Fat tire

[tfburke3]

You got me thinking, Tom, so I bought new tires, thanks. There's cheap, and there's stupid, and in this case, safe. I also dug out my (dirt cheap) bead breaking tool, and what a back saver.

tire mac2.jpg

What tire did you go with?
After much procrastination I am going to try a set of Shinko 270.The main negative reviews seem to be about low mileage which is not a concern because I am replacing due to age not mileage and my chief is probably about 200lbs lighter than the modern harleys that report low mileage.
Tom

[exeric]

Tom, I also went with the Shinko 270, and mostly for looks. My riding these days is in my area, and for fun. I think the Shinko is an all around, medium grade tire and wouldn't satisfy performance, and long distance riders.

[tfburke3]

Did you buy online and get a recent date code?If so who?
Some reviews said soft compound,great on wet but wears fast.Sounded just right for my use.
Tom

[exeric]

I did buy them online. I don't know where to look for a date code.

[exeric]

I did find the date code which was hot stamped into the bead. It is '2-1-22'. I mounted the rear tire this morning and it went on with the right amount of difficulty, and seated well (pretty good for an old man with a bad knee). . I use safety bead rims because I peeled a tire off years ago due to negligence, and bad judgement.

[Rollo]

I also buy the Shinko 270's for my Panheads and for the money I think they are good tires. I may not be looking at them as critically as some other folks but I take my 64 on a lot of local and National Roa Runs and have not had any issues. Even on the Tail of the Dragon in pouring down rain a couple of years ago. Thet keep me in the corners and track true in my experience.
I quit trying to mount tires myself as the tire spoons kept flying across the shop so for $45 I have the local fast bike shop mount and balance them and they are amazed at how little they need to balance them. I know they may not be for a lot of folks but I have never had an issue and they are speed rated unlike a lot of ones you get. not that my Panhead is in need of speed!

Just my observations and to each their own.

Tom (Rollo) Hardy
AMCA #12766

[T. Cotten]

...I quit trying to mount tires myself as the tire spoons kept flying across the shop so for $45 I have the local fast bike shop mount and balance them and they are amazed at how little they need to balance them....

You might notice the WLA spoons I posted, Tom,...

They have a notch in their handle so it can hook the spoke, and avoid that.

Balancing star hubs can be a hassle with modern spin balancers, as their conical holders do not center the thrust bearing sleeve in the same place each time; Had a wheel balanced three times, and each time they had to move the weights, so we gave up on high tech.

(Until I cut a centering sleeve for star hubs!)

....Cotten

[tfburke3]

Thanks for that review and feedback Tom and Eric.
Tom

[T. Cotten]

So a flat puts you on the side of the road, Folks,.....

Without a center stand, how did you get it off the ground?

....Cotten

[tfburke3]

One method is to lean the bike side to side while blocking up side lower frame
,then roll to high side and fill gap,repeat.Fine at home where I have blocks and wedges,on the road hopefully close to a wooded area.
I once worked a an industrial site that had a house next door with old cars and an Indian chief in the garage.Crazy guy(others said)was digging a hole under the chief rear wheel to I guess remove.
Last flat I had I caught a piece of shrapnel at a RR crossing and with a hole the size of a quarter a call to local harley dealer was the fix.300 miles from home,one advantage of touring on on laler model harley.
Tom

[T. Cotten]

One method is to lean the bike side to side while blocking up side lower frame
,then roll to high side and fill gap,repeat.Fine at home where I have blocks and wedges,on the road hopefully close to a wooded area....

Ah yes, Tom,...

Lift #1:

LIFT1.jpg


....Cotten

[BigLakeBob]

One method is to lean the bike side to side while blocking up side lower frame
,then roll to high side and fill gap,repeat.Fine at home where I have blocks and wedges,on the road hopefully close to a wooded area.
I once worked a an industrial site that had a house next door with old cars and an Indian chief in the garage.Crazy guy(others said)was digging a hole under the chief rear wheel to I guess remove.
Last flat I had I caught a piece of shrapnel at a RR crossing and with a hole the size of a quarter a call to local harley dealer was the fix.300 miles from home,one advantage of touring on on laler model harley.
Tom

I did exactly that about 20 years ago when I got a flat on my 69FL around Lakeland FL. Got lucky and pulled into a small neighborhood with a wooded entrance, found some logs in the woods and used them to lift the bike using the rock back and forth method. Wasn't worried about the hinge paint so made it easy to get the tire off. Just time to get saddlebags and tour pak off. I carry a hose that goes into the spark plug hole and used engine compression to inflate the tire enough to get to a store with a pump. About 1 1/2 hours tire off, tube plugged, and back on the road. Not that young anymore. The only aggravating thing was the 2 young youths that came by and made fun of my situation. Maybe karma for them later in life.

[exeric]

I just put the rear wheel with new tire in the frame without deflating the tire. I had to deflate the front tire to extricate it from it's home. So far, everything is going smooth, and the way you would want an enjoyable motorcycle maintenance day to go. You have to love Harley-Davidson and I can understand why so many people won't touch anything else, but variety is the spice of life and predictability is boring; however, I am really enjoying the well documented predictability of my '48FL right now.

[T. Cotten]

So Eric!

How'd you get it off the ground at home?

Rigids are too low for most commercial 'lifts'....

....Cotten

[exeric]

I used a bottle jack on the transmission area, and blocked up the back bottom tubes of the frame with 2x4s. Same procedure at the front, but I used those blue jack stands at the footboard studs. I also use straps to keep it all perpendicular. My '51FL fell over on my 1919 Hen when I was 'failing' to get it on it's rear stand. I also dropped my Merkel (from 2 feet) on that same '19 Hen. Pure luck that I only had a few scratches, and a bent fender stay after those performances of jackassery. I try to be more careful as I get older.

on lift august23.jpg