Motorcycle rim & tire upgrades!

[Greg]

I made some wheel & tire upgrades to my DR650 & thought I'd share with those that are interested. I accomplished 3 things; Setting up the rear with a 18" rim vs the stock 17", adding the Neutech Tubliss setup to the front & rear and finally, putting on a set of tires that should last a decent amount of time and be a better match for my riding.


I found a DR350 rim on craigslist from a guy that did a supermoto conversion on his 350 and he was selling his left overs. I picked up his 18" rim & spokes for $20! My plan was to tear down my 17" DR650 rear wheel and lace up the DR350 rim on my DR650 hub. I have never built a wheel before, so it was going to be quite the learning experience. I knew the DR350 and DR650 rear wheels were interchangeable, so I figured it wouldn't be too hard to make it work. I was a little wrong... it took a decent amount of effort. I ended up using the spokes from the 18" wheel on one side and the spokes from the 17" wheel on the other side. Weird, but it worked. Truing up the wheel was interesting, not super-fun, but I did it myself and felt good for accomplishing it! It was a good learning experience.

The Tubliss setup isn't available for 17" wheels yet, I've heard it should be available by the end of this Summer, but I wanted to step up to the 18" wheel anyway, so I ordered the Tubliss for the 18" rear. I was concerned about the DR's 1.85" wide front rim, since the instructions say to use them on a 1.60" max width. I contacted Jeff at Neutech and he was kind enough to call and go over the details. Basically, they haven't gone thru the control testing for the wider rim, but plenty of people are running that combo. Sounds good to me... so I went for it. Mounting the Tubliss setup up took some care, I watched the tech video several times, then kept the instructions near by while I mounted them up. It wasn't that bad in the end.

Lastly was the new set of tires. I have been running a Dunlop 606 in the rear and a Pirelli MT21 in the front. They work well offroad, but with where I live, I do a lot of highway riding getting around the area and the tires just weren't lasting too long. I came to the realization that I could get by with a less-knobby set of tires. I decided on a front TKC80 and a rear Mefo Super Explorer. Hopefully I can get 5k miles out of this set.

After the first ride out with the new rim, Tubliss setup and new tires, I had some pretty bad vibes. The Tubliss locks have a pretty large rimlock that locates the tire valve stem and apparently it's heavy enough to throw off the balance quite a bit. It was rideable, but the vibes were quite visible. I unbolted the tires and hauled them down to the local motorcycle shop to balance them. Between the front & rear the rims took 6 ounces!!! Much better now... smooth as could be.

The tires are decent offroad, the rear tire is pretty easy to get to step out under throttle on a packed dirt/gravel road. It's pretty fun to steer with the rear, but you need to be prepared for it! Being able to run lower pressures and not worry about tubes is pretty damn nice too. I added some tire sealant to seal up small holes and tossed on a plug kit, just in case the sealant won't do the job.

Here's some pics from a quick afternoon ride to test the new setup out.-

 

[UNSTUCK]

So does this mean that you're keeping the bike and swapping out the wife's bike?

 

[Greg]

So does this mean that you're keeping the bike and swapping out the wife's bike?

Yeah, I think I'll hang onto it awhile longer. We will see about swapping the wifes TTR for a WR, that will require additional cash that we don't have right now. In the mean time, I'm getting the DR650 ready for Fall riding.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Tubliss setups are up there on my list of things to do. Ideally I'd like to do what you did and find a second set of rims.

 

[Rot Box]

Great work! I'm surprised that the 650 came with a 17" wheel... Seems odd Great upgrade though. I've always preferred 18's over 19's personally but I don't have much experience with 17.

Looks like a nice set of rubber. I'll have to look into those when I get mine closer to being street legal :greg:

 

[Greg]

So just a follow-up after this weekends ride.... I LOVE the Tubliss product! After getting a flat tire miles from anywhere, I was able to plug the hole, pump the tire up and keep riding. From beginning to end, we were stopped for about 10 minutes. Much better than pulling the rim & tire off the bike, spooning off the tire, pulling the tube, patching or replacing the tube, then putting the whole thing back together. The price of the Tubliss system paid for itself right then and there.

My front tire is a TKC80. We had been riding up a very rocky trail, in the Dolores Triangle, if you're familiar with the area. After a few hits bumping my big bike up some rocky ledges, the front tire lost all it's air. I could still ride on it, since the Tubliss kept the beads locked on the rim, but it was sloppy going.

At first I was convinced I had tore up the sidewall, but after checking the tire over, the sidewall looked fine. I couldn't find the damage, so out came the bicycle hand-pump. After putting some air into the tire, we found the hole... it was between 2 lugs, towards the outside of the tread.

I broke out the plug kit and went to town. Due to my excitement, the first couple plugs didn't stay in. Finally I got one to take and pumped up the tire... it held air, no leaks to be found! We put the tools away and were back on the trail in no time. :greg:

Here's some pics from the event...

 

[Mug]

Referring to the original post: Did you notice any difference in the torque now that you've gone up a rim/tire size? Have you already done the front sprocket or are the DRs already set up well for low speed, off road?

