HELP! What does it mean when my KX125's rear tire is LOW and theres 2 strange straps?


Porstala F9

Member
Jul 30, 2003
345
0
The rear tire seems under inflated and now has two straps hanging out the side of it. Did I pop an inner tube or something? I really don't know much of anything about this bike.. i've never changed the top end or anything like that yet.. I really only know how to mix the oil for the tank, change the trans oil, clean the air filter, and change the spark plug. The most complicated thing I did with this bike was take the carb off and rejetted two jets so that it would stop fouling plugs.

But anyway, what exactly would this problem be? Is the rear tire something that I should bring in somewhere for repairs since I am so inexperienced? Or is it something that I can do with just a basic understanding of bike engines and maintenance. Like I said, the most work i've ever done on this or any bike is just the carb. The manual just has no information regarding the tire other than its size, so i'm just looking at where to go from here..

Thanks in advance for any help!
 

Cabot

Member
Sep 3, 2007
158
0
Your rim strip broke.
You need a new rim strip or else you will pop tubes.
If your tire doesn't hold air, your going to have to replace the tube.

You can do this yourself if you have some good quality, long tire irons, which aren't that expensive. But it is kind of difficult (but yet very possible) if you've never done this before and if you have nothing to keep the wheel inplace.

If you can't find a rim strip easily, I've found that electrical tape a couple times around to cover the spoke nipples, or even duct tape split so its not too wide works good.

You can bring it in if you want (if the wheel is off the bike it will save you alot of $), but if you don't do it yourself your never going to learn!

Also if you only have an owners manual, I would highly suggest getting a Clymer Shop Manual. This will explain how to do basically everything to your bike, remove it, inspect it, install it, etc. Mine also has a good portion on changing tires/tubes.
 

Porstala F9

Member
Jul 30, 2003
345
0
Cabot said:
Your rim strip broke.
You need a new rim strip or else you will pop tubes.
If your tire doesn't hold air, your going to have to replace the tube.

You can do this yourself if you have some good quality, long tire irons, which aren't that expensive. But it is kind of difficult (but yet very possible) if you've never done this before and if you have nothing to keep the wheel inplace.

If you can't find a rim strip easily, I've found that electrical tape a couple times around to cover the spoke nipples, or even duct tape split so its not too wide works good.

You can bring it in if you want (if the wheel is off the bike it will save you alot of $), but if you don't do it yourself your never going to learn!

Also if you only have an owners manual, I would highly suggest getting a Clymer Shop Manual. This will explain how to do basically everything to your bike, remove it, inspect it, install it, etc. Mine also has a good portion on changing tires/tubes.

Hey, thanks for the quick response! I appreciate it.

So I am taking it I should NOT ride on the tire then? It actually seemed to ride just fine, just a little off when cornering. But I guess that means i'll have to take my 80 riding tomorrow.. :bang:

But anyway, just how expensive do you think it would be to bring it in? Just looking at it, I don't even think I'd know how i'd take the rear tire off lol. So I am contemplating just bringing it in somewhere, since even if I got a tire iron, I wouldnt know how to use it.

And yeah, I figure I will pick up a clymer manual when it comes time for my top end, which isnt all that far away.
 

Porstala F9

Member
Jul 30, 2003
345
0
Well, i'm banking on the chance that this will never happen again lol.

I've been riding for quite a few years and this is the first time I've ever had this happen or even see this happen to someone.. does anyone have an explanation for how this happens?

Theres just something intimidating about working with tires, I dont know why.. but is this something that will take less than an hour of labor? Or more than an hour? Less than an hour labor, I can't imagine it costing too much. Plus I would have piece of mind knowing it was done right, where as if I do its very possible I'll somehow manage to make it worse :nod:
 

Dylan19302

Member
Jun 27, 2008
111
0
how to fix a tire.

Well to take the wheel off a bike first unattach the brake rod or if a disk brake the disk (dont know how havent done it). Then go to the chain and try to find a chain link. Take the link off and pull the chain off the sprocket. Put the bike up on a lift or bucket to succure it. After undo the nut and pull the bolt through. Make sure you know which spacer went were or what ever you dont want to loose anything. Then the wheel should be off. You might as well go get a knew tube and fix the spoke strip. (or get a knew one.) Take out all of the air out of the tire and force the tire off of the rim. (only if your getting a knew tube if not be careful at taking the tire off)

While the tube and tire off of the rim do what Cabot said and put electrical tape or duct tape and rap it around the rim. (or get a knew spoke strip).

If your keeping the tube and want to repair it fill up a bucket with water then fill the tube with air. Put the tube in the water and squeeze. Rotate tube until you see bubbles. then repair hole.

If you got a new tube put it on the rim or after you repaired the old one do the same. Then put the tire on the rim. (heres the tricky part.) Take a flat head screw driver and carefully force inner edges of tire onto inner part of rim. then put the tire back on along with chain and brake cable. make sure if you have a link that the solid part it forward like a rocket.
 
