Thursday, Nov 9 2017 [6,147 miles]

I could get some more miles out of the stock Bridgestone rear on my DR650. Winter rains have started. I’ve had a replacement Shinko 705 waiting for a couple of months. The weather is nice this afternoon. Time to change tires.

I moved the DR to the lift and strapped the front wheel down to the wheel chock to keep it in place when I use a scissor jack to raise the rear end of the bike. I used an impact wrench to loosen the rear axle nut because why else would I own an impact wrench :) The wheel comes off the bike pretty easy. Next time I’ll remember to gently place the sprocket and cush rubbers on the lift before they fall there on their own.

I removed the valve core from the tube before breaking the bead on one side and flipping the wheel to break the bead on the other side. With the bead broken I removed the tube before removing the tire from the wheel.

About the only time I clean wheels is when changing tires. The rim is mostly clean, the hub not so much. I checked wheel balance before mounting the tire. The heavy spot was the where the valve stem hole is located. After mounting the tire the heavy spot stayed the same. I added an ounce of weight opposite the valve stem to make things a bit better.

I use baby powder to let the tube slide around in the tire when mounting and airing up. The cap on the 20+ year old baby powder container broke. I think more powder wound up on the garage floor than in the tire.

The bike is ready to ride. Maybe I’ll take it to breakfast Sunday – if it isn’t too cold. I much prefer the GS with heated grips and a larger alternator to power my heated gear for riding in the cold.