Tire changes

[Guest Saddletramp]

After seeing a huge difference in what my dealer wants to sell a pair of tires for and what I can buy them for through Dennis Kirk and others I was wondering if there is anyone out there who does their own tire changes, and if so what you use for tools and irons to break the bead and mount the tire. Also I can't remember if the colored dot goes with the valve stem or opposite it. Now some will counter with "buy the tire and have him mount it". $50 to do each tire if I supply, $16 when buying his. I have changed 2 and 3 pc. truck rims and I have even done a couple of tubless 24" truck tires. I am concerned about damaging the rim with pry bars on the motorcycles.

[GeorgeS]

Do google search for " Motorcycle tire Bead Breaker " There are several available.

 

Mark on new tire, goes at the Valve Stem position.

 

Don't forget the rotation arrow.

 

Buy good quality breaker bars, Don't use those small ones that fit in a tool kit.

 

Be sure to Clean the rim, before re-installing. Use Vasoline as a lubricante during the re-installation proceedure.

 

However, if you can find sombody, to change them for about $25 apiece, I would not mess with them myself.

[BigBoyinMS]

I just changed the rear on mine. I laid the wheel next to my 6x16 trailer and used a piece of 1x2 oak cut at an angle and a 5ft piece of pipe as a bead breaker. Very easy and cost $0.00. I bought 3 full size tire irons from Harbor Freight for about $15.

[Jethroish]

I called around and found an independent bike shop to change tires for $15/tire whether I got from them or not. Dealer and some other shops wanted $50 and up per tire if not bought from them. What a way to lose business.

[FutureVentures]

Wanting new tires, with WWW, I purchased the tire changer made by Harbor Freight, online for $75, including cycle adaptor.

 

Once we figured out how to use it, breaking the bead was a piece of cake!

 

Then removing and reinstalling was surprisingly easy.

 

Used the slime stuff to auto balance, works great.

[Alex]

Ditto what FV said...changed 6 tires so far without a hitch

[Guest Saddletramp]

Everyone thanks for your replys. After going to you-tube and seeing it done along with the bead breaker that was being used, I will be doing my own. I'll probably even invest in a static balancer.