a little maintenance... with a surprise at the end...

[hubcapsc]

I changed my steering head bearings out... a while back I ordered the special tools the manual talks
about, basically everything the job calls for except for a shop press and the puller that would get
the lower bearing off... the race driver works great, effortless. This thing grabs onto the
recessed lip at the top of the lower race, and allows the lower race to be driven out...



Who needs pullers and shop presses when they're selling stuff like this cheap on eBay?  



The manual wants you to remove a bunch of stuff... instead, I strapped the headlight in place,
and left everything on the top brace and just flopped the handlebars and all over the frame
rail... tank was off to put on a new air filter...



As far as the bearings themselves, I followed the directions in the manual to the best of my ability,
everything feels good, we'll see after a real test ride...

Put on a new front tire (rear too), here's my evaluation of the zip-tie tire method: somebody's smoking something  



Perhaps some big dude could manhandle both thickness of the tire over the rim at the same time,
but I can barely manhandle one. So... after spending some time trying to learn something new, I
fell back to using the tried-and-true methods we all use, and got the job done...



I did find that one ziptie on the already-mounted side of the tire helps to get the last bit of the second
side over the edge.

Both new tires are Metzelers... I've used Avons up till now, just wanted to try something different...
After I changed the rear tire I pulled off the final drive to check the condition of the new pinion
cup and drive shaft I installed ten months ago or so... I knew right away it was a bad sign for
the seal to be out of the pinion cup, and for its spring to be out...



It was like the surface of mars in there...



Sigh...



I had a spare final drive and drive shaft, so everything is back together... I have a good pinion cup
to put back on the other final drive... off to West Virginia on Friday...

-Mike

[Joe Hummer]

Put on a new front tire (rear too), here's my evaluation of the zip-tie tire method: somebodies smoking something  

You needed more ties between the ones you got on there.  Probably just one in each open section.  I used the tie method to put a front tire on a Aero 750.  It worked without tools. 

Joe

[hubcapsc]

You needed more ties between the ones you got on there.  Probably just one in each open section.  I used the tie method to put a front tire on a Aero 750.  It worked without tools. 
Joe

You just sort of lubed it up and stomped it on? That Metzeler was just laughing at me...

-Mike

[Joe Hummer]

I will be due for a new back tire on my bike this fall/winter.  I haven't really decided if it is worth the $35 my dealer charges me or not.  The only reason I done my friends was that she was going on a ride before I could have gotten the tire mounted by the dealer. 

Joe

[Highbinder]

Mike....I need to know your plans for friday....I plan on hooking up with you guys somewhere.....let me know where you're going to be....Wolf1910 over in W.Va. said he'd like to hook up too if you're in his area....I told him I'd let him know your plans.....

I pulled the rear on the supervalk today, getting it ready for the Nachez Trace ride...everything was fine...tomorrow we'll pull the alternator out of Tracy's bike and put in new brushes and clean it up, she's got about 110 thousand on it....

I bought the tools for the steering head bearing awhile back and you're right they work great...I've tried all the other ways and the tools make it so much easier....see ya this weekend....

[Black Pearl's Captain]

If you regularly change your own tires get some better irons. Cycle gear sells some that work much better than those short things. Buy two of the irons.

Raymond

p.s., lots of lube and one bead at a time for me.

http://www.cyclegear.com/spgm.cfm?L1=&L2=&L3=&L4=&item=FAI_BH20-0019

[RP#62]

Could you measure the race and post the ID and OD dimensions?  I've been wanting to make one of those tools but need to know the race dimensions.
Thanks.
-RP

[hubcapsc]

Mike....I need to know your plans for friday....I plan on hooking up with you guys somewhere.....let me know where you're going to be....Wolf1910 over in W.Va. said he'd like to hook up too if you're in his area....I told him I'd let him know your plans.....

Friday is the road-trip up to Wytheville for me, and Jess from VA will be traveling from the DC area
to Wytheville on Friday. I plan to pick up 16 near I40 in NC, and arrive at Wytheville "sometime" in
the afternoon.

I hope you and Tracy can meet us at the Days Inn in Wytheville at 9:00am on Saturday morning. I
think that's what 3fan4life is going to do....

The middle part of the ride goes by Ronceverte/Lewisburg, I sent Ron the route... we could call up
his way when we get to Uniion, I think there's a lot of other places that our phones won't work... do
y'all have his number? It will be hard to guess accurately at arrival times at places along the route...

-Mike

[hubcapsc]

If you regularly change your own tires get some better irons. Cycle gear sells some that work much better than those short things. Buy two of the irons.

Raymond

p.s., lots of lube and one bead at a time for me.

http://www.cyclegear.com/spgm.cfm?L1=&L2=&L3=&L4=&item=FAI_BH20-0019

I'll look for those... I'm already using your "2X4 lever method" for getting the old tires off the bead...

-Mike

[hubcapsc]

Could you measure the race and post the ID and OD dimensions?  I've been wanting to make one of those tools but need to know the race dimensions.
Thanks.
-RP

I have a little ruler that has 64th inch increments in my guitar case... I'll try to get a measurement
you can use...

-Mike

[KY,Dave (AKA Misunderstood)]

That's a shame. Any idea of the cause and what could have been done for prevention Mike.

