Insallation of new rear tire

[Ms Noles]

Recently we purchased this tire Kumho Ecsta AST Performance Radial Tire - 225/50R15 91H to put on the rear of my 2016 Spyder. I was wondering if anyone can recommend a video to assist with putting this on ourselves. The local shop here that works on spyders wants $145.00 for installing it. Any suggestions in NW Florida area?

[Purple Guy]

Courtesy of Finless Bob!

[Ms Noles]

Thanks but no video attached.

Courtesy of Finless Bob!

[cptjam]

If they want 145 to remove wheel, remove tire, mount and balance, reinstall the wheel.....
not too bad. If you remove the wheel, and take it to a tire shop, it will be 25-35. So, with labor at about $110 an hour, it is not far off. If you want to do that, call me, I can walk you thru it. Joe

[Sarge707]

I just changed my 2015 F3 Tire and Have done a Gs and RT before. If your NOT real Handy and experienced in Spyder wrenching I would Gladly Pay them The $145?? I have been wrenching on 15 BRP jet-skies and 3 Spyders and Its Still a Major pain in the butt to change the rear Tire-Especially if you have to put it back on With No One assisting you!!!

[Bfromla]

If they want 145 to remove wheel, remove tire, mount and balance, reinstall the wheel.....
not too bad. If you remove the wheel, and take it to a tire shop, it will be 25-35. So, with labor at about $110 an hour, it is not far off. If you want to do that, call me, I can walk you thru it. Joe

& Watching SpyderPop's change mine, it is a involved task you will want skilled tech to get the belt back on correctly , be sure they check your rear bearings while it's off

[Peteoz]

Ms Noles, having done it myself, I would much rather pay $145 to get someone to do it. I am reasonably handy, but it is a pain, and you have to make sure you have large torque wrenches, large spanners/sockets and other bits and pieces, especially for post 2013 models where the axle torque is 160lbs.......and if you can’t keep the alignment and belt torque, there’s another issue. I’m with Bfromla and Sarge.
I only did it myself as no dealers out here near me are willing to put other than Kenda on a Spyder.
You only say 2016 Spyder.....which model?

Pete

[UtahPete]

Ms Noles, having done it myself, I would much rather pay $145 to get someone to do it. I am reasonably handy, but it is a pain, and you have to make sure you have large torque wrenches, large spanners/sockets and other bits and pieces, especially for post 2013 models where the axle torque is 160lbs.......and if you can’t keep the alignment and belt torque, there’s another issue. I’m with Bfromla and Sarge.
I only did it myself as no dealers out here near me are willing to put other than Kenda on a Spyder.
You only say 2016 Spyder.....which model?

Pete

Pete, she posted on the RT thread.

[Pirate looks at --]

I would have to agree with others that $145.00 would be well worth having someone else do that for you!

[IGETAROUND]

FWIW; if you drop the rear shock so you can lower the swing arm to remove the belt, your alignmet of the belt is maintained. other than initially getting the rear axle back in place this isn't too bad of a job. It shouldn't cost more than $15-20.00 to have the tire mounted @ a tire store. Just make clear that you need the indicator on the tire aligned with the valve stem. have done this 3 or 4 times now. Would much rather tackle this than anything electrically related.

Al in Kazoo

[Peteoz]

Pete, she posted on the RT thread.

Ahhhhh. The old “gotcha”.....missed that...... Thanks Pete. I don’t think it hurts though, to nominate your model in your post, especially when you don’t have anything in your signature, as many people are just looking at “what’s new”

Pete

[SPECTACUALR SPIDERMAN]

$145 is cheap for long island, i had to pay $180 for the dealer to pull it off & put it on & my guys did the m & b.

[KX5062]

I agree with Al. Removing the single bolt that holds the shock onto the swing arm I think is the overall easiest method, since you don't have to mess with the belt alignment and tensioning.

[Docster]

Recently we purchased this tire Kumho Ecsta AST Performance Radial Tire - 225/50R15 91H to put on the rear of my 2016 Spyder. I was wondering if anyone can recommend a video to assist with putting this on ourselves. The local shop here that works on spyders wants $145.00 for installing it. Any suggestions in NW Florida area?

As Purple Guy has shown, a "Search" will find you just about anything you need to know about routine maintenance on your Spyder and much, much more.

[Eckhard]

if you drop the rear shock so you can lower the swing arm to remove the belt,

Isn't there also a link to the ride height thingee that needs to come off? Or you gotta buy a new one and install it.

[007james]

Recently we purchased this tire Kumho Ecsta AST Performance Radial Tire - 225/50R15 91H to put on the rear of my 2016 Spyder. I was wondering if anyone can recommend a video to assist with putting this on ourselves. The local shop here that works on spyders wants $145.00 for installing it. Any suggestions in NW Florida area?

