2024 New Shoes for the Versys

​On the right a Shinko 705 with 10k on it. On the left, a Shinko 705 that has only rolled across my garage floor. The Versys has new shoes. 😀

The Versys gets new shoes!

I can run faster and jump higher with these on! 

We decided to purchase the Princess Auto motorcycle tire bead breaker, and the on sale, Dynamic tire balancer based on a review by a friend, so there was a flurry of seasonal tire changes completed in the garage this July. 

Truth be told, I decided it was well past the time to replace my front tire on the Versys, and I opted to do it myself, so broke the bead with a series of wood clamps but it was a right PITA (pain in the arse) and when done, I tried to install balance beads and that too was an unholy mess until I learned the technique that worked to get the two ounces into the tire, but that valve stem was a terrible! It wouldn't take any air until I put the older valve core back in. I had bought a valve core removing tool, a few of them, but was I ever glad I did, as I had to cut mine in half to fit it under the paired brake disks, and it worked like a charm over sixteen times to seat and unseat that core! **Sigh.

I still had my rear tire on order and two more tires and tubes for Caroline's KLR, and when the tires arrived, we convinced ourselves that buying the Motorcycle Tire Changer with bead breaker for $89.99 Canadian was worth it. We ran into a mate Jayson from the Red Isle Riders, and I mentioned that the Motorcycle Wheel Balancing Stand was on sale this week, and he said he owned one, and it "Did alright." Good enough for me! We went in, and left Princess Auto lighter in the wallet than when we went in, but well armed with the motorcycle bead breaker and the tire balancer. 

Motorcycle Tire Changer with Bead Breaker

Motorcycle Wheel Balancing Stand

Assembling them was straight forward, and I used Caroline's 1/4" Ridgid impact driver along with blue loctite thread locker to assemble most of the two items. I could see that storing the bead breaker on a wall spike high in the garage was going to be perfectly acceptable when not in use, but I'd have to find a special home for the Wheel Balancer up and out of the way off of the shop floor. As the garage is also damp, I oiled everything that moved, and used anti seize paste on things that didn't like the hex lock nuts.