Lucky? or B*TCH?

So, had a bit of time off today..... called a guy down the street (our kids are in kindergarten together, and he and his wife ride). Asked if he was riding today! He said...yup..leaving in 45 minutes. I RUN out, hose off the bike....factory says it is black....I say the color is more "dirt brown"....wanted to prove the factory right! decided that it had been a few days since I had checked tire pressures...5 pounds low in front.....ok, so it was 35psi......could have run it, but I prefere 40..... REAR was down to 27. Juiced them both up to 40 and went for my ride. 150 miles later, pull into drive with buddy...we crack a cold one....shooting the **** you know how it goes....doing a walk around of both bikes (parked on my ski slope driveway) and notice my tire looking low......took a pressure....not good....look again just 8 inches from the tire stem.... I picked up a nail.... NOW, here is my delima.....I have a 8500 mile tire, with what looks like 50% wear.... do I patch it or replace it? and I am MAD!!! then start thinking about it...IF that nail was there before the ride and I didn't see it....I could have had BIG problems.... I don't know WHEN I picked it up.......minutes, hours, days, weeks months.....I have not seen it before! Enjoyed the ride! Now comes the costs.....tire, brakes have 18.5K miles...think now would be a good time to put on Lyndal Z pads.... got to take the tire off either way....SH*T.....and I work 12 hour shifts mon/tues....so not sure WHEN I can get things done.....Oh well..lived through it.....so must be a good day!
Nurse

Never thought about thowing a tube into it....interesting option. not sure on it....will think about it. not sure that it will change my cost much except the cost of the tire....MY biggest problem is that I am not sure I have the space/tools needed to do a REAR tire....my wheel is the 5 spoke alloy wheel.....no spokes here!! Thanks for the thought on that tho!! waiting on brake pads....might as well do them at the same time!

Real happy about sitting still when finding out my problem!!! TRUST me on that...been down once at speed....60+....NOT fun. Thankfully what was on a crotch rocket, and not a "real heavy bike" like the E Glide! Goose, wish you were closer also!! would sure save about 70$ per hour on service fees!! Figure that I would get some Z pads and have the shop do them while they are doing the tires.....saves a bit on labor.......might as well only tear things apart one time!

yup..that was me.....and got the ladder....and the lift. not the bead breaker, torque wrench, or the courage to tear apart the rear end!!

if you follow the directions in the service manual, it is a piece of cake!!!! just takes a bit of time. the cost in doing the tire is in the removal and install. it takes just a few minutes to have them change and balance the tire. and the brake pads are oh so easy, also explained in the manual. i have seen your work on the tour pac.....the wheel removal is so much easer than that project!!!! try it...YOU CAN DO IT i promise......

AFN if your tire has only 50% left & your planning the road trip REPLACE IT , A tire /wheel removel is easy , just folow the book step by step , it easyer thin you think , like Chick you did the T pack you can remove the rear wheel , I have found that cycle gear has the best prices on tires , but you have to take the wheel off & take it to them , SA has them , there's 3 or 4 in Houston , & I have to drive about 30 miles to get to them, & I still save money doing it
:cheers:

Ok, so here is the deal....I am waitig for my break pads to arrive..... work again tomorrow (tuesday), Have wed/thursday off.....Will put the bike up on jack, take off the saddle bags, take off the mufflers, and look at the wheel....will probably take that off also.....per the service manual.....I just want to know how many of you will come to my garage to help me piece together the aftermath when I have problems??!! I am going to try this thing.....I want you to all know that this will be the most involved servicing of my bike by me yet......oil change was easy!!! by the way....how hard is it to change both sets of brake pads on the front??!! Wish me luck....this is a bit nerve wracking.... uke:

I say replace the tire no matter what the mileage is. Tire plugs are to get you home or to a shop to get a new tire put on. I carry that mushroom tire plug and love em. Have had to use it twice now and they do hold and are very easy to use. I also carry a small foot pump on the bike and yes, I've had to use it to. I always seem to get a hole in my tire in the most inconvenient places and most time where there is no cell service. Once I had to put that mushroom plug in side by side due to a large slice. Got me home though and I never leave home without them.

glad your gonna try this yourself....now lets make sure ya got enough tools. check the manual, it will list the wrench sizes and torx sizes needed. the axle nut may be your problem as it is large, 1 5/16 if i remember correctly, but a 12in cresent will do it....also an extension that will fit over the wrench or cresent, as there is a bit of torque on the nut. you will need the torx for the removal of the pads. the manual will show which ones to remove and the pads will fall out, then reverse the process. same on the front pads....you can do this....when pullling the axle, there will be a spacer on each side, dont mix em up....one is thicker than the other.:biker:

at the point that you are going to remove the axle, lower the bike until the rear tire touches the floor. tap the axle out, pay attention to any movement the bike may do. i have not had a problem, but safer than sorry. with the axle out, start llifting the bike up, you will have to lift quite high to get the tire out. once out i normally let the lift back down slowley onto a couple pieces of wood set to keep the bike at a sorta normal hight, front wheel on the floor, until i am ready to replace the wheel.

that does suck.....around here there are quite a few indys that arnt that particluar, and the dealers arnt either.....it may take them longer to get to the job at hand, but that could be said about a lot of busisnesses. if just trying to check to see about patching, i would try and indy first.