What have you done for your T7 today?

[DT675]

On 8/1/2021 at 1:43 PM, Seventh Son said:

Converted my rear OEM wheel to tubeless and put on a fresh Motoz Tractionator Adventure tire.  This thing is a beast.

 

Can you shed some light on what you had to do to convert the OEM to tublis?

[Seventh Son]

On 8/17/2021 at 12:24 AM, DT675 said:

Can you shed some light on what you had to do to convert the OEM to tublis?

 

Sure.  I used the 3M 5200 Marine Adhesive fast curing sealant, 3M sealant tape (2-inch wide) and a Napa motorcycle tubeless clamp-in tire valve (Part No. 90-426)

 

1) Clean your wheels thoroughly.  Use soap and water and make sure to scrub the spoke nipples clean as dirt will accumulate in the cracks.  I found it best to use an old tooth brush. Then spray with brake cleaner and finally wipe off with rubbing alcohol.

 

2) Apply the 3M sealant to the spoke nipples.  Make sure you completely cover each spoke nipple.  It doesn't look pretty, but it's important that each nipple is fully covered.  I let mine dry for 24 hours and went back the next day to fill in every gap I missed.  In my case, there were only two questionable spots that I missed, so I filled them in.

 

3) After the sealant cures for 24 hours, apply the 3M tape.  This is best done with two people.  The other person only needs to slowly pull and rotate the wheel towards themself while you pull on and apply the tape.  Apply the tape in short sections - about 6-8 inches at a time.  For each section of tape you apply make sure to first remove the backing paper before applying the tape.  This allows you to stretch the tape a bit and eliminate air bubbles.  Overlap the tape from where you started by about 2-3 inches.

 

4) Valve installation - Once the tape is fully applied, cut out a hole in the tape over the valve stem hole in the wheel.  Install the new valve stem and tighten down with one of the supplied nuts.  For extra measure, even though the valve has a rubber O-ring seal on it, I applied 3M sealant around the base of the valve stem on the inside of the wheel.  After that cured, I applied another piece of 3M tape over the base of the valve stem and cut out a hole in the tape to allow the air to flow.  These extra steps should make it very unlikely to develop an air leak at the valve stem.

 

That's it. I found the following video to be very helpful.  Good luck.  Just be thorough and take your time.  Mine hasn't shown any signs of leaking since I did the conversion.  I have a TPMS system on my wheels so I can see where the pressures are at.  The biggest difficulty I had was after installing the rear tire I couldn't get the beads to seat on the rim.  Took the wheel to a local gas station and some nice mechanic used the ratchet strap method and we got the beads to finally seat and the tire inflated.  Been good ever since.

 

 

Edited August 23, 2021 by Seventh Son

[DT675]

Great! Thanks for the detailed explanation! That sounds like something I’m interested in trying. You haven't tried the front yet? 

[Seventh Son]

53 minutes ago, DT675 said:

Great! Thanks for the detailed explanation! That sounds like something I’m interested in trying. You haven't tried the front yet? 

No problem.

 

No conversion on the front wheel.  I'm tempted, and as much as some have had no issues converting the front wheel to tubeless, it isn't technically a tubeless wheel - no safety humps on the sides like the rear wheel. 

 

I'm just going to carry a spare 21-inch tube with me.  I'm okay with changing out a front tube on the road or trail, but not the rear.  It took me several hours to take off the OEM rear tire last year - Just couldn't break the bead. 

[DT675]

Good to know. I didnt realize their was a difference like that between the 2 wheels.  

[McMadMac]

The other day I dropped her in a mud puddle.

 

Then I got it home and put on some new tires.

 

Took her for an 8 hour trek through the bush.

 

Then I came home and got rid of my shitty Amazon specials signal lights and put some small penny lights in that cost a grand total of $1.50 each. They're amazing.

[johnneyflyguy]

Just out of interest what type of tyres do you put on?

[McMadMac]

30 minutes ago, johnneyflyguy said:

Just out of interest what type of tyres do you put on?

Dunlop trailmax missions. They seem to be really good tires. I'm not an expert by any means though. Just ride a lot of pebble gravel logging roads and the occasional rutted out mud hole. I commute on it and they handle very well on the pavement too. Gone is the wobble from the stock front tire and they actually completely changed the on road characteristics of the bike for the better.

