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Mad Scientist Tire Academy

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Ivan was watching the Olympics on NBC when a Mad Scientist Tire Academy ad went on, he contacted our admissions office and voila - here are pics of him at the school yesterday here at Casona Tricepilot.

Important to note that Ivan already had pretty good skills AND good ideas of his own, he lives nearby and just wanted to brush up and stay practiced. And we did just that!

uve2upyj.jpg


In that pic above you see Ivan has removed the "old" tube WHICH HAD SLIME IN IT YUCK and he's in the middle of installing a heavy duty tube.

9a6a3yse.jpg


Ok above you can see one of Ivan's many good ideas, which is simply just go to Lowe's and get one of those painter's plastic tarps to be your trail work surface. BING! I based on seeing that trashed my heavier piece of tarp and am going with this.

Also note Ivan's very cool jack stand and how it props up the back of the bike. Muy padre (very cool in Spanish).

anedezes.jpg


^ A closer look at the jack stand. Also useful for smacking chupacabras which lurk behind cacti in Big Bend

rydutyza.jpg


^ Looky what Ivan has there - a velcro strap for compressing the front brake lever to keep the front wheel from rolling and adding more stability to the bike when you're working on it. Que bella!

adyvy5ub.jpg


^ Very happy Ivan with a refreshed skill set. He's now off to Big Bend and Uncle's Ride with his tire passport stamped. Say hi to Ivan in Terlingua.
 
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Ok here we have Windex in a couple of mini spray bottles. I carry one of these.

Tip: wrap the threads of the bottle with plumber's tape to prevent leaks.

Ample lubricant is vital to a speedy re-bead and/or tire mounting job, as you old coots know

You can use any lube you want, but different choices come with different effects on the tire and you should be aware of what they are.

Anything that works for you is perfectly satisfactory
 
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The bike stand that is all ways with you.

Make sure to remove the axle nut BEFORE you lay the bike down, and lay it down on the nut side so you can remove the axle.
 
Re: San Antonio's Mad Scientist Tire Academy

tricepilot said:
These Doug Schopinsky videos are what I started with, and they contain many helpful hints and techniques.

I do what he does on the ground, on a ground cloth. There aren't any tire stands out there on the trail. :lol2:







The golden nugget Doug said, buried in the videos, is this: If it's difficult, you're doing it wrong!
Click to expand...

:thumb:
 
I can host a clinic in Bastrop some time, if anybody is interested.

I even have a spare front rim and old tires and tubes for practice before trying it out on the working bike.

Trice, if you are going to give me a title, I request "Second Vice-Secretary for the Assistant to the Dean of the College of Schrader Valve Depression" or SVSADCSVD for short.
 
RollingJ said:
Trice, if you are going to give me a title, I request "Second Vice-Secretary for the Assistant to the Dean of the College of Schrader Valve Depression" or SVSADCSVD for short.
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:lol2:

And you are hereby so designated!

If we get a real budget from Tourmeister, I will have the appropriate name plate for your office made. Jerry is giving us free business cards though :trust:
 
tricepilot said:
Ivan was watching the Olympics on NBC when a Mad Scientist Tire Academy ad went on, he contacted our admissions office and voila - here are pics of him at the school yesterday here at Casona Tricepilot.

Important to note that Ivan already had pretty good skills AND good ideas of his own, he lives nearby and just wanted to brush up and stay practiced. And we did just that!

uve2upyj.jpg


In that pic above you see Ivan has removed the "old" tube WHICH HAD SLIME IN IT YUCK and he's in the middle of installing a heavy duty tube.

9a6a3yse.jpg


Ok above you can see one of Ivan's many good ideas, which is simply just go to Lowe's and get one of those painter's plastic tarps to be your trail work surface. BING! I based on seeing that trashed my heavier piece of tarp and am going with this.

Also note Ivan's very cool jack stand and how it props up the back of the bike. Muy padre (very cool in Spanish).

anedezes.jpg


^ A closer look at the jack stand. Also useful for smacking chupacabras which lurk behind cacti in Big Bend

rydutyza.jpg


^ Looky what Ivan has there - a velcro strap for compressing the front brake lever to keep the front wheel from rolling and adding more stability to the bike when you're working on it. Que bella!

adyvy5ub.jpg


^ Very happy Ivan with a refreshed skill set. He's now off to Big Bend and Uncle's Ride with his tire passport stamped. Say hi to Ivan in Terlingua.
Click to expand...

Great way to spend a few hours. Bob is an outstanding host, he's not going to show you how to do the job but rather watch you do it ( after you've seen the videos) and then give you some hints on how it might be done easier. Also he'll check out your tool kit and make recommendations on what you may want to add or subtract from it. I've done many street tires without any real problems, but the dirt ones were always a pain. Now that Bob has showed me the error of my ways i'll feel more at ease if i have to pull one out on the trail. Oh.. and the chow after we finished was great too. Gracias Roberto.
 
I'm just outside Bastrop/Smithville also. I've changed and balanced my R1200GS spoke wheels/tires a few times now with no problems. Well if you don't count a few scuffs on the rims, but WTH, it's a motorcycle, not a show piece. The MotionPro Bead Breaker works great for me, weights next to nothing and packs small.

