OP
OP
CYYJ
Michael
That is very attractive. Can you tell me the name of the dealer? I also live in Toronto and would like to use them to change my tire.
Michael
How difficult is it to change a tire?
- Thread starter CYYJ
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Michael
ReSTored said:
My cost here in the Toronto area, taxes in and balanced, is $20/wheel carry in. Same price for years.
My cost here in the Toronto area, taxes in and balanced, is $20/wheel carry in. Same price for years.
That sounds like the best deal going anywhere and certainly not here!
I just replaced my PR4s with the Metzler B and how true that is!
It isn't just the cost, my gripe is the time it takes to drive to the dealer and have them tell me I can pick it up next Friday, then have to make the return trip and pay the $75 for the privilege. I do it myself.
I have a Harbor Freight tire changer. I have it modified to clamp and hold the wheel with nylon blocks and a few other changes to make it useful. I have changed numerous tires and slowly bought better tools. I now have a mojo lever which mostly works on the front but I find it pretty useless for the rear. I can change tires, sometimes without injury to myself even.
Over the years I have really messed up the wheels and since they are black, the looked terrible. I have proven to my self that I can not have decent looking wheels if I am going to continue to use this tire changing setup.
I repainted them with some dupli-color wheel paint and tried to mount the tires carefully. I was able to re-mount the used front tire, without much issue with tire irons and snap on rim protectors.
Of course the rear Bridgestone T31 was impossible to mount without totally gouging up the new paint on the rear. To make matters worse, I had to do it twice (rim protector got trapped inside). So now the rear rim is gouged up as bad as ever. The super stiff and tight rear will not slide over the rim protector at the last bit and the crushing force of the tire iron ended up destroying the one not trapped.
Does anyone have any tips to mount and dis-mount the rear tire with a similar setup? I have watched all the youtube videos, but the ST1300 Bridgestone rear is a different type of tire than all those videos show (or I am missing something). I know I could take it to the local dealer and pay them $275 for a tire mounted to my wheel, but I will continue gouging up wheels before that happens.
Maybe if I had silver wheels, the aluminum wouldn't show as bad and this wouldn't bother me so much. I can't say I would recommend repainting wheels. The paint is not hard enough to withstand even casual tool contact even after a week curing inside.
Steve
Over the years I have really messed up the wheels and since they are black, the looked terrible. I have proven to my self that I can not have decent looking wheels if I am going to continue to use this tire changing setup.
I repainted them with some dupli-color wheel paint and tried to mount the tires carefully. I was able to re-mount the used front tire, without much issue with tire irons and snap on rim protectors.
Of course the rear Bridgestone T31 was impossible to mount without totally gouging up the new paint on the rear. To make matters worse, I had to do it twice (rim protector got trapped inside). So now the rear rim is gouged up as bad as ever. The super stiff and tight rear will not slide over the rim protector at the last bit and the crushing force of the tire iron ended up destroying the one not trapped.
Does anyone have any tips to mount and dis-mount the rear tire with a similar setup? I have watched all the youtube videos, but the ST1300 Bridgestone rear is a different type of tire than all those videos show (or I am missing something). I know I could take it to the local dealer and pay them $275 for a tire mounted to my wheel, but I will continue gouging up wheels before that happens.
Maybe if I had silver wheels, the aluminum wouldn't show as bad and this wouldn't bother me so much. I can't say I would recommend repainting wheels. The paint is not hard enough to withstand even casual tool contact even after a week curing inside.
Steve
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Trust me, I can mark up the silver just as well as you can do the black!
Even using rim protectors!
If your HF changer is very solidly mounted so that it doesn't move around on you, these tire spoons from NoMar are great for the stiff rear tires..
NoMar Tire Spoons
Be sure to lube the back of the NoMar spoons as well as the tires and wheels. There are a number of aids available to keep the mounted portion of the tire down in the bead well. You can also make your own with wedges cut from a 2x4.
Demounting should not be that big an issue if you are lubing it well and keeping the remaining bead in the bead well. The Mojo lever that you have should be able to do the demount without scarring the wheel. If it does, it is technique, not equipment.
I will check out the NoMar spoons, thanks for the tips
On my last tires (I use spoons), I wasn't getting anywhere with all the effort I could come up with. I finally stepped back and said to myself, "back to basics". I relubed the remaining area. Checked to make sure the bead that was already over the rim was in the wheel recess...and the remaining portion slipped right on.
As beemerphile says, it is technique, not equipment.
Chris
As beemerphile says, it is technique, not equipment.
