyone should pay attention to this!
https://youtu.be/WwbLt8vZH5w

[DEEBS11]

Good info. I keep spare tires in the cellar away from the electric motors from the washer/dryer/oil burner to avoid ozone. Tire condition for the non-racer? Look for cracks indicating dry rot. That usually takes over ten years here in New England. Some of my older restorations have tires that are 15 years old and they are still looking good with no cracks.

[LAB3]

My last bike, an '83 Goldwing, had a rear tire on it with a three digit date code and I covered about 10k miles with it before replacing. Nuff said!

[DEEBS11]

I got a 75 Wing with some slight modifications. The Mammoth.