May 22, 2006
73
0
Took my yz85's tire in [Took off bike myself] had same situation but I bought a TUBE at another db store [discount!! if you do it] and to get new rim strip, put on my own tube, and put on 2 spoke nipples that fell into rim cost me $60
 

Cabot

Member
Sep 3, 2007
158
0
Get a Clymer Manual.

Then, Don't follow Dylan's advice.
-You DO NOT need to take the chain off.
-You can't quite force the tire off the rim. This is where the tire irons come in. The tire is going to be tight on the rim.
-DO NOT push the tube in with a screwdriver. This is how you pop your new tube.


Get the shop manual now. If your scared to take your back wheel off, then you should be no where close to doing a top end job. THe worst thing your going to do to your wheel is pop the new tube, and MAYBE (but highly unlikely) ruin your tire.
If you mess up your top end job, that can cost you close to a grand in engine repairs!


How much it costs depends on where you take it. Where I work if you brought the whole bike in, they would charge by the hour. Which would be around $50+ total, pluss the tube. I think a walk in tire change is charged $20 pluss the tube.
 

Porstala F9

Member
Jul 30, 2003
345
0
Cabot said:
Get a Clymer Manual.

Then, Don't follow Dylan's advice.
-You DO NOT need to take the chain off.
-You can't quite force the tire off the rim. This is where the tire irons come in. The tire is going to be tight on the rim.
-DO NOT push the tube in with a screwdriver. This is how you pop your new tube.


Get the shop manual now. If your scared to take your back wheel off, then you should be no where close to doing a top end job. THe worst thing your going to do to your wheel is pop the new tube, and MAYBE (but highly unlikely) ruin your tire.
If you mess up your top end job, that can cost you close to a grand in engine repairs!


How much it costs depends on where you take it. Where I work if you brought the whole bike in, they would charge by the hour. Which would be around $50+ total, pluss the tube. I think a walk in tire change is charged $20 pluss the tube.

Hmm, if its only around $20 plus the tube I think I may try to just bring it in, of course attempting to take it off the bike if I can. Does anyone know if there is any online guide for removing a rear tire on an 03 kx125?

Also, I am not too worried about top end work. I have seen it done plenty of times on others bikes, and helped a little bit in the process. But either way, the good thing about that is I know others who can help me.. but tires are beyond us for some reason. If they ever get a flat they usually bring the tire in to a local shop around us.

But how exactly did the tire get like this in the first place? The only thing I thought of at first is that I ventured down a new trail I found and there were some broken beer bottle shards that I might have ran over..?

Thanks again to all for the help.
 

Cabot

Member
Sep 3, 2007
158
0
Then you have to check your tire to see if glass is sticking in it (or tell the shop to look). Or else you will be bringing it back to the shop within 10 minutes of riding...

The rim strips get old, they dry out, and just like any other rubber if it dries out it gets fragile, and will crack.
Maybe your tube/tire/rim strip spun on the rim? and this ripped the rim strip?

I don't know. This is one of the places where it doesn't matter how it happened, just make sure there are no sharp objects (glass, etc) in your tire.

Also, flat tires happen. So if you plan on riding for more then a little while longer, I'm banking that you will run into one again.

Btw, I wasn't trying to scare you away from doing your own top end job, just trying to encourage you and your buddys to get over your fear of tires! The worst your going to be out is a tube (around $8?). But you will deffinatly gain experience, save yourself the $20, and probably more down the road.
 

FruDaddy

Member
Aug 21, 2005
2,854
0
Buying a set of irons will cost nearly as much as taking having a shop change the tube. The job requires a little strength and a lot of patience. An inverted 5 gallon bucket makes a nice stand, but I have done it on the tailgate more than once. Buy 3 tubes and a good bicycle tube patch kit before you start and allow plenty of time for your first one. If you get lucky and fail to put a hole in the tube on your first attempt, you will eventually need the spares. If you add extra ventilation to your new tubes, then you can patch them for use later. You absolutely need to know how to change your own dirtbike tire, one day you will have to do it trackside. Do a search here and elsewhere, there are some decent tutorials. Getting the wheel off is quite easy:
Loosen the chain adjusters
Remove the cotter pin at the axle nut (replace it with a new one)
Remove the axle nut (torque it to 75 lb ft when you put it back)
push the axle out (support the wheel, use a wooden dowel and rubber mallet if necessary
Shove the wheel forward to remove the chain from the sprocket
bring the wheel down and back, adjust your angle to clear the brake caliper and chain guide.
 

helio lucas

~SPONSOR~
Jun 20, 2007
1,020
0
when changing tires or something i never work with the brake disk facing down (floor)..
is safer to work with the sprocket down side so you don´t finish with a bent disk...

also when take a tire off the rim can be very funny with some friends... and if you get help is easyer too...
 

Porstala F9

Member
Jul 30, 2003
345
0
Cabot said:
Then you have to check your tire to see if glass is sticking in it (or tell the shop to look). Or else you will be bringing it back to the shop within 10 minutes of riding...

