Remove and replace tires at home

[dna9656]

I called around today for a price to demount 2 tires and remount/balance one. $120.00 plus tax was the only quote I got before they all closed.

I have a M/C manual tire stand but I have no way to break the bead; I have seen You tubes of a guy breaking the bead using 2' Xs and his truck, he jacks the truck up a bit, sets up the wheel under the hitch receiver or what ever... and places the 2" X between the bead of the tire and the truck, he lets the truck down and the bead pops free....Anyone know of a good way to do this at home? Is there a tool out there for this? HF used to have a tool for this but it's no longer available...

Edited September 25, 2018 by dna9656

[djh3]

I use a 2x6 on its side so the 6" is up and down for strength. I also have a 2x4 piece about maybe 6" long. Also you need a couple piece of 2x4 or 2x6 to lay the wheel on so the rotor dont hit the ground. Lay the wheel across the 2x to support but not on rotor. Stand the short 2x4 up close to bead as you can get without hitting wheel. With it stood up then place the 2x6 on top of the short 2x4 and use it like a pry bar under your truck bumper or what have you against the short 2x4. Flip tire and repeat. Then get after it with the tire spoons. A teaspoon of dish soap to about a cup of wather to lube things up on the beads help. I change my own for years now. I wont say its easy, but I can buy the wife and I a nice steak dinner for what it would have cost me.

[camos]

I called around today for a price to demount 2 tires and remount/balance one. $120.00 plus tax was the only quote I got before they all closed.

Is that $120 quote just for taking the tires off and replacing with another tire then balancing? For that price perhaps it should also include taking the wheels off the bike.

 

I don't have the time to go through the process that djh3 does. When its time for a new tire I take the old wheel and new tire into a bike shop where they will mount and balance for $27 each.

[dna9656]

Is that $120 quote just for taking the tires off and replacing with another tire then balancing? YES! For that price perhaps it should also include taking the wheels off the bike.

 

(For that price I should get a first class date!)

 

I don't have the time to go through the process that djh3 does. When its time for a new tire I take the old wheel and new tire into a bike shop where they will mount and balance for $27 each.

 

I used to have a place that changed tires for $20.. so long as I brought the wheel(s) in; they closed up shop

Edited September 25, 2018 by dna9656

[Bob K.]

HF used to have a tool for this but it's no longer available...

What manual tire changer do you have? My Harbor Freight tire changer has a built in bead breaker. I put a couple 2x4s underneath the wheel to raise it up a bit and to protect the rotor. It works great.

 

$80 gets you the tire changer and the motorcycle wheel adapter: https://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result/index/?dir=asc&order=EAScore%2Cf%2CEAFeatured+Weight%2Cf%2CSale+Rank%2Cf&q=changer

 

Or, you can buy a separate bead breaker for $50: https://www.harborfreight.com/bead-breaker-92961.html

 

Edited September 23, 2018 by Bob K.

[dna9656]

What manual tire changer do you have? My Harbor Freight tire changer has a built in bead breaker. I put a couple 2x4s underneath the wheel to raise it up a bit and to protect the rotor. It works great.

 

$80 gets you the tire changer and the motorcycle wheel adapter: https://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result/index/?dir=asc&order=EAScore%2Cf%2CEAFeatured+Weight%2Cf%2CSale+Rank%2Cf&q=changer

 

Or, you can buy a separate bead breaker for $50: https://www.harborfreight.com/bead-breaker-92961.html

 

https://www.venturerider.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=114539

 

I do not have a changer, I used but it got lost somehow. Now, that I have ordered this one (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004MS9264/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) my old changer will show up. I never used it....It was a cheapie...

 

 

Note that unlike the cheaper version of this that the "legs between the circles bolted in place these are welded and it has welded tabs to bolt the thing down to a pallet or other foundation...It costs a few $ more than the one that has the steel "legs" that bolt in place (it looks like it might collapse) and it has no tabs to secure it in place. PLUS it's smaller that HF's set up. I can easily store it in garden shed and not in my shop! The local HF has an open box special on the M/C attachment ($15.00) that's missing the bar that goes through the center of the wheel, just as well because that bar is too big (could buy a iron pipe I suppose) for my bike anyway

Edited September 25, 2018 by dna9656

[VanRiver]

I personally ssed to use a simple carpenter's wood clamp with a 2x4 to break my motorcycle tire beads. I would put the 2X4 on the back side of the tire to support one side of the clamp on the solid rim and then the other side of the clamp that turns and pushes I would position as close to the bead as possible so it would push the rubber down near the rim edge. Simple and it always worked for me with no special tools. I now use a "bead buster" which works awesome.

