Rear Tire #4 Mounted

Lessee, I’ve got some catching up to do…

When last we left our heroine, she was rolling into her garage after foiling the cunning plan of that pesky sliver of metal.

//I guess that means my mettle was match enough for that metal.
///Stopping now.

After getting home to a pleasant NYE, I set about making plans to get some new rubber on the R1200ST. My friend Rebecca also needed a new tire, so she offered to do the pricing research, thinking the two of us could save money on shipping by pairing up.

Having mulled our options, Rebecca decided that the best deals to be had were through a popular local sportbike shop, Motorcycles Unlimited. She called and reserved a Michelin Pilot Road for me and ordered her own dual sport tire.

Between work and social events, I didn’t get around to pulling the wheel off the BMW until Saturday morning. It was as quick and easy as I remembered.

I was welcomed into Motorcycles Unlimited with a “Hi Becca!” from the big man holding court at a desk toward the back. Patrick (the owner) immediately directed a tech to take my wheel and mount my new tire. With the MotoHouston Forum discount, mount/balance was only $10 and the tire was priced close to internet-pricing. I was in and out in less than half an hour…and they do have the special spools for balancing BMW R1200 wheels.

I think I’ve finally found a tire dealer to replace San Jose’s Road Rider. Thanks again to Patrick at Motorcycles Unlimited!

Rear tire #4 is mounted at 22333 miles.

Just a note for R1200ST owners who are having a hard time aligning the exhaust hanger bolt:
It’s rubber mounted, so if you can just get the bolt through and threaded into the nut, the two pieces WILL come together even if they don’t appear to be aligned. I vaguely remember struggling with it last time. Hopefully this little note will jog my memory NEXT time so this bolt doesn’t take so long to start.