 

[Greg]

Referring to the original post: Did you notice any difference in the torque now that you've gone up a rim/tire size? Have you already done the front sprocket or are the DRs already set up well for low speed, off road?

I really haven't noticed any difference from the size change. The makers of Tubliss claim you get more power to the ground because their product is lighter than a tube, but I'm not quite sure about that.

I have gone down a tooth on the counter sprocket, from a 15 to a 14. Stock it was geared to high for technical trail riding, with the 14 tooth it's much more manageable.

 

[rholbrook]

I have about 150 miles on my D606 rear tire and really am impressed with its toughness. I have really trashed it hard on the shale and it still looks good. How did yours last on the highway?

 

[Greg]

I have about 150 miles on my D606 rear tire and really am impressed with its toughness. I have really trashed it hard on the shale and it still looks good. How did yours last on the highway?

It's a good all around tire, mine would last around 1,500 miles or so, depending on how much pavement I rode.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Greg, were you a satisfied Tubliss owner overall? On my 3rd rear flat with my KTM and I'm sick of pulling the tire off to take down to a shop as I don't have the tools or time often. Tools are on my list for out in the wild situations but I'd much rather plug than pull it off anyways. Worth the $200? for front and rear?

 

[Gravy]

Seems like a really cool product.
Great write up on swapping the hub:
I had a roommate that swore by just using his spoke torque wrench he could dang near true any wheel without a real truing setup, but I don't think that would've helped using two different length spokes.
Got any pics of lacing it up? I just can't wrap my head around using 2 different size spokes?
My two concerns would be:
1. Chucking wheel weights.
2. For how few flats I've ever gotten I dunno if I could justify $200. eesh!
I just run a inner liner and slime in my tubes.
I think the only ones of memory that didn't seal were when I spun a tube and cut a valve stem.

 

[Caleb]

Seems like a really cool product.
Great write up on swapping the hub:
I had a roommate that swore by just using his spoke torque wrench he could dang near true any wheel without a real truing setup, but I don't think that would've helped using two different length spokes.
Got any pics of lacing it up? I just can't wrap my head around using 2 different size spokes?
My two concerns would be:
1. Chucking wheel weights.
2. For how few flats I've ever gotten I dunno if I could justify $200. eesh!
I just run a inner liner and slime in my tubes.
I think the only ones of memory that didn't seal were when I spun a tube and cut a valve stem.

On a MX bike, no way could I justify it, but on a trail bike or ADV bike, or any bike that you will often find yourself farther away from support then you could walk in a couple hours, the tubliss setup is amazing. It's on my must upgrade list...probably for this winter. If you ride enough, you will get flats, and being able to shove a plug in the tire, air it back up and be back on the trail was amazing. Not that patching a tube isn't doable, it's just the tubliss makes it tons easier and gets you back on the trail dang near immediately. When the above photos were taken, we had a nice storm rolling in on us and we were still a good 30 miles from town. The expediency was nice.

 

[Greg]

Greg, were you a satisfied Tubliss owner overall? On my 3rd rear flat with my KTM and I'm sick of pulling the tire off to take down to a shop as I don't have the tools or time often. Tools are on my list for out in the wild situations but I'd much rather plug than pull it off anyways. Worth the $200? for front and rear?

Yes I'm satisfied and yes it's worth it, but there is a fair amount of constant maintenance required with the Tubliss product, which I somewhat dislike. You need to check the inner tube before each ride and make sure it's over 90 PSI. Any less and your tire will start leaking air out of the bead and will eventually flat. 110 PSI is ideal. Other than that, I like it. Caleb mentioned our need for haste when I was plugging the tire... storm rolling in, we're out in the desert with a flat tire. It would have sucked to have broken down the tire to get to a tube and patch it.

Some people run an old tube as a liner, between the tire and regular tube. Could be worth trying? I hate flats and have had my fair share... it was a decent hit to pay for the Tubliss, but now that I have them, I'm happy I did it. If I end up with a Husky TE610, it will probably end up with the Tubliss system too.

Seems like a really cool product.
Great write up on swapping the hub:
I had a roommate that swore by just using his spoke torque wrench he could dang near true any wheel without a real truing setup, but I don't think that would've helped using two different length spokes.
Got any pics of lacing it up? I just can't wrap my head around using 2 different size spokes?
My two concerns would be:
1. Chucking wheel weights.
2. For how few flats I've ever gotten I dunno if I could justify $200. eesh!
I just run a inner liner and slime in my tubes.
I think the only ones of memory that didn't seal were when I spun a tube and cut a valve stem.

I don't have any pics, wish I took some though! I think the spokes are different sizes to make up for the off-set holes on the hub? I was an interesting experience for sure.

My biggest concern and the way I justified spending the money for the Tubliss product was based on how I use my DR. Usually it's on a big ride, sometimes multiple day trips thru the middle of nowhere, loaded up with gear. Having a flat tire at that point would be quite devastating, IMO... knowing that I can plug a hole is very comforting knowledge.

Even then, it's not perfect.... some people that run the Tubliss still carry a spare tube, in case something goes wrong and they need to go back to the standard tube. I haven't done that, but probably should.

 

[Gravy]

Makes sense. Spooning a tire off sucks in a driveway.. and would suck even worse in inclement conditions.