Tuttle Creek ORV Near Olsburg, KS

      This labor day weekend my family and I went to the off road vehicle park at Tuttle Creek Lake. The park was a nice mix of terrain. It had plenty of flat area, steep to moderate climbs, and rocky ledges for the big rock crawlers. My brother had his klr 650, my parents had a 570cc razor, and I was on my drz 400. It was a challenge at times to avoid the big ledges and the steep climbs but after a half day of so of exploring we knew the park pretty well. Once you know where you don't want to be it is a good time. Had our group had more experience I think we would have managed 90% of what the park had to offer. I would still venture to say that it is beginner friendly as long as you take your time and pay close attention to what you are getting into up ahead. We had to walk a few trails just to make sure that they were manageable. I will post up some videos later to give a better representation, at least some, of what the park had to offer. The trails were nice and dry and although there were some deep ruts I would not say that the park was "rutted out", by any means. I would say that the park is NOT big bike friendly unless you are bringing substantial experience along with your "big" bike. A klr 650 was a bit much at times I think, although you would have to check with my brother for more on that. A drz 400 felt about perfect. I did not go with stock gearing however. I was -1 front and +2 or +3 rear (can't remember for certain). 

Foster's Off-road Shandy!

Tonight dad and I will have a go at production of "Foster's Off-Road Shandy". We have to make an ingredient run and then production begins! Dad has never made beer before so it should be a good time for all!

GSXR 750 Front Tire Change 120/70-17

Old Tire: Angel Pirelli
New Tire: Diablo Rosso II

Last night I did a test run on my no mar classic tire changer. It went very well. Coupled with a cheap static balance it did a wonderful job on the new tire.

The install went something like this:
1.Remove front tire, loosen axel and pinch nuts, Remove calipers and hang with bungee cords to relieve strain on brake lines
2. Put Bike on Front and Rear Stand
3. Remove Axle and pull front tire off
4. Place on Tire Changer, remove valve stem and set aside
5. Break the Bead
6. Lock into machine.
7. Spray tire lube around the tire on the top portion
8. Insert demount bar, single prong end, into tire at angle
9. Drop top arm and pull demount bar all the way around to free the top portion
10. Repeat on the bottom layer with demount bar.
11. Clean Wheel very well, apply paste to the curved section of the wheel and the inside lip of both top and bottom on the new tire. This will make a huge difference!
12. Check direction of new tire and lay on top of wheel
13. Push the tire onto the wheel getting the whole bottom onto the wheel
14. Get the top started, as much as possible by hand and using the no mar "yellow thing" tool
15.Using the mount bar, double pronged end, finish the tire install
16. Air it up to set the bead and bounce it on the pavement a few times if it doesn't want to set at first
17. Balance it on the static balance
18. Re-install being sure to tighten pinch nuts, axle hardware, and get brakes on well!!
19. Double check you put the wheel on the "right" direction!

There are videos on youtube left and right for proper use of the no mar classic and tire changing in general. Do your research beforehand and it will save you a lot of frustration later.

I then went ahead and changed the oil and gave it a test spin. I may have missed something. Feel free to mention it in the comment section and I will clarify or explain.

 The old tire on the machine

 Brakes "hung" and wheel removed.  Wheel on balancer

 Finished!