- This topic has 11 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 8 months ago by Munch.
Why is there a piece of metal sticking out of my rear tire?
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July 13, 2009 at 7:46 pm #3143SafetyFirstParticipant
I was inspecting my rear tire while cleaning and lubing my chain (ugh.. black crap all over my throw-out t-shirt) and noticed a piece of what looks like metal wire sticking out of the ridge between my rear tire tread. WTF?
Also, I noticed the rear tire looks pretty worn. Having little clue when I bought the bike, I’m not sure if it was something I did, or if I got it like that. Maybe I got too ambitious practising my emergency stops in the parking lot? I swear I don’t do burn outs. I’ve only put maybe 500 miles on it so far.
Also, I noticed the edge of the front wheel near where it meets the rim seems to have a line of what looks like dry-rot crack.
I guess I’m not taking that 100 mile trip to Columbus to the motorcycle museum until I figure out WTF is up. I’m guessing a new set of tires is in my future?
July 13, 2009 at 8:05 pm #20563eternal05ParticipantA metal wire sticking out of tire means you have a flat waiting to happen. Check your tire pressure, get it to a shop, have the wire taken out and see what they have to say. If it’s in far enough that it’s punctured the tire, you’re going to need a new one.
As far as tire wear goes, the easiest way to tell is to look for wear bars inside the tire tread itself (i.e. the grooves cut into the tire). A wear bar is a slightly-raised bump of rubber inside the tread that indicates the maximum amount of wear your tire allows. When the tire is worn down flush to the wear bar, it needs to be replaced. Usually it’s better to replace slightly before then to be safe, but if you’re nowhere near it, you’re fine. If your tires don’t have wear bars, get a fine ruler and try to measure 1/32″. If you have more than that much tread left, you’re good.
Also be sure that you aren’t using a worn tire in the back and a new tire in the front or vice versa. That can adversely affect your handling.
July 14, 2009 at 12:59 am #20573MunchParticipantdry rot crack, definitely a tire is in your near future…. or should be. Metal out the tire…. another need for a tire. If it’s not metal debris from the highway it could very well be a steel belt (or really a strand from it) that didn’t settle properly in the mold when it was cast. In which case…. again a new tire is in your very near future.
I can’t remember did you buy the bike new or used?July 14, 2009 at 1:38 am #20580SafetyFirstParticipantI’m thinking a set of Pirelli Sport Demon’s are going to be making their way on my Ninja soon. The Ninja 250 guys say they are great.
I bought the bike used. They are the OE Dunlap’s, so I’m guessing they are probably the original 6 year old tires. I think it’s more that the bike spent most of it’s time not being used, than the miles. I’m glad to finally make it happy. I bought it with 3500ish miles on it. I don’t think I’ve even passed 4000 yet. So basically I got the bike pre-broken in for me.
Only thing I’m worried about is how much the Kawi dealer in town is going to try to bend me over for. If it’s anything like the other shops in town, they are generally pretty fair with their prices, mainly because they need the business. I’m talking cheaper labor costs and not greedily overpriced part costs.
July 14, 2009 at 2:51 am #20588eternal05Participant1) The Sport Demons are great tires. They’re what I’ve got, and I noticed a significant improvement over the stock tires. Mine’s an ’08, however, which means both 17″ wheels and different stock tires.
2) There’s no reason to go to your Kawi dealer for this. Shop around for the best deal, and most importantly look for tire dealers that will give you substantial labor discounts for bringing in wheels alone. Most places charge an arm and a leg for labor, but there are a few in my area that will put tires on for free if you bought them at that same store and have already removed the wheels. For my Sport Demons I saved $120 in labor that way.
If you don’t already have a lift or front/rear stands, it won’t be cost effective this time, but in the long run it’s DEFINITELY a good idea to start doing bits and pieces of labor yourself. You’ll save a lot. This is especially true of the more trivial services. If you can change your oil, check bolt/screw torque, and do a few other really simple things, you can save hundreds.
July 14, 2009 at 4:05 am #20592SafetyFirstParticipantI actually want to do as much maintenance on my bike as I can. I never took shop class in high school, so I’m really all thumbs when it comes to mechanical things. Electrical things… I’m very good at. Probably why all of the mods on my list are electrical things.
Speaking of tools, I picked up one of those Slime digital tire pressure gauges with the little tube for $16 at WalMart tonight. Passed a few guys on sporties in the parking lot chillin’ out… one looked like a Gixxer… one was showing off Kawi green… I was going to stop with my bike, but feeling like such a n00b I was afraid to roll up and ask what’s up. Looked at the odometer when I parked… 4000.4 miles! I’ve put 600 miles on my Ninjette in a month and a half. It seems to like the love.
