Great!!! Yet another old friend returns.
7th Nat'l NT Rally - July 5-8, 2017 - Spearfish, SD
- Thread starter Mellow
- Start date
Looking forward to this more and more!
Tonight I finished the last of the prep work on the pack mule DR650. It will look a little different than when it hauled me all over the country in 2013. Some of you might remember it from the 2013 rally. I mounted the Givi top box that was originally purchased for the NT and the top box still wears the 2012 spearfish sticker. I also put new Yellow dry saddlebags on the side rack. The grey donkey has new rear tire, new battery, new LED headlight and other many small improvements over the last four years. It is just too sweet of a little bike to get rid of. I think the only thing left to do now is collect the camping gear and pack the bike.
Tonight I finished the last of the prep work on the pack mule DR650. It will look a little different than when it hauled me all over the country in 2013. Some of you might remember it from the 2013 rally. I mounted the Givi top box that was originally purchased for the NT and the top box still wears the 2012 spearfish sticker. I also put new Yellow dry saddlebags on the side rack. The grey donkey has new rear tire, new battery, new LED headlight and other many small improvements over the last four years. It is just too sweet of a little bike to get rid of. I think the only thing left to do now is collect the camping gear and pack the bike.
WVRider
Site Supporter
Just a plug for a great dealership in Rapid City. If you have any need for service, repairs, or parts while enjoying your stay at Spearfish, the folks at Rice Honda / Suzuki in Rapid City are tops. I ran into issues out there last year with rear brakes and a rear tire that suffered premature wear and these folks put me back on the road quicker and cheaper than any other dealer I have used. Just FYI ! ! Hope you all have a great time and don't need these folks. It is fabulous in that entire area. Enjoy !
I, too, used them to service my NT before leaving for Alaska with Phil. They did a good job and charged reasonable price. One of the only dealerships that i've visited who actually knew what an NT is.
Phil Tarman
Site Supporter
And I used them in '12. The Honda dealer in Spearfish didn't have a tire to fit the NT, so I got towed to Rapid and Rice Honda had a Dunlop mounted for me by noon the next day. Again, very fair price and excellent service.
OP
OP
Mellow
Admin
Just over a week away.. the long range forecast looks very nice.
Be sure to post in the Friday evening pizza poll if you are planning on being there.
Can't wait to see everyone there.. please ride safe.
Be sure to post in the Friday evening pizza poll if you are planning on being there.
Can't wait to see everyone there.. please ride safe.
The Shelby is all serviced, packed, and ready to roll. My cat is at our local "Cat Resort" and will be there at least till the 11th. I'll hit the slab at first light tomorrow.
OP
OP
Mellow
Admin
Sounds like it will be a very nice trip.. keep us updated on where you are if you like.
Chris, I think the dealer most of us recommended was Rice Honda not Rich. That is where I went anyway.
And yes, the chip seal roads eat tires especially in warm weather. I get real good mileage out of all my tires riding around Lake Superior on asphalt roads. But when I go out west they go fast (in more ways than one). A lot of tires I've measured were 7/32" when new. But a good analogy I heard was that tires are like a roll of toilet paper - goes quick near the end.
And yes, the chip seal roads eat tires especially in warm weather. I get real good mileage out of all my tires riding around Lake Superior on asphalt roads. But when I go out west they go fast (in more ways than one). A lot of tires I've measured were 7/32" when new. But a good analogy I heard was that tires are like a roll of toilet paper - goes quick near the end.
Phil Tarman
Site Supporter
Rice's will help you and work with you to get you on the road ASAP. The Spearfish Honda dealer hasn't had tires to fit the NT. Once when I needed help in Spearfish (not during our rally), The Honda dealer told me they were closing and couldn't help. I called two other dealers and didn't get any help but a ATV dealer sent a guy over with jumper cables to get me going.
OP
OP
Mellow
Admin
If you're that worried about them, change them now.
Then, you have a trip where you aren't constantly worrying about tires.
If you need help changing them, there's a member (kerbside) on ST-O that has a no-mar and will probably help you with putting new ones on and another change to put the old ones back on when you're done with those.
It's always tough to gauge tires on a bike you don't have a lot of miles on yet, or a particular brand of tires...so, best to just take that out of the equation, start with a new set and have that much less to worry about or deal with during the trip.
Then, you have a trip where you aren't constantly worrying about tires.
If you need help changing them, there's a member (kerbside) on ST-O that has a no-mar and will probably help you with putting new ones on and another change to put the old ones back on when you're done with those.
