In preparing for my annual road trip, I’m needing a new rear tire. While the tire that is already there still has some life left in it, it won’t likely make it the 5,500 anticipated miles. I don’t buy my tires at the Honda dealer because I can find a significantly lower price at Tejas Motorsports, in Highlands, TX. Not only on the tire, but also the labor to mount and balance the tire.

But because they are a Suzuki, Kawasaki, and Yamaha dealer, they frequently need to order the tires for my bike. And the first question is “what size?” Two years ago, I had them replace both the front and rear tires at around 29,000 miles. And when I did not know the tire size off the top of my head, they looked it up and ordered them. The rear tire they installed was a 180/70R16 Dunlop Elite 3. However the factory tire size was 180/60R16. The difference in the two sizes is about an additional 1/2″ of ride height (1″ larger diameter). I just realized the size difference this morning. If you google “goldwing tire size”, you will get many forums discussing the pros and cons of the larger tire. By the way, both tires are load rated to carry the weight of the Goldwing.

My Observations

Like I said, I just discovered this morning the tire difference; so in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t make that big of a difference. but it does explain some observations that I’ve had in the last 2 years.

With 10,000 miles on this tire, it still has an estimated 3-4,000 useable miles left on it. This is impressive since 4,000 miles were put on the tire last year pulling a trailer (I would expect the tire to wear faster towing the trailer).

When you put the bike on the center stand, the tire still touches the ground (ever so slightly).

The bike seems to ride a bit better. I typically keep the rear suspension set at “8″. With the 180/70 tire, it is always comfortable. With the 180/60 tire, I occasionally had to adjust the suspension, depending on how the bike was loaded.

It has been reported that the speedometer is more accurate with the larger tire. But I never thought my speedometer was off to begin with, so I can’t judge this one either way.

So when I order the tire today, which one am I going with? For the tire clearance reasons, I think I’m going with the factory 180/60R16. The ability to spin this wheel freely, makes it easier to polish the rim. If I observe a hit in tread wear this time, I may switch back to the 180/70 tire.

Installation time:

about 1 hour

Difficulty:

1 out of 5

Supplies:

Rear Brake Pads, EBC part number FA 261HH, about $45 from Honda

DOT 4 brake fluid, about $4 for a pint from any auto parts store

Blue thread locker

Tools Needed:

5 mm Allen wrench

12 mm and 14 mm wrench or socket with ratchet

19 mm socket, short extension, ratchet, and torque wrench

Disc break spreader, or large channel lock pliers, or a C-clamp

8 mm wrench

Brake bleeding kit

Oil drain pan

Previous Steps:

Place bike on the center stand

Loosen or remove the rear wheel

Since the rear brake assembly is actually in the rear wheel area, you will need to take the rear wheel loose. Place the bike in first gear (to keep the rear tire from turning). Using a ratchet, short extension, and a 19 mm socket, take the lug nuts off. Unless you have the bike on a motorcycle table, you won’t be able to get the tire completely away from the bike (from underneath).

Removing the brake assembly

Looking on the right side, you will see the brake caliper. On the lower side, remove the rubber plug shown in this picture.

Using a 5 mm allen wrench, remove the newly exposed bolt.

Place an oil drain pan (or other catch pan), under the brake caliper. Using a 12 mm wrench or socket, take both brake lines loose. Be very careful not to loose the compression washers from these bolts. Then use a 12 mm wrench or socket to remove the 2 caliper mounting bolts shown here. If you wiggle the caliper slightly from side-to-side, you should be able to easily remove the caliper assembly.

Once the caliper assembly is removed from the bike, the used brake pads should slide right out of the caliper. Pay attention to the direction of the brake pads before removing though.

Remove the 14 mm bolt to separate the caliper assembly. Don’t clean the grease off this bolt, it is needed to lubricate the sliding of the caliper so it will wear the brake pads evenly.

And then the caliper just slide off the mounting bracket.

Installing the new brake pads

Using one of the old brake pads, compress the triple pistons back into the caliper. I used a large pair of channel lock pliers, but you can use a c-clamp or a disk brake spreading tool. The pistons should easily slide into the caliper, so all of these should work smoothly. Note: Hold the caliper over a drain pad while doing this because you will loose brake fluid here.

Next, install the new brake pads. Pay attention to where the hole at the end of the pad is. This will tell you which brake pad is the inner pad, and which one is the outer pad.

Insert and tighten the allen head bolt that holds the brake pads in place. Reassemble the caliper to the mounting bracket, first inserting the bracket onto the slide. Then replacing the 14 mm head slide-bolt. If needed, lubricate these 2 slide with brake grease. (You can find small $0.99 squeeze packs of this grease at most auto parts stores.)

On the two bolts that held the mounting bracket to the bike, you need to put a drop of blue thread locking compound on the threads. (You don’t need more than a drop, it just gets messy).

Reinstall both brake lines. Making sure that you place one crush washer on each side of the brake line’s banjo fitting.

Double check all bolts:

2 with a 12 mm wrench,

1 with a 14 mm wrench

1 with a 5 mm allen wrench, and

using the 12 mm wrench, the brake lines.

Replace the rubber plug covering the allen head bolt.

Bleeding the brakes

To do a one man brake-bleed, it isn’t that difficult. The simple solution is to buy a one-man brake bleeding kit. (You can buy one at Harbor Freight for just a few dollars.) Place the capture bottle in an upright position within reach of the brake caliper. At the other end of the line, insert the conical point into the opening on the brake bleeder (you may need to remove a rubber plug to access the bleeder).

Using an 8 mm wrench, open the bleeder a quarter to a half a turn. Remove the chrome engine cover from the right side of the bike. Carefully take the cap off the brake reservoir, and collapse the rubber boot within itself. Add only DOT 4 brake fluid, filling to the maximum line. Keep an eye on the fluid level in the reservoir, adding more as necessary. This process will take 15-20 minutes.

When no more air bubbles appear in the brake bleeder hose, tighten (close) the brake bleeder, top off the brake fluid in the reservoir, and replace the cap on the reservoir. Press the rear brake pedal several times until it is firm. Check the fluid level in the reservoir, it will be lower than it was a few minutes ago.

Finishing Up

Put the rear wheel back on, torque the lugnuts to 80 lb/ft. Triple check and make sure that all bolts are tight. And replace the engine cover on the bike. Ease the bike off the center stand, and enjoy the test ride. A little noise (insect-like humming at speed) from the new brakes in normal until the new pads fully seat (possibly a couple hundred miles).