BlueSky

I was thinking of taking the RSV tires/wheels and new tires to a shop for replacement. So, I called the Honda/Suzuki dealer $55 per tire. The only other new bike dealer is HD. I called an independent shop and was told they don't install tires they don't sell. Another independent shop will do it for $35/tire. Sooo, I guess I'll do it. I'll just use a different method of breaking the bead on these. C-clamps didn't do that well for me on the Kawa rear tire. I think I'll try the 2x4 under the bumper trick. HF did get in a bead breaker but I've kinda lost interest in buying one now. I've got plenty of 2x4s.

Thanks, but that one has a 300 psi gauge. It probably wouldn't be that useful for the front forks that have a maximum pressure rating of 7.1 psig.

I have the Hotels.com app on my iphone and just pull over and look up the closest hotel in my price range that has a room available. Stay 10 nights and get a free night.

I would not recommend running it on two cylinders. Chase this problem a bit and determine what is causing it. If it needs valve adjustment the valves will burn for sure if you continue to run it.

The adapter is not under the swingarm and pumping up the rear shock made a big difference. I went to Walmart and they did not have a zero loss pump and the bicycle shops don't carry one either. I didn't want to wait for an order to come and I didn't want to buy one without the zero loss feature. The board idea is a good one. That's basically what i did with the ZN700 when I replaced the rear tire last week. I have 3, 3/4" layers of chip board nailed together cut into 3 pieces. I pushed the bike up on them and pulled out the front and rear pieces with it on its center stand on the middle piece. That gave me about 6" of clearance to remove the rear tire.

I don't think so. The original owner said the bike was just like he bought it new except that he added the luggage rack and back rest. But he may have forgotten. He's an old coot too! Ha! Anyway, Success! After pumping up the tires to max pressure, pumping up the rear shock to about 35 psig (all I dared with my air compressor), the jack still would not quite go under the adapter. I removed the rubber pads from the jack and then it went under. So now the bike is in the air! Yay! And the adapter legs are installed. Thanks to all who offered suggestions! Denting the adapter to clear the kickstand spring and drilling the adapter rod holes from 3/8" to 1/2" was the right thing to do in my case to get the adapter rod through all the holes. If I had a helper to tap on the rod while I held the adapter up and bent the rod as much as I could with my hand, I could have gotten the rod through the last hole in the adapter but no helper. Drilling the holes was the right thing to do. The adapter is held snugly against the frame. And the next time the installatiion will be very easy.

I tried holding the bike upright and there still isn't enough clearance. So, I suspect the forks and rear shock have zero air pressure. The original owner probably never pumped them up. Off to Walmart to see what air pumps they have.

Thanks for the tip. Mine is a little different and it has attachable legs.

From what I've read though, eliminating the 1/2 clutch plate also decreases the distance the clutch lever can be moved to engage or disengage. So, it will be harder to slip the clutch.

I dented the spot where the spring was touching and still couldn't get the rod inserted. So, I drilled the 3/8" holes in the adapter to 1/2" and the rod inserts like it should now. But, now I have to find the air valves so I can pump up the suspension. It's too low for the jack to fit under the adapter as it sits right now. Looks like I need to buy a hand pump. My air compressor would fill the shock/fork legs too quickly I'm sure.

The piston rings could be sticking. Or it just may need a rebuild. How many miles on this engine? When checking compression, if it is low, squirt some oil into the cylinder and recheck. If the compression goes up, the rings may be worn out or stuck. If the compression does not go up, adjust the valves. The adjustment may be out of tolerance or the valves may be burned.

Sylvester was nice enough to sell his jack adapter plate to me. Thanks Sylvester! I think it is one made by Carbon One. I tried to put it on the bike today and the kickstand spring keeps the rod from aligning with the adapter hole on the left side. It appears I have to remove the spring (no easy task because it's a very strong spring) on the kickstand or get a big hammer and dent the adapter. What has been the experience with you guys who own and have used this jack adapter?

T8802 is not the date code. The first two numbers is the week and the last two are the year. And the number is stamped into the tire not molded.

I noticed that the engine in the million mile Tundra was the 4.7L V8, the same engine that's in the cabinet guys Tundra. I wonder if the 5.7L engine is as reliable as the 4.7L?