 

Here is a pic of the type of clamp I used to use:

 

 

 

 

Here is a video I did a while back showing the "bead buster" in action which is nice and small for storage and transport .........and only costs $99 on Amazon.

 

[greg_in_london]

Just do a search on Ebay for one you like the look of. I bought mine a few years - mainly for emergencies because the place I go to for tyres has reasonable prices and tools for you to remove them yourself. They charge for balancing, but not fitting. Anyway, the one I bought looks a bit like this and was just as cheap: https://pulsar.ebay.co.uk/plsr/clk/0/SADS/9?pld=%7B%22mecs%22%3A%222024166249796d2a181e3e894f63be56b8409604dfd0%22%2C%22enc%22%3A%22AQADAAACsBkojIFHYtWT%2BANpG6F7t2F09Z9Cbsu1X59rcQ4wVNT6A2C4dotaid1BlSqpY2v6yePzhOYc7cgk4BD5PFWI2SIa4CTkRla8x7l4lNmgi9HQgwzYslxWcGPRbQ2wQaEgSLYHzFwTCXM8sFctn9DhcQOug5w7DX8QWkAtkT%2FRbE%2Fpu4bLyDg27eMQSLwlO2PtSKDjbyhWYO4TE6gi4XGAWenRYkULG5LqwjQckEUf6rTN9t%2FT5FuA5tGW57klb6eZj0icNV0XCeim3bmt4goPx%2Bq8a46wBhNXkyRJvJeeM9pRFrSgHGpnq4qDo6wqDjB7P3gHNHMtpiN8Q%2BDiZvlex8KbJ3xQz1On46lIuOF2z%2F3ULmxa%2BSnBxEu5mceSXa1zpe%2B9sW8IRw8PlXRHUYI%2BBe2J2wqZN3TeHVwT23Bmor0ATww1ZHevLpJIGp25EcSuJ%2FZTcn7Et4%2BDXqN3w9DWOhlU6T%2B0OBhQdMwc5bf4BNKkpZtXnItH44ReN8DV6hspajsxDn0SL2vy5Eat5yegKE6g6poIuLKiR8CTNvNIcAgQqTw2WsQhg%2FEMUlHM5UiLesZysfvkHziU2%2F%2F9u2N0Zw40azDruEEgU8WOWVlAyVfd%2ByiB3NgNQnlPtA23QlGpzoBZIukKviDXNQ2AlZfA8IBsv6vwftd33zC3gGmr4LKhq0V%2F%2BfN6C3kwl%2BHQDhOcunye6WQaykaorzxjevDnh95EpcL7a1ZDGgksRrPk3bFXY1IyjVRqOb3DZXVsxRfnY14QB1vNjFbx4cuEAeymLgpb70hF2abO3Op6TuroeRlUm9Fttdkcuwo73eeek8Akat05Bk1Gu5E2y0hbg0YY6q9Bg4ZWb6ugzKN%2BNlp9uS%2FU8bsHzHMbstyRHpUJCNXc4c0%2Fn0SUThuadtjzKvuSZkE%3D%22%7D

[dna9656]