Chris
That is almost always the problem.
larryg
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I just put a new T31 GT rear on: Tire was $128, + $50 for a local bike shop (non-dealer) to mount it.
After all I've read on the difficulty of mounting Bridgestones - I'm happy to pay $50 to have it mounted & balanced.
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I bought a couple of those...didn't know my own strength trying to remove a tire, I bent the rim. I don't use those anymore, I use these: Tire Iron
I have six of them. and place them around the tire. As I lift on the first, I start on the second and just go right around the tire.
Don't do that. The spoonbars are for mounting tires not demounting them. We are back at technique. If you are using six irons and little bitty bites, you may still not be using the drop center (bead well) of the tire. Conventional tire irons will not drop the bead low enough. Using wood blocks or a few of the Xtrahand devices will drop it further and provide the slack you need to get the final section of bead over the edge. It should never take more than two or three tire tools to mount the tire and you don't have enough hands and feet to hold them there anyway. I only own two spoonbars and have never needed more. The blocks or Xtrahands provide more drop and stay put by themselves while you work the rest of the bead on.
If you have enough arm and a strong enough rim not to bend, you can put enough force on the bead to internally damage it making an unsafe tire. I've seen this done with automatic tire machines, which without the proper technique have ample power to damage the tire. Correct technique is a requisite need regardless of the equipment you use.
This is a good time to replace the valve stems with the angled type.
Just my $0.02
www.kurveygirl.com
Just my $0.02
VALVE STEMS
KurveyGirl.com - Dzus, Vesrah, Brembo, Titanium, Spring Clips and More
www.kurveygirl.com
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This is a good time to replace the valve stems with the angled type.
Just my $0.02
VALVE STEMS
KurveyGirl.com - Dzus, Vesrah, Brembo, Titanium, Spring Clips and More
Even those need to be replace every now and then....
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I had Byron doing my tires for years, but since he moved away, I have been doing my own on a NoMar tire machine I bought from Mike Brown. Part of my problem is I don't have it "mounted", I have it on one of their drive over tire machine mounts. That is part of the problem! This keeps me from being able to use the long mounting/dismounting bars. So I bought six of those I said I did, but no, I can't use them all at one time.
I usual use three placed at intervals so I'm not trying to force one between the tire and rim when mounting or dismounting. That works fine and makes it much easier for me.
Solid mounting is very important. Before I had a place to bolt mine down I tried the trailer hitch mount (horrible) and finally bolted it to a 4x8 sheet of 3/4" plywood. It was large enough that I could stand on it while mounting the tires and it was quite stable. After use, I'd unbolt it and put the pieces away.
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Yeah, I've been trying to come up with a good way to mount it...
I changed Art's PR4 front tire on his ST1300 while he was up for service.
I used 3 Motion Pro tire spoons, some Hunter tire paste, rim protectors, and 4 strips of duct tape.
I laid the strips of duct tape on the floor underneath the tire at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o-clock laid the tire on the tape, then pushed down the tire with my knee until the beads were almost touching.
Then simply lifted up the tape and attached it to itself, I did this all the way around, then lubricated the tire with the tire paste, and simply pushed the tire on by hand without even needing the spoons. The spoons were used to remove the tire from the rim, the tape was the only thing needed to replace the tire on the rim. If I were using the Bridgestone 020 tires, I would do the same thing, only I would probably use the spoons to help the first bead over the edge of the rim.
It IS all about technique. If your struggling, your doing it wrong. Keep the opposite bead in the drop center, and check it often.
If anyone wants pictures of the tape method, PM me your phone number and I'll text them to you. (I have them on my cell phone).
I used 3 Motion Pro tire spoons, some Hunter tire paste, rim protectors, and 4 strips of duct tape.
I laid the strips of duct tape on the floor underneath the tire at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o-clock laid the tire on the tape, then pushed down the tire with my knee until the beads were almost touching.
Then simply lifted up the tape and attached it to itself, I did this all the way around, then lubricated the tire with the tire paste, and simply pushed the tire on by hand without even needing the spoons. The spoons were used to remove the tire from the rim, the tape was the only thing needed to replace the tire on the rim. If I were using the Bridgestone 020 tires, I would do the same thing, only I would probably use the spoons to help the first bead over the edge of the rim.
It IS all about technique. If your struggling, your doing it wrong. Keep the opposite bead in the drop center, and check it often.
If anyone wants pictures of the tape method, PM me your phone number and I'll text them to you. (I have them on my cell phone).
I've seen that technique done with tie wraps, but not with tape. On radial front tires, I can usually do both beads at once on my automatic machine. Just tuck both beads under the duckhead and roll it on around.