New tires... again

[rjs987]

After my trip to Oklahoma last weekend I looked at my tires and the rear tire tread is even with the wear bars in many places. Just put these tires on the scoot in February and the rear is done with about 6000 miles on them. The previous OEM original tires were replaced at 6600 miles. My trip down south included many faster roads that were paved with chip and seal. That surface eats tires for lunch. One long section of the Talimena Scenic Drive was fresh chip and seal that was VERY rough. I joked with the group that I lost 500 miles of tire life on just that 30 mile section. Didn't realize at the time I may have been right. Now the front tire looks like the rear tire did before I left for the trip so expecting another 2000 miles out of that one since we really don't have chip and seal roads up here in Iowa... at least not enough to be an issue with tire wear (the trip was 1747 miles). Today I ordered a set of Shinko tires for the scoot. SR567 for the front and SR568 for the rear, a matching set. They are Bias ply instead of Radials but that won't really be a problem as many here have put Bias ply on their bikes that use OEM Radial tires with no issues. Reviews indicate these should last at least as long as my OEM Bridgestones that are on there now with some reviewers saying they were able to get over 9000 miles on them. And the total cost for both F/R is the same as just the front OEM Bridgestone so I'm looking forward to see if they are anything close to the Shinko tires I put on my CTX a few years ago. Total cost for me for BOTH tires was about $106! Yep, scooter tires do cost less being slightly smaller (15" front, 14" rear) so I can go through twice as many sets of tires on the Burgman 650 and still pay less on tires than I did on either my ST1100 or CTX1300.

 

[rjs987]

Not really into going dark. I also know a few riders who went dark on their Burgman 650s.
But I do plan (at least) to report back on the performance of these Shinkos.

 

[ardykay54]

Bob...….When the light turns green, don't do those smoky burn-outs you're famous for!! Russ.

 

[rjs987]

Been riding every day I can... as long as there is no snow/ice on the roads. My rear Shinko tire is looking almost bald in the center after 8803 miles so that is the very next item on the to-do list. This morning I put the center stand up on a 4x4 block to lift the rear enough to remove the rear wheel without the need to remove any of the tail plastic (just need the final drive cover off to get to the rear axle). I drove the bike up onto some blocks first to lift it a little and then grunted a lot to get it up on the center stand on the bigger block. I'll wait until a little later when temps warm up a few degrees to remove the wheel. I have a parabolic heater that I will sit right behind the bike to warm things up a little when I do this. Temps now are right around 26 F, and in my unheated attached garage it is around 32 F per the bike temp sensor. This will be the second time I removed the wheel to take in for the tire change so should be easier and quicker to do this time. Decided to get it done now since I won't be riding all week. Especially since right now we are just starting another snow storm forecasting up to 12 inches over the next day and a half with another snow storm expected in another 2 days. This tire change will also involve replacing the bearings in the rear wheel. I have an All Balls bearing/seals kit on order at the dealer which should be here tomorrow. I figure based on historical posting on the Burgman forums the bearings are best replaced with every other or every 3rd tire change or every 20,000 miles, which ever comes first. I am currently at just under 21,500 miles on the odo and the bearings have not been swapped out yet. Below is a photo of the bike center stand up on a block. I lock the center stand in place with a ratchet strap to the front wheel (I put the strap from the center stand to a forward frame tube under the radiator when I remove the front wheel). This is to prevent accidentally knocking the bike off the center stand if it gets bumped from behind. That would be very bad with no rear wheel installed. This is a good precaution on any bike that is up on a center stand for maintenance.

Also coming up on the next oil change interval. I use Shell Rotella T6 full synthetic and have in all my bikes since my Gold Wing I owned from 2002, including in my CTX1300. Though back then (2002) it was just Shell Rotella T. The service manual for my Burgman calls for the oil change at every 3500 miles, but I've always gone 7000 miles and change the filter every oil change. On the Burgman the final drive also gets the oil changed at 7000 miles interval so that will be done. I only have to remove 2 bits of plastic along the bottom on the left side of the bike to do all oil changes. Oh, and a small maintenance panel on the side above the left foot board where the oil fill is located. This work will likely be done next week.



EDIT: Finally got the wheel off. Took all of 5 minutes (or less) to remove the speed sensor and brake caliper bolts... then the next hour + to wrestle the caliper off the brake disk. I put new pads on in June 2020, only 6700 miles ago, and they still had LOTS of pad material left so were very tight getting around the little bit of ridge at the edge of the disk. Didn't want to damage the pads so went about it slowly/carefully but firmly until the caliper finally wiggled free. Then I used the same hardboard spacer as I did last time (ALWAYS a good idea to put a spacer or wedge between the brake pads when the calipers are not installed on the wheel) but that was also a bear to fit between the pads. Had to slip a flat pry bar in between to spread 'em a little and then the hardboard was very tight going in. The hardboard is exactly the same thickness as the brake disk.

 

[rjs987]

Got the wheel back from dealer with new tire and bearings mounted last Thursday. Finally had a nice day today with some time to put it back on the bike. I think it's getting easier... or maybe just getting to memorize the steps. But I can never remember just what the torque for the axle nut should be so I keep the service manual handy for that. Took as long to wiggle the caliper back on the disk as it did to all the rest of the steps to get it mounted. Now I'm back on the road. Well figuratively speaking since we are in a weather advisory again with rain overnight changing to a mix changing to all snow by morning. Was 42F today so took off on a very short ride after getting the wheel put on just to check things out and then parked it for at least another week. The high temp for tomorrow is due before 6 AM when it passes below freezing and then continuing down from there for the next several days. Suppose to get down to a low of -13F by Wednesday morning and stay in single digits F either above zero or below zero for temps for almost another week... with snow events every 2-3 days. I guess the oil change will have to wait for a few weeks... unless I can convince SWMBO to let me bring it inside to do it. Not likely since we just had new carpet put in not so long ago.

 

[Larry Fine]

Took as long to wiggle the caliper back on the disk as it did to all the rest of the steps to get it mounted.

Small suggestion: Try spreading the pads with the middle of a wrench or other oval shape, and twist it with another wrench.

 

[rjs987]

Small suggestion: Try spreading the pads with the middle of a wrench or other oval shape, and twist it with another wrench.

Did that but didn't want to wedge it too much. Was very tight. Also didn't want to open reservoir and chance any fluid spilling out. But the reason for how tight it was is most likely that this caliper also has a mechanical link to a parking brake and that may have been adjusted a bit tight (not the usual motorcycle hydraulic only caliper). Not too tight for normal operation but tight for removing and installing. I didn't want to bother with releasing the parking brake cable either since it can be a bit of work to readjust it properly. It did slide on but only after a bit of persuasion. I've done this before with just as much difficulty and no issues with hurting the pads as long as I take it slow and careful.