[DT675]

I just had the same experience with my bike, pulling off the stock STR for a Motoz GPS. Your Dunlop is a highly recommended tire, might try those next. 

 

When you get some more time on them, I’m curious about lateral bite. That’s where the STRs weren’t all that good IMO. 

Edited August 18, 2021 by DT675

[McMadMac]

14 minutes ago, DT675 said:

I just had the same experience with my bike, pulling off the stock STR for a Motoz GPS. Your Dunlop is a highly recommended tire, might try those next. 

 

When you get some more time on them, I’m curious about lateral bite. That’s where the STRs weren’t all that good IMO. 

 

My problem with the stock tire's were 2 fold.

 

#1 being the low speed wobble was driving me nuts. Made me feel like there was actually something wrong with my bike.

 

#2 being the gravel road performance was horrible. It's hard to explain, but I'll try. You know when you're haulin ass down a gravel road and you just kinda have to let go of the bike and let it do it's thing underneath you? With the stock tire's, I found that doing that would lead to a kinda  rhythmic speed wobble that was just terrifying. These new tires, it just kinda tracks itself and will hold a line. 

 

That's my experience, for what it's worth.

[McMadMac]

Next is going to be some light pods for the front. My 5:30 am commute is starting to get a little dark already. Just gotta be mounted somewhere that they won't get wiped out when I flop her down again. Seems to be a fairly regular occurrence out in the bush. So far the bars and guards are all doing they're job admirably.

 

Riding snow doesn't really help either

[Landshark]

Welcome aboard @McMadMac  I'll be riding in and around 100 Mile House and the Gang Ranch on the weekend.  P.G. is a great place to ride.  

[McMadMac]

54 minutes ago, Landshark said:

Welcome aboard @McMadMac  I'll be riding in and around 100 Mile House and the Gang Ranch on the weekend.  P.G. is a great place to ride.  

 

Thanks man. Been a lurker for a year now. Since I bought my bike pretty much. My neighbor has a 1090 and likes to get out too. Shoot me a line if you ever get up this way. Lots of areas that I've been to on a sled and want to get to in the summer. We're going to try to get into kakwa next Thursday...

[Jalamajohn]

Just got back from a week in Nevada with a buddy who also has a T7.  We each got and repaired rear flat tires.  My Motoz Tractionator got a roofing nail and was actually fairly easy to get off and back on.  My buddy's Dunlop Trailmax developed a delamination bubble from being stopped for roadwork on fresh black asphalt in 106 degree heat which lead to degradation of the tube as well as the tire.  The Dunlop Trailmax was a little more difficult to get off the rim.  Fortunately, we had 2 sets of the MotionPro bead breaker tools.  It would have been really tough without them.  I carry both 18 and 21 inch tubes for a trip like this...

[johnneyflyguy]

10 hours ago, McMadMac said:

Next is going to be some light pods for the front. My 5:30 am commute is starting to get a little dark already. Just gotta be mounted somewhere that they won't get wiped out when I flop her down again. Seems to be a fairly regular occurrence out in the bush. So far the bars and guards are all doing they're job admirably.

 

Riding snow doesn't really help either

 

 

I fitted Yamaha light bracket with some ebay led's

 

[McMadMac]

3 hours ago, johnneyflyguy said:

 

 

I fitted Yamaha light bracket with some ebay led's

 

 

Thanks. I'll have to get some clamps for my crash bars and put them in roughly the same position. Probably up higher though because of the high mount fender. Maybe a narrow, thin bar right across the front, just under the headlight. My neighbor works for Peterbilt and they're a dealer for niterider. They make some really nice lights and are really affordable. I gotta get some for the bike and I'm going to put one in the hood scoop on my Tacoma too.

 

[Colddog]

I also run the nite rider spot lights, they are superb! 

Went into Kakwa last Saturday from the GP side, things were pretty dry in the bush but great riding! rode in to the falls, busy place in there!

The Sunday trip was west of Grande Cache into the mountains, another great ride up on the ridges.

[McMadMac]

18 minutes ago, Colddog said:

I also run the nite rider spot lights, they are superb! 

Went into Kakwa last Saturday from the GP side, things were pretty dry in the bush but great riding! rode in to the falls, busy place in there!

The Sunday trip was west of Grande Cache into the mountains, another great ride up on the ridges.

