FJRiders.com

FJRoss wrote: ↑Wed Jul 07, 2021 7:02 am Bridgestone rebate was in May, IIRC. I have been using up a couple of "take-offs" with local riding and saving the new ones for a trip. (Canada rebates may not be the same as US but I think there was one around the same time.)

I vaguely remember. But if it was still running I would have grabbed 2 fronts.

I use the "glue" more as a lube for the string than as a sealant. I think most strings are supposed to work without it.

If kit comes with glue I assume the glue is necessary. Agree it serves as lubricant. And if one fills the eye of the insertion tool with glue so it wipes out when tool is pulled out then any escaping air might take that glue with it into the hole (we could only hope). Research last year found some glues claiming to be vulcanizing and some strings claiming to be self-vulcanizing. So I’m trying self-vulcanizing string no glue.

Had a hard time inserting t-handle reamer in the tire with 40 psi. Then more trouble inserting the string until the tire leaked down to 20 psi. As of this afternoon (in the rain) the repair is holding. Has not been ridden.

I will look at the ones you posted. Package of 60 - use two and throw out 58 a couple years later to buy fresh ones. I currently have a bunch that are getting old. They are generally pretty cheap so replacement is a no-brainer, even if they may be still OK.

Have more than enough to give a card or two of strings to friends who will plug their own tire.

extrememarine wrote: ↑Wed Jul 07, 2021 10:45 am Interesting - it's been a while since I shipped a set of forks. I also remember making a set of triangle shaped tube boxes from Fedex work on time.

Long ago I shipped a pair of dirtbike forks to a tuner. Had no trouble finding moving boxes I could cut and form to my liking.

Found a packing company in The Yellow Pages (said it was long ago) as I was looking for foam inserts to suspend the forks and keep them apart. Called and was told, “Sure, we have something.” Arrived and found an Indian and large Harley-Davidson parked out front. Instant friends. Inside they were building shipping crates for missiles about 15” in diameter. Had a pile of cutout foam disks 15” in diameter and 3” thick the size of a car. “Take all you want.”

Put 3” of padding on each end of my box. Cut 3 ribs with 2 holes for forks to keep them centered in the box. Was proud of my work! Forks arrived at tuner in perfect shape!

Then they threw my packing away, wrapped forks in bubble wrap and newspaper, nothing much on ends if/when dropped on end in shipping. Was not damaged but I was not impressed. Made crappy 2003 KTM forks rideable. Also deleted middle bushing.

N4HHE wrote: ↑Tue Jul 06, 2021 11:13 pm Moved car and noticed rear tire on FJR was flat. Found 2 pieces of metal in the tire. Only one punctured.

T30 Evo with 7100 miles. Left side bald. Plugged it anyway. At the very least it was good practice with a new brand of self-vulcanizing sticky string plugs. Ordered PR4GT.

T30 Evo GT many years ago returned 7500 miles. I feel ripped off!

Ordered PR4GT because it is the longest lasting rear tire I have used, and I like its relative softness. $170 plus tax, Rocky Mountain.

Appears T31 is gone from RM. T32 only now. I have another T30 Evo front waiting so I didn’t order a front tire. My favorite front is T31GT. T30 Evo at only 3200 miles is falling in to turns at low speed, requiring more effort to turn at higher speeds. I’ll live with it. This is a common trait that only a T31GT avoided.

Depending on when you bought those tires, you could be eligible for a $$$$$ rebate!

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=6076

Hppants wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 1:33 pm Depending on when you bought those tires, you could be eligible for a $$$$$ rebate!

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=6076

Ordered PR4GT Tuesday. Arrived 1PM today.

Didn't know about rebate when I ordered. RM emailed notification that I qualify for $25 but I'm wondering if I can order another, two invoices, for total $60?

Mounted the PR4GT ordered Tuesday when I found punctured T30 Evo. The T30 needed to be replaced anyway.

Plugged the T30 Evo Tuesday night. Was within 0.5PSI Thursday so I rode for 100+ miles. TPMS said all was fine, returned home with over 44 PSI in the hot tire. Thought the tire was soft when I took the wheel off today. Found 19 PSI.



Two pieces of metal found in the tire. Only the one closest to the air chuck went all the way through.


Not terribly happy with the tears to the side of the plug but I might have done those with the razor blade. Really wild feathering lips on the tread grooves. Much bigger than pictured.