The rim strips get old, they dry out, and just like any other rubber if it dries out it gets fragile, and will crack.
Maybe your tube/tire/rim strip spun on the rim? and this ripped the rim strip?

I don't know. This is one of the places where it doesn't matter how it happened, just make sure there are no sharp objects (glass, etc) in your tire.

Also, flat tires happen. So if you plan on riding for more then a little while longer, I'm banking that you will run into one again.

Btw, I wasn't trying to scare you away from doing your own top end job, just trying to encourage you and your buddys to get over your fear of tires! The worst your going to be out is a tube (around $8?). But you will deffinatly gain experience, save yourself the $20, and probably more down the road.

Yeah, I've taken a look but it doesn't look like there is anything stuck in the tire. I suppose it isn't important now, but I would like to prevent it again. But we usually don't run into flat tires since we are usually the only riders in our trails, but occasionally some people insist on SMASHING beer bottles on our trails when they are done with them instead of just discarding them to the side.

And with the fear of tires, hah, i dont know if this thread is helping with that, especially since it sounds like only a $20 or so job once I get the tire off.. which believe me, I will have enough trouble with :nod:

Frudaddy, I still feel that if its the same price I am better off bringing it in, so I don't have to spend even more on the risk of me messing it up. This is also my first flat tire in about 10 years of riding, so perhaps when I get my second I will learn how to take off my own tire.
 

rmc_olderthandirt

~SPONSOR~
Apr 18, 2006
1,533
8
Tiylu said:
Well, i'm banking on the chance that this will never happen again lol.

I wouldn't count on that! When I go out with my group camping and riding in the desert for a weekend someone in the group is always fixing a flat.

Tiylu said:
does anyone have an explanation for how this happens?

I am guessing that the tire is more than just under inflated, it is probably FLAT! If you are not sitting on the bike the sidewalls will be stiff enough to make the tire look like it has some air in it but when you sit on the bike it will probably be flat. Use a pressure gauge to confirm.

How does it happen?

Sometimes it just happens. Occasionally you run over something sharp, like a nail, and put a hole in it. The most common is that you hit a rock and the impact collapsed the sidewalls of the tire to the point that the tube got pinched. This can happen with a properly inflated tire and it will happen easily if the tire pressure is too low.

Like others have said, the straps hanging down are probably the rim strip. Are the straps thin rubber? For them to have made it outside the tire means that the tire is off the "bead", or at least it was when the strips came out. That strip is supposed to be one large continuous band so it must have broke when the tube was pinched.


Tiylu said:
Theres just something intimidating about working with tires, I dont know why..

If you take the wheel off the bike and take it down to the bike shop I would expect them to charge around $20 for the labor. A new tube is going to cost you another $15 and the rim strip will be a few dollars. If they spend more than 10 minutes working on it then they are novices themselves.

Because this happens on a regular basis I made up my mind that I was going to learn how to do it. It is a real bitch when you pop a tire early in the weekend. If you can't fix it yourself you are out of a ride the entire weekend!

The proper tools are not expensive. I recommend having three "tire irons" which cost a few dollars each. You will also need a bowl of soapy water. The only hard part is getting the tire back on the rim without pinching the tube in the process. There is a certain feel to it, as you slide the tire iron into place you can feel that there is metal against metal. If you feel something soft you have the tube pinched - don't pry!

It takes me about an hour to remove the wheel, and completley change a tire. If I am just fixing a flat and don't need to take the tire all the way off the rim I can do it in about 1/2 an hour. I have seen some of the guys in the club fix a flat in the ten minute break between loops of an enduro.

New tubes are always part of my spares kit I keep at camp.


Good luck!

Rod
 

2strokerfun

Member
May 19, 2006
1,500
1
FruDaddy said:
Buying a set of irons will cost nearly as much as taking having a shop change the tube.


Around here, it will cost more. $15 for a shop to change a tire/tube and I paid nearly three times that for my tire irons. But, I can use them again and again and again. Also, if you buy irons, I recommend three including at least one that is really long, for leverage.
 

FruDaddy

Member
Aug 21, 2005
2,854
0
2strokerfun said:
Around here, it will cost more. $15 for a shop to change a tire/tube and I paid nearly three times that for my tire irons. But, I can use them again and again and again. Also, if you buy irons, I recommend three including at least one that is really long, for leverage.
Yes, exactly, you can pay for the tools once, or pay the shop every time.
 

Cabot

Member
Sep 3, 2007
158
0
Yup.

A couple tips..
- Baby powder on the tube works great. (like mentioned before)
- Dish soap works, but I personally like WD-40 better. Spray some on both sides of the tire bead. It will help the tire slide on the rim easier, and also help the bead seat alot easier.
- Personally I like to inflate the tube untill it is round (but not stretched) before placing it into the tire (after you have one side of the tire on the rim). This helps keep the tube from getting caught inbetween the tire irons and the rim.
-If you are just replacing the tube, you only have to take one side of the tire off.

-I picked up a couple 14" tire irons for less then $5 a piece at the local hardware/automotave/etc store (Fleet-Farm)
 

Top Bottom