On Saturday, July 19th, I left home bound for Red Bird Mission in Beverly Kentucky, to join 100+ other church people in doing a week's mission work on homes/trailers in the Appalachian mountains. The ride was nice, even though most of it was on the super slab. I did stop to assist a motorist with a flat tire along the way. I noticed a significant drop in fuel economy toward the end of the day, but thought nothing of it as the bike was running fine. Saturday night I met up with most of the group at a hosting church in Abingdon VA for a sleeping bag overnight in the church. The next morning, while repacking, I noticed the rear tire was completely flat. With some assistance, I put the bike on its centerstand and removed the self-tapping metal screw from the tire (likely picked up when I stopped to assist the other motorist) and replaced it with a rope-plug I carry with me. Refilled the tire with my mini-compressor (love that emplty crossover space between the two panniers) and it was fine the rest of the way down to southeastern Kentucky. Checked the pressure several times over the week, with no discernable drop in pressure and made it back home without incident - even stopping to assist two more stranded motorists on the way home. While it wasn't a multi-week, cross-country ride, I did wear another 1700 miles off the tires.
Question - How safe is it to continue riding on a plugged tire? I ride Michelin Pilot Road 3 tires and normally get 10K and 15K out of the front and rear respectively. The rear isn't due for replacement for another 4500 miles, but the front is currently due for a change. Do I just do them both? compacc.com looks like it has a set of Michelin Pilot Road 3s for $215-$250 (depending upon sizes). Better deal elsewhere?
Question - This trip put me over for several other scheduled maintenance issues - spark plugs, air cleaner, brake/clutch/antifreeze fluids, and final drive oil - and given my current busy schedule (I'm doing my first Ironman triathlon in Ohio on 9/7), I'm likely just going to take it to my local shop rather than do the work myself. Since the plastic removal can sometimes be an issue, do you recommend I take it to a Honda service place and pay the higher hourly rate? My Honda PC800s were worked on my my local shop, but I'm always a bit leary of technicians who may not be familiar with the bike, though I will provide them with the full service manual.
Thanks for the WOTL.
Cameron
Question - How safe is it to continue riding on a plugged tire? I ride Michelin Pilot Road 3 tires and normally get 10K and 15K out of the front and rear respectively. The rear isn't due for replacement for another 4500 miles, but the front is currently due for a change. Do I just do them both? compacc.com looks like it has a set of Michelin Pilot Road 3s for $215-$250 (depending upon sizes). Better deal elsewhere?
Question - This trip put me over for several other scheduled maintenance issues - spark plugs, air cleaner, brake/clutch/antifreeze fluids, and final drive oil - and given my current busy schedule (I'm doing my first Ironman triathlon in Ohio on 9/7), I'm likely just going to take it to my local shop rather than do the work myself. Since the plastic removal can sometimes be an issue, do you recommend I take it to a Honda service place and pay the higher hourly rate? My Honda PC800s were worked on my my local shop, but I'm always a bit leary of technicians who may not be familiar with the bike, though I will provide them with the full service manual.
Thanks for the WOTL.
Cameron
