tires

[Moonraker]

Your Year and Model: 2003 voyager

Do You Have Accessories Installed: Yes
Mechanical Skill: Basic Knowledge

List Accessories Installed:


What have you done before the problem was there?
no problem

What have you already tried to solve the problem?
nothing

Description and Message
The tires on my bike are not what I would say warn out but old, could be original thinking about replacing them?

[Lucasind]

Inspect "OLD" tires for dry rot cracking...... The 1985 1100 LTD that I bought, still had "like new" tread depth..(original tires)...but were cracked terribly ! Have now been replaced.
Riding especially "2 up" and loaded for a touring trip, could cause a blow out on tubeless tires, If there is any doubt .....replace them . The Dunlop E III tires are a popular tire choice for your bike. I have a Dunlop E III on the front , and a Nexen car tire on the back of my 03 for 2 years now , and working very well !

[Wahrsuul]

I went with the PR3's as well, they're great on the bike. I couldn't get the Nexen to seat, so I still have that in the garage. Might try another rim for it some day....

[Lucasind]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/KAWASAKI-ZG1200 ... Ux&vxp=mtr


Not a bad idea.....to have a second wheel ! they can be had on e-bay for no money ! sorry to hear you could not get your nexen to seat.......a CLEAN rim, a WARM tire, and PLENTY of lube helps to get er done !

[voyager55]

Has Anyone had experience with Bridgestone G702 tires?

Bridgestone Rear G702 150/90B-15 Blackwall Tire - 057588

[Relics]

I have Bridgestone G702 and G703 on my 1988 Voyager. They are whitewall and I love them. Great handling in rain and hold road.

[Wahrsuul]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/KAWASAKI-ZG1200 ... Ux&vxp=mtr


Not a bad idea.....to have a second wheel ! they can be had on e-bay for no money ! sorry to hear you could not get your nexen to seat.......a CLEAN rim, a WARM tire, and PLENTY of lube helps to get er done !

The first one was put on by a shop. not sure how much air they used to try and seat it, but it blew the sidewall out. The second I did myself, and even after leaving it in the sun all day, it still wouldn't seat in one small area. I'd cleaned the rim with 0000 steel wool, it was spotless. Maybe I didn't use the right lube, i believe it was just soapy water...

[Lucasind]

Sounds like ya did everything right....." google" " tire mounting lubricants" for more ideas, but soap and water usually works. let the air out ,and lube er up , and have another go at it.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/thre ... es.692453/

[Wahrsuul]

I just picked up a spare bike so I could get the V in for some major work. There's been a gas smell for a while, so I need to pull the carbs and get them to Carl Leo for the spa treatment. Figuring at the least to do the fork seals/progressive springs. I'm seriously considering pulling the stereo out as well. Might have another go at the Nexen while I'm at it.

My only concern is the big gap that's formed between the chrome window strip and the headlight. I'm concerned there's something bent up in there.

[Mr Jensee]

That chrome strip seats into two prongs that come up from each side of the left and right fairing. If it isn't seating it will gap.

[Wahrsuul]

That's the problem, it's not even close to those prongs. Actually, I think one might be missing. But after bolting everything together, it's about an inch gap.

[triton28]

I'm just supposing here but it almost sounds as though one or both of the front speaker mount arms coming from the subframe assembly has/have gotten bumped out of it's rotational alignment, OR, though much less likely, the lower front bar with the 4 weldnuts for the upper cowling and headlight trim mounts has been somehow lowered in relation to the subframe assembly. Even a slight amount of speaker mount rotational misalignment will raise the chrome garnish windshield trim up from the 2 bullet mounts on top of the upper cowlings.
How do the speaker covers fit? Do the little 4mm allen socket cap screws go in easily? Or do you have to wiggle and push parts around to get the screws in? Do the plastic speaker covers align up with the rest of the dash parts, even gaps all around?
I have had to carefully rotate the speaker mounting arms using a serrated jaw pipe wrench on one bike that had the "Trim smile" and that brought the trim back to about a 1/8" gap. It's trial and error but a little movement goes a long way at the middle of the chrome trim.
Just a thought,
Dave

[Wahrsuul]

Things on this bike have been out of alignment since I got it. The left side crash bar was bent so far back, it cracked the plastic engine cover. The gap was there when I got the bike, but it's gotten larger. I've had all the fairing off, and everything seems pretty solidly mounted. Yes, I have to do some wiggling and "stretching" to get the holes lined up for the bolts, especially the chrome strip.

[Mr Jensee]

You probably have frame issues since you are having so much alignment issues. As many times as I have taken apart my faring I haven't had an alignment issue on reassembly.

[Wahrsuul]

Dang, if I have frame issues, I wonder if it's worth fixing. I was just planning on bringing it into the shop for a while. but now I don't know.

[triton28]

Before jumping to conclusions the thing to know is how does the bike handle. I don't mean low speed turns in a parking lot as we all know how floppy the front end can seem at low low speed, but rather does the bike track straight and corner smoothly in both left hand and right hand corners. For example, if I release my grip on the handlebars, ( It is NOT recommended to do this ), my bike will travel straight ahead along a level roadway. As well it feels solid in turns and doesn't fight me. Believe it or not this is with Dunlop 404 tires. It also handles equally good with the Bridgestone 702 and 703s.
It does sound as though the bike has been introduced to a solid surface at some point in it's history, but that doesn't necessarily mean the steering geometry is "bent". Your bike may have a bent fork leg or a twisted lower triple tree fork mount BUT either condition would manifest itself in poor straight line performance and an inability to corner smoothly.
So if your bike feels "right" and you have confidence in it's cornering abilities, then probably you only need to concentrate on the upper cowling mount sub-frame assembly.
I would work with the mirror mount brackets on the upper cowling mount sub-frame assembly to try and alleviate the gap you speak of. Perhaps as a last resort, an unbent, good condition used upper cowling mount sub-frame assembly is all you need.
One last obvious item, check and make sure the 2 rubber dampers ARE on the chrome garnish trim where it fits onto the 2 plastic pointed mounts of the cowling.
Hope that helps,
Dave

[vxiirider]

The frame is in two pieces that are bolted together, you might want to check the bolts and make sure they are tight. I had 404's on my '03 when I bought it used ,with 9000 miles on it, and the bike wanted to follow every tar snake it came to, didn't take me long to replace them with a set of Avons.

[Mr Jensee]

Another way you can check is to get two two by fours at least 7ft long, enough to put along each side between the front and rear tires. Make sure the boards are up against the sidewall. This is best done out on a driveway or street if you haven't got the pavement. If the bike is aligned the boards will remain parallel all the way minus the difference in the widths of the tires. they should remain parallel all the way. If they are off, the wheels are out of alignment and on a bike like ours without a drive chain the only thing left is the frame. I have used stretched string as well but I find the 2x4s work fine.

[Wahrsuul]

Rode it in this morning, and it seems to ride straight, so I'm guessing it's ok.

When you say the speaker mounts have "rotated", what direction? If I'm sitting on the bike, are they pushed towards me or away?

[triton28]

Wahrsuul;
towards you but remember, a little is a lot the farther away from the bend one goes. Try a little at a time. It's tricky!
Think of it as from the LH side view, the brackets would rotate counterclockwise and on the RH side view, the brackets would rotate clockwise around a theoretical vertical line.
It isn't an issue of flatly moving them fore and aft, which describes an arc on the theoretical level plane, but rather rotating them on a vertical axis from where they branch out from the subframe. This would describe an arc on the theoretical vertical plane.
But again I must caution, only a small amount at a time.
Hope that helps,
Dave