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[ST] Changing Tires on the ST



To the List,

Just got done changing both the front an rear stock tires on the ST to 205's, which were always my favorite on the Trophy.  However, this post is to share my tire changing adventures.

The front is a no-brainer - standard procedures.  The rear is neat - I bought the Triumph socket, but as others have posted, an 1 13/16" will also do the job.  An impact wrench makes it trivial - I just held the wheel with me hand and the nut came right off - no problems at all.  Neat design, except that getting the wheel worked out with the pannier brackets on is a very tight fit - I scratched the wheel in a few spots hitting it on the axle.  The disk and everything stays on - wonderful.  Now I confess last year I got fed up with having to run to dealers, and a riding buddy and I split the cost on a Coats 220 manual tire changer - close to $700.  We use a cheap ($90) wheel balancer (just a small axle on precision bearings).  I cannot express the joy of being able to mail order tires, and change them whenever you want, in
the evening, whenever.  Plus, with my son and friends motocrossing, and now on street bikes, I'll bet we have changed close to 30 tires just this spring, so it has paid for itself, in a sense.  My wife wants to see the money, but these are virtual dollars of course.  Anyways, if you are too lazy, as I am, to remove the pannier brackets, put a rag over the axle stub, then guide the wheel out by twisting and turning out the rear, and it seemed to be OK.  Torquing the nut back on is no big deal either, and I found I could just manage to hold the tire and torque the nut back up to specs.  The only problem is I could not balance the rear, since the "hole" in the wheel center is not, but instead is a clover-leaf shape on one side, to accept the driving studs.  However, I have found most of the imbalance is in the wheel rather
than the tire, especially with modern rubber, and if a new tire is installed with the "dot" by the valve stem, most of the time it will be very close to balance anyway.  So I am not worried about the rear balance.

It is a fun, easy job, and I recommend buying your own tire changer, and much as it might hurt the first time.  This is freedom!

Now on to the 18 tooth sprocket.

Rick Hartwick
00 ST

PS

To those trying out the Metzler Z-4's - they were absolutely the most SCARY tire I ever had when crossing a steel-grated bridge - absolutely awefull, but overall good on the road, although slower steering than the 205's.


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