03-JUL-2008
Fedex delivered 5 boxes weighting over 100 lbs...
After doing lots of homework with the excellent help of Nomar (Steve and Sue), I ordered the Nomar Classic Ultimate Package II that included the tire changer and tire balancer. I asked to substitute the floor stand with a 2" hitch mount so I won't have to drill holes on my garage floor. I will just slide it onto my Toyota 4Runner's 2" receiver whenever I need to use it.
I ordered it on a Sunday and I received it on Thu, shipped to California from St Louis, Misouri! That's impressive, given that I made some changes (substitute of the floor stand with a receiver hitch mount, also substitute 1 of the 4 spoons with a NoMar YellowThing) and also ordered some additional items such as BMW specific balancer cones and shaft (Vu has a BMW R1200R), valve stems, wheel weights, weight scraper.
Fedex dropped off 5 boxes totalling over 100 lbs on my front porch. I moved them into my home garage and here are the boxes before I unpacked them.
03-JUL-2008
Nomartirechanger.com
They are nice people and they all ride. They always answered all my questions promptly, day or night or weekend...
03-JUL-2008
Made In The USA!
These were made in the good old USA. Hardened steel, solid welds and attention to details.
Unlike those Chinese junks that fail before you even start using them...
03-JUL-2008
Started unpacking...
Everything was well packed and well padded.
03-JUL-2008
Tire balancer
Here is the tire balancer, with dual ball bearings on both ends. On the right are the tire clamps, mount/demount bar and misc items. On the left are the big spoon bars.
03-JUL-2008
Assembly started...
Here I assembled the tire changer...
03-JUL-2008
Tire changer completed
Here the tire changer was fully assembled and now ready for action. I will change my tires in about another 1000 miles, which is about 1 month. Now I need to order some new tires...
July 6, 2008 - Tires ordered
I just ordered a set of Michelin Pilot Road, front 120/70ZR-17 rear 180/55ZR-17, for $255 delivered.
I have been running Bridgestone BATTLAX BT-57 ever since. The Bridgestone lasted an average of about 10000 miles and I have used 4 sets since I owned my Honda CBR-1100XX.
Why Michelin Pilot Road? The Bridgestone BT-57 was discontinued long ago and the tire technology has advanced greatly since the BT-57 was designed in 1997 and that was 11 years ago. Time to try some better tires, may be I'll be able to drag knees now...
Michelin motorcycle tires selection chart
By looking at this chart, I think I will try their Pilot Road 2 (dual-compound) next but they cost 20% more for a set of 2 at US$305 vs US$255.
The Pilot Road 2 has the same compound as the Pilot Road at the center of tire, but softer compound on the shoulders for more traction at cornering.
Michelin Pilot Road performance data
This chart was published by Michelin as to the performance of the Pilot Road tires.
12-JUL-2008
New Tires
Fedex just delivered the 2 tires I ordered from sportbiketrackgear.com. A pair of Michelin Pilot Road in 120/70ZR17 and 180/55ZR17 rated for speed over 168 mph.
12-JUL-2008
Brand new tires are nice to look at...
The tire manufacturer code indicated that the rear tire was made in France on the 49th week of 2007 (DOT-6UCW-887T-4907) and the front tire was made on the 24th week of 2007 (DOT-6U7D-887T-2407), that put them into about December 2007 and June 2007 respectively.
Just to be on the safe side, I registered these 2 DOT codes on the Michelin web site in case there is a recall.
04-JUL-2008
Tire valve stem
Just to document how the valve stem was installed as I'll replace the valve stems when I replace the tires...
12-JUL-2008
Rear tire
The Michelin Pilot Road rear tire has these 2 lines: 1 at the center and 1 to the left of it, that run along the whole tire. Also, they didn't mark the light spot of the tire with yellow or red paint like others...
The tiny one on the center is just mold release line as it's slightly raised. The one to the left looks like small indent that runs the whole circumference of the tire. It's only on the rear tire, not on the front.
12-JUL-2008
Close up
I found the following info on the web. I guess it's not supposed to be visible when new but mine just showed up:
"Pilot Power/Pilot Road Technical Information
Anti Static strip
When a motorcycle is in use there is a build up of static within the machine. It is necessary to ensure that this is dispersed during usage.
In order to facilitate this there is a carbon black strip built into the tyre during manufacture. This strip is moulded into the tyre before curing using carbon, as this is a good conductor of static electricity. This strip is practically invisible on a new tyre, but can appear as the tyre wears, especially if the usage of the motorcycle is not high. There is no detrimental effect on the performance of the tyre either before, during or after this strip has become apparent. The positioning of this groove is slightly ‘off centre’ and can be seen in the diagram below."
10-AUG-2008
Jack up the front wheel...
Finally I had to replace my tires. The old set was Bridgestone BT-57 and lasted 10400 miles. Now I can try the Michelin Pilot Road that everybody was talking about as they're supposed to be much better than the Bridgestone BT-57. We'll see...
I put a piece of wood under the engine and used a scissor jack to jack up the front wheel. Now both the front and the rear wheels are off the ground.
10-AUG-2008
Both wheels removed...
The removal of rear wheel was pretty straight forward. However, to remove the front wheel, I had to remove the front fender, the right side brake caliper and loosen the left side brake caliper before the wheel can be slid out.
10-AUG-2008
Does my garage look like a mechanic shop?
10-AUG-2008
Chain adjuster
The chain is still really good as it only has about 8000 miles on it...
10-AUG-2008
Tire balancing
My friend Vu was helping me to balance the tire and clean the slippery mold release that came from the factory.
13-JUL-2008
NoMar tirechanger
mounted on the receiver hitch of my Toyota 4Runner.