Rained on tire before I took this picture and am too lazy to go take another:

With the tears in the rubber, the thinness of the (worn) tire carcass and the lack of an adhesive, I am not especially surprised you lost some air - even with a plug that is supposed to be "self-vulcanizing". I wouldn't plug a tire that far beyond the wear bars except in an emergency to get me to a place where I could replace it.

FJRoss wrote: ↑Fri Jul 09, 2021 9:57 pm With the tears in the rubber, the thinness of the (worn) tire carcass and the lack of an adhesive, I am not especially surprised you lost some air - even with a plug that is supposed to be "self-vulcanizing". I wouldn't plug a tire that far beyond the wear bars except in an emergency to get me to a place where I could replace it.

I have absolutely no experience plugging tires that are on the "thin" side, no sir!

wheatonFJR wrote: ↑Fri Jul 09, 2021 10:04 pm

FJRoss wrote: ↑Fri Jul 09, 2021 9:57 pm With the tears in the rubber, the thinness of the (worn) tire carcass and the lack of an adhesive, I am not especially surprised you lost some air - even with a plug that is supposed to be "self-vulcanizing". I wouldn't plug a tire that far beyond the wear bars except in an emergency to get me to a place where I could replace it.

I have absolutely no experience plugging tires that are on the "thin" side, no sir!

Is on my list to cut a cross section through this tire. Is not all that thin. And did not tear when the plug was inserted. 35 miles from home a Metzeler Z6 did exactly that. The puncture appeared to be a staple from a staple gun. Two very small holes. I felt the tire tear when I inserted a string folded in the middle. Didn't seal. Repeated folded twice so 4 strings were in a hole originally the size of a very small wire. To two holes about 5/8" apart. Got that to hold well enough to get home only having to air the tire one more time.

There are two rubber flaps beside the puncture. The one toward the center was caused by the penetrating object which did not puncture square to the tread.

Am amazed but not terribly surprised the repair held for 2 days parked, then 100 miles. TPMS was showing the expected pressures when I got home. Then it was half deflated the next day having parked overnight.

A little disappointed the PR4GT required (5) 7g weights. That is personal record for a Michelin tire. Something else may be in play because 1) some of that countered my Garmin TPMS sensor, and 2) suspiciously required 3 more weights in the same place the T30 Evo had 2 (bringing the total to 5). Balanced about 50 tires and never put weights in the same place twice in a row.

Michelin does not put a weight dot on the sidewall so I put the white tag at the valve stem.

Suggest balance your wheel with no tire (but with TPMS) and install clip-on weights permanently, I have found FJR wheels to be notoriously way off balance, especially the fronts. Came with 50 g. of clip-ons from the factory...... TPMS and T-stems will add a lot.
Now when you mount tires, might need a coupla weights only.

You gotta love it when you buy something and it exceeds your expectations. Doesn't happen often but I purchased a couple things recently that did and figure I would share my thoughts here in case anyone else is thinking about anything along these lines.

First I replaced my Garmin 396 with the bigger and much brighter XT. The 396 is a good GPS but I wanted something brighter and larger. The XT is both and is just amazing. The brightness was always the complaint about Garmin's motorcycle GPS's. Anyone that ever owned a 660 or 665 can attest to that. Pretty worthless on a bright day. With all electronics they are constantly improving them but I cannot imagine how they can make this any better. Will be selling my 396 on eBay so if anyone is interested in that let me know.

Secondly I wanted a good solid phone mount for my iPhone and came across RokForm. The quality and design are fantastic. The case is military grade, so good I bet if it came off while riding the phone would be ok. Its a beast but after paying $200 to replace my last iPhone screen that's what I was looking for. I bought the ball mount adaptor and the phone just twists on to lock. Horizontal or vertical. Its not going anywhere. The case has a very strong magnet so you can slap it anywhere of course metal. So that is what I did to my FJR lately. Both great products I thought you might like to see if your thinking of something like these.

Interesting, the Rokform looks like a quad lock. I wonder how they compare. Looks like they only support Apple and Samsung though. Boo!

You'll love that XT the more you use it, I've been singing it's praises since I got mine.

raYzerman wrote: ↑Sat Jul 10, 2021 7:35 am Suggest balance your wheel with no tire (but with TPMS) and install clip-on weights permanently, I have found FJR wheels to be notoriously way off balance, especially the fronts. Came with 50 g. of clip-ons from the factory...... TPMS and T-stems will add a lot.
Now when you mount tires, might need a coupla weights only.

