Templar X 250 Conversion to Street Use

[Texas Pete]

I have just converted my Templar X 250 to mostly street use which is what I use it for almost exclusively now that I ride it to commute to work every day.

I had two choices on my list for converting the motorcycle to primarily street use after doing my own tire and rim compatibility study.

#1 - Shinko 705
#2 - Kenda 761

Here is my Tire and Rim compatibility study I have worked on for the past year that I have owned my Templar X 250. It may help someone.

Texas Pete's Tire and Rim Compatibility Study

In the end it came down to who had the sale on either brand and model of tires when it came time to purchase. At the time of purchase, only Kenda 761 was currently on sale in the stores.

Street Conversion Purchase List:

1. QTY 1 - Sedona Tube 18" (standard thickness)
   Sedona Rear 110-120/100-18
2. QTY 2 - Sedona Tube 21" (standard thickness) - spare to cover both wheels in emergency
   Sedona Front 80/100-21
3. QTY 1 - WPS Rim Strip 18"
4. QTY 1 - WPS Rim Strip 21"
5. QTY 1 - Kenda K761 Dual Sport Tire Combo
   K761 Dual Sport Front Tire 90/90-21
   K761 Dual Sport Rear Tire 120/80-18

First thing is to remove the front wheel from the motorcycle.



With the front wheel removed, it is time to separate the old rubber tire from the rim.



Also removed from the front rim was the rubber Rim Strip. The old one is thinner width than the replacement WPS branded one. The old one also had a bit of a fold in the section where I had manually removed the Rim Lock when I first got the motorcycle assembled. It is good that it is replaced as there was a few spokes uncovered all this time.



With the new rim strip on it is time to gather the new front inner tube and Kenda 761 front and get them prepared to install. [Missing from photo is my small squeeze bottle of baby powder and a small bowl of very soapy water and a rag.]



With the tire installed it is time to think about balancing the wheel. With the Front K761 one that I received there was no color dot marking on the outside wall that would indicate where the balance point or low weight point of the tire was located. I did see one single small outline of a triangle that was pointing inwards toward the hub. I worked on the assumption that this was the low weight point of the tire and aligned it with the valve stem when installing the tire to the rim.



But first, to clear up any confusion as to how I install the inner tubes. There are 4 loose pieces for the valve stem. Two nuts, the plastic valve stem cap and one domed washer. I remove both nuts and when installing the valve stem through the rim make sure that the domed washer in on the inner side of the rim. I install one single nut and hand tighten all the way down to the outer rim surface. I then proceed to install the tire using the tire spoons.



Next I test fit the plastic valve stem cap and just before it bottoms out I make mental note of the location. I then put the second nut on and stop it just before the bottom out point for the valve stem cap.



Finally I take the bottom nut and run it up the valve stem. Then using two wrenches I jam lock both nuts together. Then after filling the tire to the appropriate pressure to both pop the sides against the rim and to reach desired inflation pressure (I used 33 PSI for now), I put the plastic valve stem cap on to the valve stem.



Time to balance the wheel and find the heavy point. I have some wheel weights that I can temporarily use until I can get some permanent ones. For now I am just looking for relative positions and weight amounts involved and recorded them for later. Time to clean up the excess soap will come later.



Finally, install the front wheel back on the motorcycle.



And now it is time to remove the rear wheel.



With the rear wheel removed its time to prepare to remove the rubber tire from the rim. This photo shows my baby powder bottle and from the hardware store hard plastic screw containers that normally get thrown away can be used in-between the tire iron and the rim if you want to have some additional protection.



Looking closesly at the rear tire knobbies, they have not quite reached the wear indicator but are starting to get close.



On the rear Kenda 761 tire I remembered to capture a photograph of the tire after pouring in some baby powder and running it around and around until the inside was fully coated.



I put a small amount of air inside the tube before installing the tire with tire spoons onto the rim. This eliminates any folds or floppy rubber that could end up getting pinched and damaged when spooning the tire onto the rim. Also shown in this photograph is the domed washer that goes on the inside so it rests against the inner rim surface. This rear Kenda 761 does include a yellow dot marking which I lined up with the valve stem location.



Once installed, the wheel is moved to the tire balancer and the heavy spot marked and temporary wheel weights used to determine how much weight is needed to balance the wheel.



The rear wheel valve stem gets installed exactly the same as the front wheel with regard to the two nuts and plastic valve cap. And inflation pressure for now is also set at 33 PSI.



Finally the rear wheel is installed onto the motorcycle. The chain tension adjusters have been reset for optimum chain slack.

NOTE: The torque specifications I have used for the front wheel axle, pinch bolts, and rear wheel axle can be found in my torque specifications sheet.

Texas Pete's Templar X 250 Torque Specifications Sheet

And there we have it. A Templar X 250 all set up for primary duty on the streets with some off road capability remaining (70% street, 30% off road). All that is left now is to wear off the outer layer on the new tires so they can get some fresh rubber exposed and get grippy.



I immediately took the motorcycle out and stayed on my estate streets and away from main streets. I did non stop S pattern turns down the streets pretending I was going through the traffic cones at an MSF course. I got good side to side wear on the tires.



All set to ride!

[Thumper]

Looks great!! I do like that black/grey color scheme.

When you said conversion to road use I did not know you meant dual sport tires. I envisioned motard style (but 21/18).

I was thinking Shinko 777, 999, 712. A quick search and I see you can get some in 21". Shinko 230 and 777, for instance are available in a 90/90-21". The front tires look skinny without the knobs. The dual purpose tires probably look thicker with those dual purpose tread blocks.

I think the Kenda 761s look way better than road tires on this bike

[JerryHawk250]

Looks good!

[2LZ]

I did the exact same setup with tires on Q when I was commuting! They worked well and lasted a long time. Very stiff tire. I added a removable tail bag for my lunches. Saved a ton on gas and made the commute fun.

[Texas Pete]

Addendum. Very large rainstorm tonight that I had to ride through to get home. This was only the second time I had ridden the new Kenda tires to work. I had no issues with traction on a variety of road surfaces and varying depths of water coverage. But I also wasn't riding like a racing participant around the corners. The tires definitely disperse and fling a plume or water. I ended up riding back into that plume coming from the front tire at speed. No slipping or loss of grip on my ride home. Made it home safe. But my lower pant legs and my riding jacket were very soaked.

[2LZ]

Of course, here in CA, if water is falling from the sky, I stay in front of the wood stove now-a-days! Good to hear the Kenda's did you right in the wet......and no, no tire will be more important than the monkey behind the triple tree.