As with most bike maintenance, rather than having a motorcycle shop do the work for me, I prefer to remove and re-install the wheels myself. There are several reasons for it. The most important is knowing that the job is done right. Because, in a very real sense, I trust my life to my bike. Another is just a matter of convenience: if a tire is flat, I would hate to have to go through the hassle of borrowing a pickup truck and loading the bike in the bed, just to be able to bring it over to the shop so they can change a tire. So, without further ado…

Tools and equipment:

Front and rear stand

Use both a front and a rear stand for stability. I have a set of el-cheapo PSR stands. Boy do they suck. Flimsy construction, bad welds, and clearance issues that constantly have to be worked around. I wish I had a set of Pit Bull stands. When I got the PSR’s, I thought “what the hell, a motorcycle stand is a motorcycle stand”. But it didn’t quite turn out that way. This is a piece of equipment where you get what you pay for.

Hand tools

1/2″ sockets: 22mm, 14mm, 12mm

1/2″ torque wrench

Hammer

Grease

Blue Loctite

17mm Allen Hex-L Wrench

Flashlight

Two pieces of thin rope, or zip ties, or pieces of wire to secure calipers. I used a couple of old shoelaces, each one 4 or 5 feet in length.

I also needed a three inch 1/2″ socket extension and a 22mm (7/8″) open ended wrench because my socket wrench wasn’t clearing the front stand when turning the axle bolt. You may not need these if you have a stand that doesn’t present clearance issues.

Read more…

A gray, foggy morning in my favorite NYC park. It was a especially quiet day since the warm-weather picnickers are hibernating. The soccer teams were replaced by a group of guys playing baseball in the unusually empty field. Runners and cyclists were around, and others like us who were just out for a walk.

George and I always head to the Nature Center. It’s just up the stairs, across a small bridge over the train tracks :)

True to its name, this part of Inwood is mostly left untouched. Lots of trees. Big rocks. Peace and quiet. A hidden sanctuary in this crowded and overwhelming city.

A peek at the wildlife…