My OE front came with no weights. I usually get balance with no more than (3) 7g weights, including counter for my TPMS. 5 is a personal record but for a late friend’s no-name eBay tire which required 19. I previously used 2 on same wheel with a Continental tire.

All balancing a bare wheel (including TPMS) can do for you is show where the tire is out of balance. The route to minimum weights is to balance everything at once. The tire may just counter the wheel’s imbalance. Of course it is hard to know if the tire is adding or subtracting if one doesn’t know where the wheel is heavy. Thing is I am not going to break the bead, reclamp in the Nomar, move the tire, just to save two 11¢ wheel weights.

However I do have a roll of 3M double sided foam tape to reuse wheel weights. Thicker and not as sticky as Motion Pro’s tape but it works. Advantage is the 3M is much easier to remove. Disadvantage is the 3M might be too easy to remove, but has worked so far.

Blueridgerider wrote: ↑Sat Jul 10, 2021 3:00 pm
Secondly I wanted a good solid phone mount for my iPhone and came across RokForm.

A phone camera image stabilization system is prone to damage from vibration and shock. Itchy Boots and Mark who runs the YouTube channel Biker Bits have acknowledged their phones where subject to this problem. Granted they ride off road a lot but I decided to put my phone in a thick padded sleeve in the tank bag and avoid the risk. I hope your phone remains operational for many years to come.

On a second topic a couple of months ago my FJR saddle bag emblem fell off. I ordered a new one at PartZilla but they were on back order from Japan. Tired of waiting I called a local dealer to learn dealers on the same parts system they can see stock of other dealers. I got to the phone number of a dealer who had the part in stock and order two! Cool. Who knew as I usually order part online.

fontanaman wrote: ↑Sat Jul 10, 2021 9:03 pm

Blueridgerider wrote: ↑Sat Jul 10, 2021 3:00 pm
Secondly I wanted a good solid phone mount for my iPhone and came across RokForm.

A phone camera image stabilization system is prone to damage from vibration and shock. Itchy Boots and Mark who runs the YouTube channel Biker Bits have acknowledged their phones where subject to this problem. Granted they ride off road a lot but I decided to put my phone in a thick padded sleeve in the tank bag and avoid the risk. I hope your phone remains operational for many years to come.

On a second topic a couple of months ago my FJR saddle bag emblem fell off. I ordered a new one at PartZilla but they were on back order from Japan. Tired of waiting I called a local dealer to learn dealers on the same parts system they can see stock of other dealers. I got to the phone number of a dealer who had the part in stock and order two! Cool. Who knew as I usually order part online.

I have read a bit on this as well and after riding a few hundred miles with the mount I cannot believe that the FJR vibrates enough or gets jolted enough for the phone to be damaged. I just think they are built better than that. I would image runners with their phones on them would subject them to much more impact than my bike going down the road occasionally going over a rough road and have never read anything advising against that. Ever see a Harley at a stop light? haha Now putting a phone on those handlebars could cause problems and as you mentioned and the YouTube guys ride off road so there really is no comparison there. Hey I usually buy a new phone every few years anyway so I will take my chances. Its great having it right there when you need it for many reasons. If it tanks, I will certainly let everyone know.

Hppants wrote: ↑Mon Jun 28, 2021 9:39 pm I woke up early today and decided that the real world was going to have to wait.



100 miles later, I felt better.

Really a great photo and we all know that need to get away feeling you had before then the fantastic one after the ride.

New brake pads all around today. I probably could have just flipped the front pads around but I figured is best to replace them.

RacinRay wrote: ↑Thu Jul 15, 2021 8:33 pm New brake pads all around today. I probably could have just flipped the front pads around but I figured is best to replace them.

I just flip the front pads around until all are less than 25% or so and then I replace all of them. If just one or two get a bit ahead of the curve, I have a couple of spare used pads I'll toss in.

So with the supposed rubber shortage, who is buying another set of tires for safe keeping?

I always have a spare set or so in storage for both bikes...never know when the need will arise! Also keep a couple take off buddy-tires for those intrepid travelers who might need help getting home.

~G

Ordering tomorrow...