It's always tough to gauge tires on a bike you don't have a lot of miles on yet, or a particular brand of tires...so, best to just take that out of the equation, start with a new set and have that much less to worry about or deal with during the trip.
OP
OP
Mellow
Admin
If you know all the torque specs and the procedure for tire removal/installation... you can contact the guy on ST-O that's not far from you.. those guys are pretty friendly.. of course, coming up on a holiday weekend so not sure of his availability... he was the only guy on ST-O that was near you.. otherwise, bring the tires with you and we'll spoon them on at the campground... should make for a great side-event.
Chris, is the 4/32" of tread to the wear bars or total tread depth?
And I'd guess the 1500 miles to Spearfish is round trip.
It is a shame to waste a day at Spearfish getting a tire replaced, but several of us have done it.
I'm not far behind you. I have only 1/32" more than you do (to the bars), but I think I can make it to Spear fish and back before replacing my rear tire. But I have guessed wrong before and had to order a tire shipped to a dealer ahead on my route and have it replaced. That worked out fine the two times I did it. Once in AK and once in AR. I have a service appointment for Monday July 10 at a dealer on my way home from Spearfish. I haven't found that dealers have any tire even close to what I want in stock. Call ahead. Usually only takes them a day or two to get a tire.
And I'd guess the 1500 miles to Spearfish is round trip.
It is a shame to waste a day at Spearfish getting a tire replaced, but several of us have done it.
I'm not far behind you. I have only 1/32" more than you do (to the bars), but I think I can make it to Spear fish and back before replacing my rear tire. But I have guessed wrong before and had to order a tire shipped to a dealer ahead on my route and have it replaced. That worked out fine the two times I did it. Once in AK and once in AR. I have a service appointment for Monday July 10 at a dealer on my way home from Spearfish. I haven't found that dealers have any tire even close to what I want in stock. Call ahead. Usually only takes them a day or two to get a tire.
Hey Jim,
What tire did you order? I ask because I put Anakee 3 on both the front and rear of my tiger. Those tires were noisy! They have a high pitch howl that reminds one of constant tone tornado siren. I can't recommend them. I sold them with the bike, but I probably would have replaced them due to the howl. They did handle nice and were really sticky on asphalt curves.
What tire did you order? I ask because I put Anakee 3 on both the front and rear of my tiger. Those tires were noisy! They have a high pitch howl that reminds one of constant tone tornado siren. I can't recommend them. I sold them with the bike, but I probably would have replaced them due to the howl. They did handle nice and were really sticky on asphalt curves.
It will be a Pirelli Angel GT or a Metzler Tourance Next.
PR4 is $50 higher.
I considered the Anakees, but I don't really ride off road on purpose. But I do ride on gravel roads if I want to get somewhere the road goes to.
I did try to lower my air pressure and ride off road with the Tiger. But in my opinion it is NOT an off-road machine and the Metzler Toruance are NOT off road tires. It feels like a heavy bike in loose dirt with road tires.
OP
OP
Mellow
Admin
I have a Tourance Next on the rear of the super ten w/5,000 miles on it and it should make it to spearfish and back w/some extra sightseeing miles so I'm expecting 8k from it on a heavier bike.
My front PR4 has 6,200 and looks like it will go quite a bit further. I do have a Tourance Next front tire in the garage.
Joe, I notice you didn't disagree with my idea that the Tourance Next is not an off-road tire. I expect mine with only 4K miles has another 2K or 3K left on it. I don't think it will make it to 8K. Most Tiger riders see about 6,500 on a rear. I hope I do as well as you Joe.
I tried hard to like the Super Ten when I was shopping last winter. But I just couldn't get past the extra weight that it had over the Tiger. Sure, on the highway the weight doesn't bother and in some ways is more stabil than a lighter bike. But it is the dang off camber parking lots with loose sand and gravel and the ruts that get you. The Super Ten did beat out the R1200GS because of the BMWs price tag.
I tried hard to like the Super Ten when I was shopping last winter. But I just couldn't get past the extra weight that it had over the Tiger. Sure, on the highway the weight doesn't bother and in some ways is more stabil than a lighter bike. But it is the dang off camber parking lots with loose sand and gravel and the ruts that get you. The Super Ten did beat out the R1200GS because of the BMWs price tag.
OP
OP
Mellow
Admin
Well, I'm a poser and don't go off road so it's a moot point for me
Yeah, I looked at tigers when I was looking at my first super ten and the priced - around here - were almost identical... so I went with yamaha for more features... I'm sure the tiger sounds better and feels much lighter.. ah.. choices..
Ya, problems, problems, problems.