Just do a search on Ebay for one you like the look of. I bought mine a few years - mainly for emergencies because the place I go to for tyres has reasonable prices and tools for you to remove them yourself. They charge for balancing, but not fitting. Anyway, the one I bought looks a bit like this and was just as cheap: https://pulsar.ebay.co.uk/plsr/clk/0/SADS/9?pld=%7B%22mecs%22%3A%222024166249796d2a181e3e894f63be56b8409604dfd0%22%2C%22enc%22%3A%22AQADAAACsBkojIFHYtWT%2BANpG6F7t2F09Z9Cbsu1X59rcQ4wVNT6A2C4dotaid1BlSqpY2v6yePzhOYc7cgk4BD5PFWI2SIa4CTkRla8x7l4lNmgi9HQgwzYslxWcGPRbQ2wQaEgSLYHzFwTCXM8sFctn9DhcQOug5w7DX8QWkAtkT%2FRbE%2Fpu4bLyDg27eMQSLwlO2PtSKDjbyhWYO4TE6gi4XGAWenRYkULG5LqwjQckEUf6rTN9t%2FT5FuA5tGW57klb6eZj0icNV0XCeim3bmt4goPx%2Bq8a46wBhNXkyRJvJeeM9pRFrSgHGpnq4qDo6wqDjB7P3gHNHMtpiN8Q%2BDiZvlex8KbJ3xQz1On46lIuOF2z%2F3ULmxa%2BSnBxEu5mceSXa1zpe%2B9sW8IRw8PlXRHUYI%2BBe2J2wqZN3TeHVwT23Bmor0ATww1ZHevLpJIGp25EcSuJ%2FZTcn7Et4%2BDXqN3w9DWOhlU6T%2B0OBhQdMwc5bf4BNKkpZtXnItH44ReN8DV6hspajsxDn0SL2vy5Eat5yegKE6g6poIuLKiR8CTNvNIcAgQqTw2WsQhg%2FEMUlHM5UiLesZysfvkHziU2%2F%2F9u2N0Zw40azDruEEgU8WOWVlAyVfd%2ByiB3NgNQnlPtA23QlGpzoBZIukKviDXNQ2AlZfA8IBsv6vwftd33zC3gGmr4LKhq0V%2F%2BfN6C3kwl%2BHQDhOcunye6WQaykaorzxjevDnh95EpcL7a1ZDGgksRrPk3bFXY1IyjVRqOb3DZXVsxRfnY14QB1vNjFbx4cuEAeymLgpb70hF2abO3Op6TuroeRlUm9Fttdkcuwo73eeek8Akat05Bk1Gu5E2y0hbg0YY6q9Bg4ZWb6ugzKN%2BNlp9uS%2FU8bsHzHMbstyRHpUJCNXc4c0%2Fn0SUThuadtjzKvuSZkE%3D%22%7D

 

I bought the one in my previous post (above) and rec'd it this past Friday, It works! I may get the smaller rim mounted tool for road trips; I will not go on a road trip with tires that might need changing during the trip but if I should need tires I'll have that smaller tool and a couple of tire irons and save a night's lodging fee by changing my own tires!

[djh3]

I can tell ya from doing my own tires on both the 2nd gen and the Vic Cross Country. You (well I) aint even going to think about changing it anywhere but home. Trying to lay it over and get tire off and then stand bike back up aint going to happen.

[zagger]

I called around today for a price to demount 2 tires and remount/balance one. $120.00 plus tax was the only quote I got before they all closed.

I have a M/C manual tire stand but I have no way to break the bead; I have seen You tubes of a guy breaking the bead using 2' Xs and his truck, he jacks the truck up a bit, sets up the wheel under the hitch receiver or what ever... and places the 2" X between the bead of the tire and the truck, he lets the truck down and the bead pops free....Anyone know of a good way to do this at home? Is there a tool out there for this? HF used to have a tool for this but it's no longer available...

 

I would recommend asking other riders what they do and see if you can discover someone with equipment that does all of this for a low price. I found a guy who retired from a shop and has all of the professional equipment to remove and install tires and spin balance everything. Of course, the wheel has to be off the bike since he doesn't want to screw around for the $20 that he charges. Only takes a few minutes. He doesn't dispose of the old tire either, so I have to bring it to the town dump and pay a couple of bucks to get rid of it. I hope that he keeps doing this for years to come and I don't have to search out someone new!

zag

[greg_in_london]

I would not argue with anybody that says getting the wheel out while on the road is a PITA with these bikes. I once had completely unexpected levels of tyre wear, even though I began with a brand new back tyre. I actually changed the front tyre on a camp site in Scotland and the back tyre outside the in-laws house in Ireland.

I'm sure most people know this, but in case anyone is looking at this on the phone while stuck at the side of the road, the key is to put planks down and put the centre on top of those (or over the edge of a kerb). The bike is much too heavy to do that unless you FIRST roll the back wheel onto something - with the tyre pumped up (even if it goes down again in two minutes - that should be long enough to get it up on the stand. Better to spend a half hour looking for planks, branches, bricks etc than weeks off work after hurting your back.

[Vickersguy]

I use an ordinary 10 inch "C" clamp. They cost about $20