As a Fan of the Kuhmo 225/50R 91H tire, I had 3 of them on my 2012 RT Limited, and liked them. I got an average of 14,000 mils per tire and really liked how my Spyder handled. Now, I have a 2016 RT Limited, and am VERY surprised and disappointed to share, that I have my first Khumo on it, and at only 11,000 miles, its bald as an egg shell, but isn’t showing cord in the center yet, as I usually run them. But for certain, It won’t see 12,000 miles. As for changing the tire your self, as posted by others here, its not an easy job to do it right, because some Dealers also adjust the Belt Tension after changing the tire, which requires an electronic “ Ping” Instrument that verifies the correct belt tension. ( better than the hand held “ Kricket” that also verifies the tension.) As for my rear tire I have to repace SOON, I found a Michelin Hydroedge 215/60R15 on eBay, and ordered it. I has delighted to find it, as Doc Humphrey had one on his Spyder and reported having 46,000 miles on it! But the eBay seller from California first said my tire was shipped, then followed up that they were mistaken, and the tire was no longer avaiable and no longer manufactured. So I tried to find the next favorate, the Michelin Defender, at the same size, i.e. 215/60R15, and can not find it either, as I am told it no longer is avaiable. Only the 205/60/15 is avaiable, and the 205 VS. 225 width of the tire is almost an inch narrower than the stock 225 OEM, so the 215 is as narrow as I want to venture. So, I just ordered , which I think is the most recommended replacement tire here on the Spyder tire treads, i,e, the General Altimax 215/60R/15 RT-43. I ordered it from Tire Rack at about $80 including shipping. I sure hope I can get at least 15,000 miles on it, as my Khumo has disappointed me. It was not manufactured in China either, but the higher torque on the 2016 as comparred to the 2012 Spyder must have made the difference in quicker wear. My OEM Kenda that came with the 2016 gave me 13,000 before the cord started showing in the center,

[jcthorne]

Yokohama S-Drive 205/55-15.

Great ride and handling, great wet and dry traction, MUCH better than the OEM tire. Its a near exact match size wise to the OEM Kenda tire. Average 15 to 16k miles life on Spyders. Its not a general purpose passenger car tire, its a speed rated performance tire.

Made in USA by a top tier tire manufacture, great quality construction, many require ZERO balance weight when installed.

We have installed MANY of these for lots of very happy customers.

[IGETAROUND]

if you drop the rear shock so you can lower the swing arm to remove the belt,


Isn't there also a link to the ride height thingee that needs to come off? Or you gotta buy a new one and install it.


Yes on the RT's and proably also the F-3's with air adjustable rear suspension

[KX5062]

Isn't there also a link to the ride height thingee that needs to come off? Or you gotta buy a new one and install it.

No.

https://www.partshark.com/oemparts/a...uspension-rear

The shock bolts onto the frame at the top and a bracket on the swingarm at the bottom. The airbag is next to it and you don't have to mess with it. HOWEVER, you do have to be careful to not let the loose swingarm fall, because all that's holding it together (so to speak) is the airbag. You have plenty of movement to get the belt off of the sprocket without messing with the adjusters or damaging the airbag.

By changing the arc of the swingarm travel, it allows the belt to loosen with very little overall movement.

When reattaching the shock bolt you have to find the sweet spot whereby the bolt just slips in without forcing or cross threading. I use a small bottle jack on the swingarm and then wiggle it by hand until the threads catch.

In the past there have been some reports that the lower shock bolt is bent slightly, but I've never seen it. If the bolt is bent, then it needs to be replaced and not reinstalled.

I'm on my second Spyder with about 6-7 rear tire changes and this is the method I always use.

Keep in mind, this is NOT a full description of what is needed to change a tire, I'm just referring to the belt adjusting question.

[Joel The Biker]

Its worth $145.. I recently put a rear tire on my and my dad's RTs. I have always changed my own motorcycle tires, but these were a real pain in the butt. I now have a new tool to make things much easier (No-Mar tire bar). It was slightly easier the second time, but I would gladly pay someone else $145 to do it!!

[pegasus1300]

I did mine according to the finless bob video and it worked out well. If working on an RTL with the auto air suspension remember to remove the ride height sensor arm before raising the Spyder. It has been quite awhile since I did mine so I don't remember a lot of pain with the process. I have 32,500 mi om my tire.

[SNOOPY]

$145 is cheap for long island, i had to pay $180 for the dealer to pull it off & put it on & my guys did the m & b.

That’s cheap, just priced a tire change here (supplying the tire) and it would be $250 labor. Doing my own again.

[JayBros]

Look at it this way, you didn't have to pay the usurious price for a Crapenda to purchase the Kumho so you're a number of bucks to the good. You want the rear wheel and belt to track perfectly. Pay the $145!

[SNOOPY]

So I did this yesterday. Last time I swapped the tire was about 4 years ago so don’t remember much about doing it. Lol

The video helped a lot watching it before hand.

One thing that got me was not being about to get the brake caliper back on, I had to pull the pads and turn the piston in one turn to get it back on.

Also, even though being careful not to move anything I wasn’t supposed to, and putting back together correctly, I still had to mess w adjusting where the belt rode for a while.

For me it’s good for another 4 years or so.


Taking my time it took almost 2 hours to pull the wheel (from looking at it, pulling out tools, coffee break, etc. to having the wheel off) and 3 hours and 15 mins til it was all back together and adjusted properly.
.


And to clarify because I know this is in the RT Forum, mine is an ST-S


.