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New to me - ‘95 Honda Shadow VLX600
- Thread starter bosco659
- Start date
Zonie
XS650 Enthusiast
Back in the 80's I worked in the parts dept. of a local Ford dealer. They had the parts people hit the F6 key on the computer which added about 15% to the cost of the parts. I thought the price was high enough and wouldn't do it. Got fired.
I now have a friend who has a tire changing machine and doesn't charge me a thing. Life is good.
John in Texas
Thx for posting this. It’s actually newer than mine - a 2001. I’m envious of the single carb. The shiny bits on this bike are chrome so it would be much easier to polish it up. Interesting comment though that these bikes need to warm up before running properly. I noticed that on mine too.
Well I wrestled the rear tire off today. Actually it wasn’t so bad, the first side anyway. I found the 2nd side to be more challenging. I had the bead broken at my friends auto shop and while there I got some of his tire soap / paste. What a difference it made to have proper tire lube vs soapy water. My new tire irons worked well too.
In another post, I pondered the need to balance my new tire (still enroute). The rim has three large bell shaped lead weights on the spokes. Once the tire was off I put the axle in the wheel and gave it several spins to see if the weights were to balance the rim or tire. The weights always ended up on the bottom so I popped them off. Several spins afterwards and the wheel stopped in a different position each time. Once I install the new tire I’ll check the “balance” in this manner once again. If it looks like it needs weight I may build my balancing jig.
In another post, I pondered the need to balance my new tire (still enroute). The rim has three large bell shaped lead weights on the spokes. Once the tire was off I put the axle in the wheel and gave it several spins to see if the weights were to balance the rim or tire. The weights always ended up on the bottom so I popped them off. Several spins afterwards and the wheel stopped in a different position each time. Once I install the new tire I’ll check the “balance” in this manner once again. If it looks like it needs weight I may build my balancing jig.
Balance weights are always used to balance the wheel/tire combination. Nobody cares about the balance of either by themselves (within reason). You can't run a tire... or a wheel by itself.
I tend to check the bare cast wheel if there are a lot of weights on a wheel/tire I'm removing. I have had some Yamaha Radian cast rims that were atrociously out of balance, sans tire.
More of a hmm that's interesting than anything you'd do something about I guess. If nothing else it keeps you from being mad at tire brand X cuz it took so much weight to balance.
The only reason I looked at the “balance“ of the bare rim was to satisfy my curiosity and as suggested by @gggGary, if I need to add lotsa weight to the tire / wheel assembly, I’ll know it’s because of a crappy tire. In my case a Shinko tire, which may validate @jetmechmarty ’s thoughts on the brand.
I misunderstood your statement. My bad.
Was that a good opinion or a bad one? My feeling is mixed. I've had good results with the 70/30 Shinkos on my DR650, but mixed on the ones I put on the TX. I did have a vibration on the front tire but only at about 35 to 40 mph. It may have sorted itself out, I'll have to pay more attention to it when I start riding it again, or maybe I got used to it.
This video is how I balanced the tires on my DR and the TX650A. Procycle is THE aftermarket parts supplier for the DR650 in USA. What a great bunch of guys they are.
If they vibrate at 35 to 40 mph, I’ll be ok because I don’t think the bike will go that fast. lol.Was that a good opinion or a bad one? My feeling is mixed. I've had good results with the 70/30 Shinkos on my DR650, but mixed on the ones I put on the TX. I did have a vibration on the front tire but only at about 35 to 40 mph. It may have sorted itself out, I'll have to pay more attention to it when I start riding it again, or maybe I got used to it.
This video is how I balanced the tires on my DR and the TX650A. Procycle is THE aftermarket parts supplier for the DR650 in USA. What a great bunch of guys they are.
Tire mounted. Pretty easy with the new spoons, Chinese Bead Buddy and can’t say enough about the good mounting lube / soap. A day and night difference compared to dish washing soap. With the tire lube, the bead seated effortlessly. On the front, with soap and water, I had to inflate /deflate several times before the tire popped onto the bead and I needed to inflate to very high pressures to get it to seat. Will check balance tomorrow and monitor air pressure to make sure I didn’t nick the tube. This tube had a 90 degree valve stem. That was a pita. If I was going to do this on a regular basis I’d buy at least one more bead buddy. They work well.
The 170 tire makes me laugh since the bike boasts 41hp at the crank.
The 170 tire makes me laugh since the bike boasts 41hp at the crank.
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You may end up loving it!
This bike was intended to be a fixer upper and sell it, but part of me wants to keep it, at least until the weather improves, so I can take it for a spin. You’re right though, I may like it and keep it. I’ve never owned a cruiser before. Time will tell.
The left side cover had some pretty nasty scratches in it (unfortunately I didn’t take a “before” pic) and I thought the best I could do is buy touch up paint and cover the worst scratches. I had another look and wondered if my random orbit polisher and 2500 polishing compound could make it look better. 5 minutes of work and I’m more than happy with the results. The scratches are still there but much less visible. Actually can’t be seen at 5ft. Theres at least one scratch that’s deep into the plastic and I’ll need to paint that one but other than that it’s a winner. The rear fender has one deep scratch too.
I need to get one wheel weight tomorrow and the rear tire can go back on.
I need to get one wheel weight tomorrow and the rear tire can go back on.
Muratic acid instead of vinegar for tank rust? that is expensive if he's filling it up.
That stuff is nasty. No thanks. Vinegar works for me.
I use a phosphoric acid solution and it's probably even cheaper than vinegar. It's also resistant to flash rust as far as I can tell.
What is your source for phosphoric acid?
Big box stores like Home Depot have it. This is what I use.
2 cups into the gas tank filled with water does the job.
Not sure where to find this north of the border. How do you dispose of it once used? I used to have muriatic acid on hand but got rid of it since I didn’t like storing it in the house and I didn’t have a garage at the time. I used to use it to remove aluminum deposits on cylinder walls - scoring on 2 stroke engines.
You have it. Just pick up the bottles and read ingredients. Drain cleaner, concrete cleaner, etc. You have it. Maybe a hardware store can help you. Phosphoric acid is an ingredient in Coca-Cola. Getting rid of it shouldn't be an issue.