 

I was just going through the nightrider website and I think I'll go with a 6 inch, 30 watt single row bar right under the headlight. They make a straight flood or a flood/spot combo. Neighbor has the side firing pods on his bike and likes them, but I don't have anywhere to put them that won't get wiped out when I lay it down. 

[Canzvt]

1 hour ago, McMadMac said:

 

Thanks. I'll have to get some clamps for my crash bars and put them in roughly the same position. Probably up higher though because of the high mount fender. Maybe a narrow, thin bar right across the front, just under the headlight. My neighbor works for Peterbilt and they're a dealer for niterider. They make some really nice lights and are really affordable. I gotta get some for the bike and I'm going to put one in the hood scoop on my Tacoma too.

 

Here's an option for lights - Rigid Ignite on my T7. Or Rigid's 6 LED Light bar - 2 floods/2 spots/2 floods under the headlight on my Super T. Both work well, but are different. The Ignites are set up to light up the ditch. The Super T's light bar is to light up the sun...

[Canzvt]

26 minutes ago, Colddog said:

I also run the nite rider spot lights, they are superb! 

Went into Kakwa last Saturday from the GP side, things were pretty dry in the bush but great riding! rode in to the falls, busy place in there!

The Sunday trip was west of Grande Cache into the mountains, another great ride up on the ridges.

How did you make out for fuel on the Kakwa ride? We looked at that a couple of weeks ago, and figured we would need about 450kms of range to ride right to the falls.

[McMadMac]

24 minutes ago, Colddog said:

I also run the nite rider spot lights, they are superb! 

Went into Kakwa last Saturday from the GP side, things were pretty dry in the bush but great riding! rode in to the falls, busy place in there!

The Sunday trip was west of Grande Cache into the mountains, another great ride up on the ridges.

 

Kakwa is a trek from my side. 120 k down the highway and another 80 down the beat down walker creek. That's just to the Buchanan. Another 20 k to the cabin. But no motorized vehicles are allowed in the park, so that's a hike from the Buchanan. Are you guys riding in the park? I know for a fact that there's cameras in the trees from our side... 

[McMadMac]

5 minutes ago, Canzvt said:

Here's an option for lights - Rigid Ignite on my T7. Or Rigid's 6 LED Light bar - 2 floods/2 spots/2 floods under the headlight on my Super T. Both work well, but are different. The Ignites are set up to light up the ditch. The Super T's light bar is to light up the sun...

Good spot for lights on the frame for sure! 

[ADVUSA]

On 1/27/2021 at 4:58 PM, whisperquiet said:

We received two inches of snow today........tire change day!  As mentioned by others, the rear Pirelli Rally STR was a bit of a 

PITA to break and remove at 6900 miles on the bike.  Both OEM tires were trashed and the bare rims balanced.  The rear took 1

ounce to balance and the front rim required no weight bare!  I installed Shinko 705 tires front and rear as I do no trail riding;  only 

rock roads at times.  I cleaned the bike up and will be wiring my Zumo 396 direct to the accessory plug under the right side fairing 

with a splitter kit obtained online.

Old tires, new tire, and wiring plug splitter.

 

 

 

How have the shinkos been on various terrain?

 

[whisperquiet]

1 hour ago, ADVUSA said:

How have the shinkos been on various terrain?

 

They are a decent 80/20 tire as I mostly ride backroad pavement with some rock roads included.  I avoid mud and sand whenever possible.  My  Shinko front is about 1/3 worn and the rear is a little over 1/2 worn with 4000 miles on the set.

[DT675]

On 8/18/2021 at 5:37 PM, McMadMac said:

 

My problem with the stock tire's were 2 fold.

 

#1 being the low speed wobble was driving me nuts. Made me feel like there was actually something wrong with my bike.

 

#2 being the gravel road performance was horrible. It's hard to explain, but I'll try. You know when you're haulin ass down a gravel road and you just kinda have to let go of the bike and let it do it's thing underneath you? With the stock tire's, I found that doing that would lead to a kinda  rhythmic speed wobble that was just terrifying. These new tires, it just kinda tracks itself and will hold a line. 

 

That's my experience, for what it's worth.

You pretty much summed up my issues with the STR’s spot on. So far my issue #1 is solved 100% with my Motoz GPS.  Your #2 issue for me mostly happens on loose pebbly gravel. I’ve yet to encounter that..  Time will tell (soon I hope) for me. 

Edited August 21, 2021 by DT675
Corrections.