Also have a balancer by Marc Parnes for BMW and other wheel sets that I use to balance them myself. http://www.marcparnes.com/BMW_Motorcycle_Wheel_Balancer.htm

One question is any tips on the 1200GS spoke wheel on the trail. At home I use the new tire as my cushion to keep from wrecking the brake disc, not sure what I'd do on the trail. Hopefully a plug would work, but I carry a tube just in case.
 
Re: Looking For More Mad Scientists!

tricepilot said:
Looking for "adjunct instructors" in Houston, Austin, McAllen, other places.

I asked M38A1 to remove the "San Antonio" part off of the thread title because I would like to expand the number of mentors offering to assist other riders in becoming confident in tire and tube maintenance.

You can be "THAT GUY" in a good sense! :lol2:

Volunteer to be a mentor/instructor in your area (could even use more here in San Antonio).

Be a part of the twtex.com Mad Scientist Tire Academy by volunteering to teach others what you know about tire maintenance.

Doesn't always have to be at your home - take your instructive skills on the road during group rides. Have a session before or after the ride.

If you volunteer to be a mentor, I'll put your screen name on the upcoming map in your general geographic location in Texas (or elsewhere).

You riders with a lot of tire changing experience, flat tire fixing experience, guys that have put together a good kit for the trail, can help newer riders or riders who just want to be more confident that they can learn to be very self sufficient on the trail if they get a flat - step to the plate and be a Mad Scientist in the Academy. :thumb:
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I can help out the southern movement of this Mad Scientist effort by offering class in Victoria or surrounding area. I have a coworker taking his basic rider course this weekend and looking at a 650L. I plan to get him up and going so he does not have to be "That Guy".
 
Just returned from Uncle's Around The Bend and did the Desert Challenge with a TIRE SPOON I LEFT IN MY REAR MAXXIS DESERT TIRE!!!!!!

It "left the tire carcass" in Marfa after staying in the tire for the entire Big Bend ride!

Film and photos at 11!
 
JT said:
Click here and change your code name to "Tiretool" :nana:

http://www.twtex.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49616&goto=newpost
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JT, I am so glad that I took the time to go through nine LONG pages about changing a motorcycle tire to get to the good stuff! Tire Tool !! LOL !!! Hey guys, make sure that you still have the same number of tire irons to put back in the drawer after your tire is seated... That's the science behind that...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
 
Bob, you know I just wanted to be the first to yank your chain a bit. We all really do appreciate the help you offer to the inmates. I hope you had a great time at BB, I sure did. :mrgreen:
 
Meriden said:
Trice, Ready to review that new tire tool you bought? Inquiring minds and all that stuff...
m
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Richard was just here and we were talking about that thing. I have it, but haven't been able to use it yet since I'm taking off on a big trip. Once I get back, I'll do a review on it (and post a ton of other updates to this thread) :sun:
 
Sure wish one of you guys would give the rest of us a report on how that portable tire changer is working. Does it scar the rims at all, is it easy to push the bead over the rim? Enquiring minds need to know, so we can order up one of our own...or not.
 
While we wait for the tire tool update I'll regale you with a suspenseful tire change related story.

Coming back from Lone Star today I rode directly into a pretty nice rain shower. As the sky before me was turning black I put on my rain gear and headed south toward the bright blue thinking I'd be out of it shortly. It kept piddling on me for a few miles, just enough to need to keep the face shield down to stop the sting. Coming into the Northrup Curve - you know, there by the railroad tracks - the front end washes out. For a moment I see myself low siding into a long skid through the railroad ballast along the side of the road. So following the adage "Ride it until the crash; you just might save it," I did all the wrong things, put a foot down, snapped the throttle shut, climbed up on the seat and instead turning a low side into a high side like should have happened, the bike straightened out.

As I rode along pondering if the problem was too much speed or wet roads or too much speed on wet roads I passed my turn. Making a slow U to go back I realize the bike is handling like it's in wet concrete. Yep, the problem was a flat front tire.

The other day I as bragging that in 40 years of riding I had never changed a roadside flat on my own bike. Intending to keep that record in tact I put in a CO2 cartridge and started nursing the bike the seven miles back to my house hoping I had a slow leak. In about ten minutes of slow gravel I realized that I wasn't going to make it so I pulled over. For another ten minutes I fiddled around with the jack stand (I had brought the wrong one) and tools, called my wife to put her on extraction notice, cursed my bad luck, looked for big rocks and wondered if the nearby farmer had a compressor. Finally I gave up and implemented the RollingJ jack stand maneuver. Yes, I laid the Bavarian Princess on her side. With the front wheel soon removed it took only another ten minutes using the methods outlined in this thread to install a new tube and be on my way.

So anyway the morals of the story are: Put on your rain gear before it rains. Sometimes heavy duty tubes can mask a flat. Never, ever brag that you've never had a flat. And lastly, two thirds of the time it take to fix a flat are spent wishing you didn't have a flat and looking for big rocks so just fix it.
 
Nice work, M.

If I could patent the earth I would.
 
RollingJ said:
If I could patent the earth I would.
Click to expand...

Go for it. Didn't RiceTec try to patent an ancient Indian rice or Myriad Genetics the breast cancer gene or Amazon photography?

"A method of supporting a motorcycle for tire repairs using naturally occurring soil or stone substrate for support while securing the subject motorcycle with gravity.":trust:
 
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