The Pacific Coast is very picky about tires. In 1989, the first year of the model’s existence, clearances were extra tight. This is the kind of detail only the true aficionado knows. Both the Honda Pacific Coast 800 and the Yamaha TW200 are odd duck machines. Both have cultlike followers that do a great job compiling all sorts of technical errata. I own both… this may say more about me than the machines.
I dove into an online forum. They discussed tires like some people discuss religion. I selected what I think was the right size, and placed an order with Amazon. It was going to take 16 days but delivery was free. I could stop thinking about it for a couple weeks. Win!
Four days later the tire arrived. “Ball is back in my court. Damn!”
The PC800’s fairings are a Rubik’s Cube. They’re ingenious. They can be solved but you ain’t doing it yourself. You need to know what Honda’s engineers intended. You can’t just puzzle it out. (I test drove a PC800 where someone had used a Sawzall to cut his way to the battery! I didn’t buy that bike!)
Everything’s hidden and overlapping. The guys at Honda wanted the bike covered and by God that’s what they did. In fact, not only do you need to know what hidden screw(s) or panel(s) to remove but in what order. The only thing that saves your sanity is that you know it is absolutely possible. It’s not unsolvable, just confusing. Nor is it for the impatient or faint of heart. Did I mention that 37 year old plastic is delicate and irreplaceable?
You can do this Curmudgeon. Steady. One step at a time. Deep breath.
I approached it slowly, as if it was a cobra. I consulted my huge 300 +/- page manual. (At least a year ago I purchased a download. I paid to have it printed and bound. I knew I’d eventually need it.) Alas, it didn’t help. Maybe, it assumed I’d be smart enough to do a tire. I’m not! I’m just well below Honda’s expectations. (Also the manual is from 1989, expectations of a mechanic in 1989 is way higher than expectations in 2026; not that I’m a mechanic.)
Lowering my sights, I watched a bunch of YouTube videos. They were almost comical. The Honda PC800 is built basically from a Honda Shadow which are as common as pigeons on a statue. Also, there’s no such thing as a bike designed such that you can’t change a tire. It has to be do-able! Yet the crazy redneck shit people do to get at that mostly hidden rear tire is without bounds.
I’m not saying they don’t work, I’m just saying Honda had an approach in mind. “Strap the bike into your truck and hang the rear tire off the tailgate” is not the intended solution!
Finally I found a guy who seemed to have it together. He showed how to patiently and intelligently approach the plastics. Ah ha!
In the same video, he pulled the tire, complete with explanation and commentary about his wife’s lawnmowing, in 15 minutes flat. When I grow up I want to be like him!
All hail this guy!(1)
I eventually tried it myself. Everything that guy said was true. Every part was obvious when you knew where to look. Everything was right where it made sense to be. I felt like I was learning!
I might someday be able to change a flat on the side of the road without divine intervention!
That day had not yet come.
I couldn’t loosen the 27mm axle nut. I started with the wrench in the emergency tool kit. It didn’t work and I didn’t expect it to. I drove to town and bought a cheap 27 mm impact socket. I have a cheap old battery operated impact wrench… it did absolutely nothing. I feared I might round off the nut and be utterly doomed!
So. There. I. Was.
Robert M. Pirsig had a lot to say about such a situation:
“Your mind was already thinking ahead to what you would do when the cover plate was off, and so it takes a little time to realize that this irritating minor annoyance of a torn screw slot isn’t just irritating and minor. You’re stuck. Stopped. Terminated. It’s absolutely stopped you from fixing the motorcycle. This isn’t a rare scene in science or technology. This is the commonest scene of all. Just plain stuck.”
Stuck!
Pirsig went off on a tangent about the value of a bike with a stuck bolt being $0 until you unstuck the thing and something something… Phaedrus… mental breakdown… quality… and other shit.
Young Curmudgeon didn’t grok it then. And I was stumped by an axle nut in 2026.
Wisdom includes knowing when to step away from the challenge. I slathered the nut with liquid wrench and stepped away from the garage. I had no idea what I’d do next. Probably more procrastination.
A.C.
(1) Just for the record, that guy’s 1989 Honda PC800 is cleaner than a dinner plate. Under my bike, I found 40 years of dirt. He pops off the axle nut cool as a cucumber. I call shenanigans! I’ll bet he’s done it a dozen times and it’s smooth as butter on his bike. On my bike, I’m starting to wonder if my tire is way older than I thought. It’s probably a good thing I’m not riding on it.
(2) I can sense hands moving towards the keyboard to instruct me on what to do next. I appreciate the impulse but it’s OK. I got it. By the time I typed this, I’d already removed that infernal axle bolt. I’m taking y’all on a journey I’ve already finished.