I need to get some tools. Next thing I want to do is change the oil and oil filter. Thinking of going to synthetic, but I’ll wait till after 6,000 miles. The guy I bought it from said he changed the oil before storing it for the winter. Checking oil with a little window is something new. The window shows nice tan oil, so I believe he did, but I can’t figure out if it’s low or not, depending on if the bike is upright or on the kickstand. I just need to figure out what tools I need to get. I know a lot of the bolts need to be a particular torque value.
I think I put too much chain wax on. A few times riding up and down the main drag I saw some blue smoke coming from under my bike. Pulled into a parking lot to look with the 3W miniMag LED, and couldn’t find a source of it… it stopped smoking. I’m guessing some of it flung up and hit the hot muffler? That reminds me, I need to get those clips for the Mini-Mag to keep it under the seat over the fender.
I’ll call around tomorrow and price them out at the shops around town. All there is for bike shops is a Kawi shop, a Honda&Suzuki shop, and a Harley shop. I doubt the Harley shop would have the tires I’m looking for.
July 14, 2009 at 6:06 am #20596eternal05ParticipantI was in your shoes not too long ago. To get started you’re going to want a basic socket set, a matching ratchet (i.e. the drive size of the ratchet should match that of the sockets), some equivalent combo wrenches, some allen keys, and a torque wrench. Everything should be metric since you have a Kawi (i.e. meters not feet/inches). You’ll need more tools as you try to do more complex things, but I would recommend buying them on an as-needed basis. I haven’t used 90% of the tools in my tool kit.
You’re also going to want a front/rear stand for your motorcycle so that you can get the bike stable, remove wheels, etc. I recommend Pit Bull. If you don’t want stands you could probably go with a motorcycle lift instead, but that certainly won’t be cheaper.
Hmmm…I know I forgetting stuff…
Oh, and when you’re measuring oil in the sight, the bike needs to be vertical. If I remember correctly you have an older Ninja 250. Those have center stands, right? Just get it on the center stand, make sure it’s off and cooled down (five minutes post-ride should do), and then take a look.
July 15, 2009 at 12:28 am #20624SafetyFirstParticipantTires are on order from motorcycle-superstore.com, along with a CoverMax Sportbike Half Cover. I wanted to kick it up to $200 so I could use the $20 off orders over $200 coupon. So, basically, my cover cost about $5. All shipped free.
I figure I might use the CoverMax half-cover more than my basic Covermax. I forget too often to go back outside when the bike has cooled off to put on the cover. Hopefully this will help. I guess it’s like they say about safety gear, it’s useless unless you actually use it.
1 x Sport Demon Sport Touring Front Tire 100/90H-16 — $74.57
1 x Sport Demon Sport Touring Rear Tire 130/90V-16 — $101.85
1 x Covermax Half-Bike cover — $24.55All said and done…
$200.97Can’t wait to get them mounted. Probably figure another $60? for mounting?
July 15, 2009 at 12:43 am #20625MunchParticipantdepends on where you go and wether or not the wheels are off the bike.
July 15, 2009 at 12:53 am #20627SafetyFirstParticipantI asked the Honda & Suzuki dealer if they’d do it. They said they wouldn’t do on-bike because they don’t have stands for Kawis. Huh? If I brought in the wheels, it’d be $30 each, more or less after nickel-and-diming for weights. I forgot to ask the Kawi dealer, but it sounds like a better idea, since they can’t use the excuse the other place gave.
I took a look at stands for the bike, but they just seem out of my price range. If worst comes to worst, could I leave the bike on the centerstand without front or rear wheels? Even if it means propping up the front with a milk crate with a pillow on top of it?
July 22, 2009 at 10:08 pm #20869SafetyFirstParticipantWho knew getting work done could be such a pain?
I got my Sport Demons at the crack of dawn (pre-noon, which is like 4am for those of us who work nights) when the UPS man rang the doorbell. Very sweet tires in person!
Call up the Kawasaki dealer. “Sorry, we don’t mount tires we didn’t sell.” WTF!
Screw me over on the install, and you’re sure to make up the lost profits on the tires.I remember the place I bought them from, motorcycle-superstore.com, has a preferred installer program. So I check, and it’s the MX dealer that sells KTM. OK, fine. Their list price on installing a set of street tires: $90. I still need to call and see if they have it cheaper for direct calls.
Still, at $90, rip or not?
July 22, 2009 at 10:12 pm #20871MunchParticipantnot bad honestly. Where I got my metzeler rear put on it was $56 just for the one… but that was mount, balance and removing it from the bike and back on. So $909 for two is average. Now if your walking in there with rims in hand and they still charge that…. naw…keep lookin.
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