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Be sure to loosen the front sprocket first, before removing the drive chain. Put the bike in neutral, have someone step on the rear brake lever and if possible, use an air impact wrench. It's torqued at 85Nm and is threadlocked. The nut is big @ 36mm. The rear is pretty self explanatory. Some say to always replace sprocket nuts & bolts, but this is not a hard/fast rule for me. I will typically reuse them once. Our bikes have a cush drive, so the hardware doesn't get as beat up as say on a typical dirt bike. But, if in doubt, install new ones. The rear sprocket to cush drive nuts torque at 55Nm. The one thing that I don't like about the Tiger is that there are no alignment lines on the swingarm and rear axle block. So, you'll have to do some measuring to be sure that the wheels is square in the swingarm. Otherwise you're reducing the useful life of the drive components. Chain adjuster nuts torque to 15Nm and the rear axle at 110. Since these components must stay torqued, I'd use some blue threadlocker (IMHO, red is too much) on the front sprocket and rear sprocket nuts. I would not use locker on the chain adjuster nut or axle. Also, if you're especially anal, use some of this stuff on the rear sprocket nuts. http://www.amazon.com/Tamper-Proof-Torque-Mark-Red/dp/B007ID3SLK Tiger 800 Torque Settings.pdf

I have the REI Quarter Dome T2. Packs super small and light, and I've had nothing but good experiences with it. I've used it on an 8 day backpacking trip, and on 4 MC trips of varying lengths. It has a rectangular footprint with two vestibules created by the fly. I usually stow my dry gear in the second sleeping position, and anything wet, my boots, and luggage goes in the vestibules. I'm 5'6" and have about 8" or so to spare when laying flat. It's definitely a get dressed in the sitting position height, but the way the poles are arranged there is a bit more headroom than a standard dome tent - almost has a flat ceiling in the middle. Without the fly the majority of the tent is screen - great for those warm summer night views. http://m.rei.com/product/864810/rei-quarter-dome-t2-plus-tent-special-buy Don't have any experience using any of the tents you listed.

Bryan you are the MAN! The 36MM nut would have been a trip to the store after I got started - everyone knows how irritating that is. Thanks for the full answer and torque settings - very helpful.

Ray and I will be there with the bouncy castle. 👍

I will, once I have worn it a little more. I'm doing the Desert 100 Adventure/Dual Sport poker run in Odessa Wa. tomorrow. I will have the SNX and my new EVS RS9 Pro knee braces on. I hope to do a review on both.