Touring aids
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Road Warrior
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 1,437
Likes: 80
From: currently an Okie
update
I resurrected this thread, just because I was thinking about it today. Toward the end of it, there is a lot of group think about how stupid my purchase was.
I was thinking about it today and I think buying the extra set of wheels is one of the best things I have done. Maybe I paid too much, but in retrospect, who cares. Since I bought these wheels, I put 10K or so on the 11 and 43K on the 13. I love having a set of tires in the garage mounted and ready to put on the bike.
I am frugal, but willing to spend money when it makes sense. All of you road warriors that put on 4 or 5 thousand miles a year can laugh all you want. I bought the 13 in the middle of March last year and turned 43K on it today. That's a whole different reality than your garage queens. You have no idea the hassles I have been able to avoid because of the purchase of the spare set of wheel.
I started this thread a couple of years ago and haven't given it much thought until today. For some reason, I got to thinking about all the keyboard commandos that piled on me and I thought I would respond. If I had to buy a back tire once every other year, it would seem kind of silly to me too, but when you have to buy 2 or 3 a year, it starts to make a little more sense.
I was thinking about it today and I think buying the extra set of wheels is one of the best things I have done. Maybe I paid too much, but in retrospect, who cares. Since I bought these wheels, I put 10K or so on the 11 and 43K on the 13. I love having a set of tires in the garage mounted and ready to put on the bike.
I am frugal, but willing to spend money when it makes sense. All of you road warriors that put on 4 or 5 thousand miles a year can laugh all you want. I bought the 13 in the middle of March last year and turned 43K on it today. That's a whole different reality than your garage queens. You have no idea the hassles I have been able to avoid because of the purchase of the spare set of wheel.
I started this thread a couple of years ago and haven't given it much thought until today. For some reason, I got to thinking about all the keyboard commandos that piled on me and I thought I would respond. If I had to buy a back tire once every other year, it would seem kind of silly to me too, but when you have to buy 2 or 3 a year, it starts to make a little more sense.
Last edited by rkoivisto; Aug 16, 2014 at 07:21 PM.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 11,463
Likes: 2,990
From: Charleston, SC
I don't think it was a bad idea at all. Maybe a little expensive right off but you wanted a specific rim. No biggie.
I pretty much did the same and since I have just plain old RG/SG wheels I was able to find some brand new take offs with new tires, bearings, rotors and all for just 300 bucks. Most new tires cost more than that.
I rotate them when needed. Works...
lp
I pretty much did the same and since I have just plain old RG/SG wheels I was able to find some brand new take offs with new tires, bearings, rotors and all for just 300 bucks. Most new tires cost more than that.
I rotate them when needed. Works...
lp
Road Captain
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 673
Likes: 29
From: NE Ohio
Eh......I don't know. I've done a 6300 mile loop around the USA a few times. I usually just have new tires installed before I leave. If my current tires are worth saving, I have them pulled off so I can have them remounted when the new set wears out. It isn't that much more effort to pull a wheel, drive it up the road for a tire mount, then drive it home & install. My pockets just aren't deep enough to spend north of $800 for a little convenience, kudos to you if your's are.
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Road Warrior
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 1,437
Likes: 80
From: currently an Okie
My point
Eh......I don't know. I've done a 6300 mile loop around the USA a few times. I usually just have new tires installed before I leave. If my current tires are worth saving, I have them pulled off so I can have them remounted when the new set wears out. It isn't that much more effort to pull a wheel, drive it up the road for a tire mount, then drive it home & install. My pockets just aren't deep enough to spend north of $800 for a little convenience, kudos to you if your's are.
So what do you do if you think you have maybe 5000 miles left on your tires and you want to leave on a 6300 mile trip? I would put the new tires on and not have to pay to get them remounted later.
The economics is totally different when you put on the kind of mileage I do.
The piece of mind for me is that I could leave on a 20,000 mile trip tomorrow and not worry about it. I'll just put the new tires and wheels on.
I've found tires that will go 20K + both front and rear. The extra set of wheels allow me the ability to change my own tires without being concerned about getting it done right now (as in taking time off work). So that saves me $25 or $30 every tire change. But again, the thing that seals the deal is the ability to change out to new tires/wheels/bearings and go whenever I want (and I do that fairly often).
Last edited by rkoivisto; Aug 16, 2014 at 08:56 PM.
Road Captain
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 673
Likes: 29
From: NE Ohio
And honestly, if I were going out on a 10k, 15k ride - whatever - when my tires started to look low, I'd spend an evening on my laptop or tablet, locating a source for tires in the next day's town - or the next day's, whatever - call ahead, & have tires mounted when I get there. It happens all the time, most of the bigger HD dealers have the tires in stock & can get you up & on the road quick. They'll be a little more expensive, but not to the tune of $800 plus.
Again, if it works for you, more power to you. I need to be a little more conservative with my resources, probably because I don't have as many of them as you do!
Tourer
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 283
Likes: 3
From: Guymon, OK
This is what's important. Fck what anyone else thinks about what you do. Someone is always going to disagree with you no matter what you do.
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