Dave (inquiring minds need to know)

[hubcapsc]

That's a shame. Any idea of the cause


Dang backyard mechanics! ^%^#$

and what could have been done for prevention Mike.


I did it in the front yard this time 

Dave (inquiring minds need to know)


Sorry, I really don't know what I did wrong, other than I didn't pull the final drive this spring when
I put a new tire on then... It has been almost a year, I think I lubed that seal so it would go on
easy... maybe it went off easy too?



-Mike

[big turkey]

I believe you will find the Metzler on the back will wear evenly, better than most I have tried.

Noise free and pretty good traction.

I put one of the new Cobras from Avon on the front recently and wow I thought the Bearings in front and rear were going out.

A lot of Vibration from the tread pattern was noticed.

Not the first time I have had trouble from the Avon tire company, I installed a front tire(AVON) on

a Concours 2005 Model and in a curve it walked back and fourth through the Handle Bars and

I changed it soon after to a Different brand and problem went away.

The front metzler is a stranger too me, but I have installed them on ohter bikes and they run true.

Most of all the choppers you see have the Metzler Brand on them I guess for looks .

They will wear longer than a Dunlop but maybe not as long as a Avon.



But as you said something different for a change.

Good report Mike, that looked painful changing a tire with the spoons.

Big Al

Motorcycle Tire Change	powered by Aeva

[Normandog]

That's a bummer for sure. good that you had a spare punkin tho.
Kinda got me worried. I changed to a different grease last summer and got a little too picky about removing all the old grease. That seal and spring got disturbed during the process. Hope I don't find the same thing.  ??? I don't have a spare punkin but I do have a spare bike.   

[Jess from VA]

Mike, great post and pics, thanks. 

What I'm curious about is how did your old steering head bearings look when you replaced them?   And how many miles on your bike?

[hubcapsc]

Good report Mike, that looked painful changing a tire with the spoons.
Big Al

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_J5_sRRiAk#ws

Hey Al... I think I hate that guy in that video 

-Mike

[big turkey]

Mike with few rudimentary parts and tools you could build that device and have more fun than

labor changing your tires than ever.

Bar, seat and pin look pretty easy to duplicate.

Big Al

[hubcapsc]

Mike, great post and pics, thanks. 

What I'm curious about is how did your old steering head bearings look when you replaced them?   And how many miles on your bike?

They looked almost just fine. With the handlebars and forks off, I could feel a notchyness when moving the steering head
side to side, and you can see the lines the bearings made in the races. It was hard to feel (with my finger) any irregularities in
the bearing race, but I believed there was some. I have noticed this year a slight headshake in some conditions, everyone says
a Valkyrie should be rock solid, so that is what had me hunting around... I am about to turn 60K, I think...

-Mike

[Garland]

I had high hopes for that zip-tie-tire-change method. I am very disappointed! Back to my Harbor Freight tire changing torture device....

[hubcapsc]

I had high hopes for that zip-tie-tire-change method. I am very disappointed! Back to my Harbor Freight tire changing torture device....

You might not want to give up just because of me, maybe I was doing it wrong...



I found a single ziptie on the already-mounted part of the new tire helped keep the already-mounted part
deep in the rim, which made it pretty easy to get the last part of the second bead onto the rim...

-Mike

[Spirited-6]

I had high hopes for that zip-tie-tire-change method. I am very disappointed! Back to my Harbor Freight tire changing torture device....

Boy, I must have missed the "zip-tie" method. Can someone fill me in ? TIA.
Don 

[hubcapsc]

I had high hopes for that zip-tie-tire-change method. I am very disappointed! Back to my Harbor Freight tire changing torture device....

Boy, I must have missed the "zip-tie" method. Can someone fill me in ? TIA.
Don 

Some folks have used zip ties to hold the tire beads together so that they would naturally go to the
deep part of the rim. I zip tied my new tire's beads together (in the picture) but the tire was so stiff after
that there was no way I could work with it - the Incredible Hulk maybe, not me... I also zip tied my old tire's
beads together while it was on the rim. It made the tire real loose on the rim and I was encouraged... until I
tried to get the combined beads off, combined beads just too stiff for me to manipulate...

I'm guessing "the zip tie" trick is for weight-lifters and people whose rear tires aren't even as big as a
Valkyrie's front tire...

-Mike

[hubcapsc]

Could you measure the race and post the ID and OD dimensions?  I've been wanting to make one of those tools but need to know the race dimensions.
Thanks.
-RP

I have a little ruler that has 64th inch increments in my guitar case... I'll try to get a measurement
you can use...

-Mike

The little ruler's gone  ??? ... I'll try to remember to pick up another one next time I'm at Lowes, I
liked having it around... 16ths probably isn't good enough...

I saw this in the HarborFreight catalog... I don't know if the disks include the right sizes, but it is
the same (or similar) tool that Honda sells...



http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result/?category=&q=bearing+driver

-Mike

[RLD]

That's how my pinion cup and drive draft looked everytime after the dealer plugged the weep hole.  The seal would pop out everytime and it would be dry and rusty in only a few thousand miles. Good luck, you may have to pull it apart and repair.