Yeah, did it myself. Wasn’t too terrible of a job. Breaking the bead, and then getting the bead initially over the rim were the two hardest parts. I used a combination of a vice and large c-clamps to break the bead. Only thing I’d do different next time is to buy better rim protectors. The ones I used tore through and I ended up scratching the rim.

Edit:

The difficulty in getting the tire off may have been due to their age, or just the tire design. The new tires (Michelin Road 5) almost installed by hand without tools, they felt way more flexible than what came off.

I thought about this, seems to be some mixed opinions about using them online.

Yeah, I packed the dust seal with grease when reinstalling.

Interesting. Based on the amount of force required to pop them apart, I think I’d have ended up with the uppers firing themselves through the wall. Bike is a Honda CB500F. The area where the snap ring and seal sits was corroded and rusty, effectively locking in the seals.

I really do want to balance them, just didn’t have an easy way today. If there was a shop available to mount and balance, I’d absolutely have taken it there. The weights are opposite the valve stem, so I’m hoping that I get lucky, we’ll see.

Yeah, putting on the Road 5s, Revzilla had them for a good bit less than the Road 6.

Haven’t balanced them. They are Michelins, which claim to not need balancing, or at least don’t have a heavy spot. I had planned to rig up a basic rig, I do have a pack of stick on weights, but ran out of time and had to get the bike back together. If I notice any weirdness after doing the rear tomorrow I’ll need to figure something out. There are no shops available locally who can balance them.

Thanks. Not looking for run-flats, just wondering if there is something less puncture resistant. In the cycling world (the ones with pedals) certain tires are known to be more or less resistant to punctures. Commuting on brand X resulted in multiple punctures each month, while brand Y was puncture free for a year.

Wow, a completely sensible and rational take on the issue.

Safety and quality? Have you never driven an American car?

Not sure if this will fit the bill, but I am a huge fan of Joplin for general note taking and to dos.

Ok, that is their choice. Don’t like it? Don’t work there and don’t buy their product.

“I refuse to do my job, but you also aren’t allowed to do my job.”

That is known as wanting to “have your cake and eat it too”. Most people learned this fact before they hit middle school, but apparently these guys missed that day.

As someone who lives in a country that formerly had a nationalized phone company in the internet age, and currently has a nationalized power company and airline. Dear God fuck no!

I’m with you. I’m so completely and utterly over working in IT. The industry used to be full of companies founded by people who loved tech, and were staffed by kids who grew up on Lego and Logo. Today these same businesses are owned by investors who don’t know the first thing about technology, and staffed by grown up kids who were told by their guidance counselor that IT was a high paying field. Nobody knows their ass from a hole in the ground anymore, and getting anyone remotely competent on the phone is like pulling teeth. If I could bail on this industry tomorrow and build picnic tables I’d never look back.

I don’t use Uber because it is cheaper, I use it because I know the fare ahead of time, I don’t need to dial a dozen different cab companies, and the vehicles are generally nicer. I don’t use streaming because it is cheaper, I use it because I don’t need to worry about time shifting, and can access much higher quality content than on cable. As for the cloud? You can pry my big iron from my cold, dead hands.

I was actually a Xubuntu user for a long time, but tried Mint with Cinnamon, and found lots of things much easier and more polished, while maintaining the lightweight feel that XFCE provided.

I find that installing things from repos you typically get something far more up to date with Ubuntu than Debian.

I’ve been a Linux user since installing Slackware from floppy discs. These days I run Mint on my desktop/laptop and Ubuntu on servers. Does this make me weak?

Again, proof that more regulation is the root cause.

And the Hilux isn’t available in the US. I use one as my daily driver. Seats four, has a useable bed, hauls anything I throw at it, gets car MPGs, and is narrower than a Camry. It is as much pickup truck as pretty much anyone really needs.