He said he used to buy domestic and traded often. Then he started buying Nissans and Toyotas and found out how long they last. He said he traded his last Toyota with 200k miles on it and that was probably too early. Yeah, I think the labor charge for installing the cabinets was reasonable. Now, I'm waiting for the quartz counter top guys to do their job. Living without a kitchen sink is a nuisance for sure. With a helper, I removed the cabinets and backsplash, and I repaired the wall. I'm also doing the electrical and plumbing. We had to cut out the sheetrock behind the backsplash. No Duroc. The wife somehow managed to schedule a 3 week trip to her homeland so she gets to avoid most of the hassle of the kitchen remodeling!! I put an ad on craigs for the old kitchen cabinets and ended up giving them to a couple whose home had flooded and were rebuilding.

I have not had any problems with ebay so far. But quite often when I want some specific item, I just google that item and buy from a US company for less money. An example of that is the National cycle windshield I bought for my Kawasaki. When I googled that part number, I found one that evidently had been sitting on a shelf for a long time an got it for cheap.

The guy who installed our new kitchen cabinets drives a 15 yr old Toyota Tundra 4x4 with the 4.7L V8 engine. He bought it new and it has 534,000 miles on it. He said he had to get the front end rebuilt a while back but other than that it's been very reliable. He's not a mechanic and he drove it until a front ball joint failed leaving him on the side of the road. Pretty amazing!

I balanced the tire by inserting a section of pvc pipe that just happened to be the perfect size into the wheel and resting the ends on two buckets turned upside down. I used two vise grip pliers to keep the pipe from turning and the balancing was easy. I used the same clip on weights that were on the rim before except I only needed 2 of the 3 weights previously used. Then I rode it down to the inspection shop and had it inspected. Now I gotta do the RSV. I think the bead breaker that HF sells now will work on the RSV tires. It's not the same design as Cowpucs.

Thanks for the reply. I just googled No-Mar tire changer and yes you did go whole hog! I got the new tire on the rim. It didn't want to pump up so I put a ratchet strap around the tire and then it pumped up but didn't seat. So, I released the strap and the tire popped and seated. I think I will see how much it will cost for a shop to install the new tires on the RSV wheels if I bring the wheels and new tires to them. Tire changing on the floor isn't as much fun as I thought it would be for a 75 yr old. It looks really easy in the youtube videos! Ha!

I didn't think to ask you about your tire changing tools. What brand is your changer? The local Harbor Freight has an inexpensive tire changer in stock. When I was a young pup in the 60's, I changed my own car tires at the local gas station with their manual tire changer. Those recapped bias ply tires didn't last long especially on the rear of my hot rod Chevys! I could get a tire recapped for $8 and it would last about 5k miles on the rear!

How many miles on it? Those old 750 fours in all Japanese brands were lots of fun!

With 3 C-clamps squeezing the tire, I used a short 2 x 4 and a BFH to break the tire on the other side. So, now I can remove and replace the tire hopefully.

So, my Kawasaki ZN700 needs a new rear tire to pass inspection. I finally got around to attempting it, my first time at changing a tire. A couple of years ago I had some leftover particle board 4' x 8' sheets that I split into half the long way and nailed 3 halves together, about 2 1/4" thick. Then I cut them into 3 pieces with the end piece beveled so I can push the bike up on it. That way I can put it on the center stand on the middle piece and pull the rear sheet out, rock it on the rear wheel and pull the front piece out. That allowed about 6" of clearance under the rear tire, plenty of room to get the rear wheel off. But, using C-clamps to break the bead is a pain. I got the bead broke on one side but not the other. So, I went to Harbor Freight to buy their bead breaker and they were sold out after telling me that had one over the phone..... So, as of today, I failed...... After this I have to change the tires on the RSV. I wanted to tackle the small one first. Maybe if I bought some larger C-clamps, I could put a board against the wheel and break the bead on the other side? The plot thickens!

Thanks for keeping us updated! I bought a torque wrench from Lowes, their Kobalt label for about the same price. Seems to do a good job. Probably both are made in the same Chinese factory! Ha!

My ZN700 manual says use 10W20 motor oil in the forks. Evidently, motor oil can be used.