What tire change equipment to get?

Jjonahjamison

Jjonahjamison

Joined
Jul 3, 2016
Messages
150
Location
Cochrane, Alberta
Bike
2007 ST1300
I do virtually all my own maintenance, but haven’t done tire changes.

Today I took my rear wheel into the local shop where I normally get it done. They said it would be nearly 3 weeks to get it done! The other local shop said the same thing, but after a bit of begging and telling them I have trip planned in 10 days time, they agreed to slip me in in the next few days.

But this has me thinking, given the local shops may not be a reliable source of tire service, and charge $60 per tire (loose wheel price), should I be looking to invest in some equipment and learn to do it myself? If so, what reasonably priced equipment would be best for a guy that will change between 2 and 4 tires per year? I‘m not as young as I used to be, so something that uses mechanical advantage rather than operator brute strength would be essential. Reasonably small storage footprint is also desirable.

Any recommendations from those who have gone there?

Thanks!
 
Shawn K said:
Just to put the thought out there - a tire can be changed with nothing more than a flat place to work a some tire irons.
Click to expand...

+1
That's how I do it. At most, 20 minutes from cracking the first nut to torquing the last nut.
EDIT: (that's subtracting the time it takes me to clean the splines and adding new moly paste)
 
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$60 a tire is crazy! I would invest in a middle of the road tire changer and do your own, plus charge your friends a small modest price to help you pay for it. It's $25 per tire at my local bike shop.
 
I just change my rear tire myself on my ST1100. You can follow that adventure, on page seven of this tread.

Maintenance of my "almost new" ST1100 | ST1100 Related

Welcome to the world of dealerships. Use this on your splines, Loctite 51048... Thanks Paul. Yeah, it make you think you should always service your bike yourself.
www.st-owners.com www.st-owners.com

It was the first time I was doing it. I wanted to give it a try. That is something that some guys are doing themself, and I wanted to learn how to do it.
I bought two tire irons, and rim protectors. I think, maybe I should have bought the longuer tire iron. I think mine are 16 inches.
Anyway, at some point, I was ready to give up, and @Sheriff41 sent me a link, toward a youtube video (see below), where a guy uses long cable ties. I tried it. A pack of 10 long 20 inches cable ties only costed me a few dollars. And it worked.
I'm also thinking about buying a small, around $100 - 140, tire changer, for next time. And in a couple years, I will be showing my grand childrens how grandpa is doing it.

Sheriff41 said:
Have you seen this? It works well. Use plenty of window spray to keep the tire beads lubricated.
Click to expand...

ChriSTian.
 
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Changing a tire by hand using tire spoons is all about Technique, not strength.
If your struggling, your doing it wrong.
I change all my tires using a portable Moose tire changing stand, and 3 Motion pro tire spoons, I also have some of the longer Motion pro curved ones for difficult tires (really wide/thick).
Get yourself a tub of Hunters Tire Paste, 3 rim protectors, 3 spoons, and a valve core removal tool.
You can break the bead several ways, from home made lumber, C-clamps, or what I use, the Motion Pro Bead pro. These are also tire irons as well. They work Great!
Do not use windex or dish soap, as it will cause damage to aluminum rims over time. Use the tire paste.
Get some coffee and watch several different Youtube videos (from professionals, like dunlop etc.)
Cable ties take up too much space between the tire and the rim, and can cause damage (scratches) to the powder coating.
If you must use something, I would recommend duct tape. Several pieces on the ground, lay the tire on them, kneel on the upper bead until its almost inside the lower bead, then pull the tape around and tape it.
Between the tire paste, and the duct tape, I've simply pushed PR4 tires on ST rims by hand without even using spoons.
20190924_221524_1594912717840_001.jpg
 
ChriSTian_64 said:
Anyway, at some point, I was ready to give up, and @Sheriff41 sent me a link, on a yoirube video, where a guy uses long 20" cable ties. I tried it, and it worked.
Click to expand...

I've tried that and it slowed me down.

The first bead goes on with a quick shove (takes < 10 seconds). The trick for the second bead is the use of a "bead buddy" (I fabricated my own out of wood) - I have five of them.

It's all about technique, not "man-handling"
 
I've seen folks use small c-clamps like a bead buddy, but didn't care for the scratching of the rims.
You have any pictures of your home made wood ones you'd like to share?
On dirt bike tires, I'm down to just a little over 4 minutes for tires/tubes, I use a MP bead buddy on spoke wheels (dirt bike & Harley rims), and a MP trail buddy in my off road tool kit.
Always interested in learning more, and seeing other folks ideas.:thumb:
 
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I used to do my own tire changes, back in the spoked-wheel days.

My local Honda dealer charges 37.50 per for carry-in, and $50 per for ride in.

For $25, they can dismount and mount the wheels from the bike.

I do provide my own lube, though. They normally use blue Belray grease.
 
Larry Fine said:
...They normally use blue Belray grease.
Click to expand...
...and they don't even know to check whether the o-rings (which they probably don't stock) on the rear are still there and serviceable. You can also hope or pretend that they use the fork realignment steps that @jfheath so expertly articulated and set all of the various fasteners to the proper torques. You may as well fuh-git any possibility that they checked, cleaned, and re-lubed the sliding points on the brake calipers; tugged on the forks and checked for steering head bearing condition and adjustment; tested the wheel bearings for roughness; or generally looked around for something about to become a problem (rusted swing-arm, frayed or bulging brake hose, etc.).

It is not a desire to save money, and certainly not my love of getting greasy and swearing at machinery that causes me to do the work myself. It is the knowledge that it is my hindquarters on the line for having it done right. No-one cares for your bike like you do. Most likely nobody cares for your hindquarters like you do. It is also approaching likely that the "tech" was still crapping his paper pants when your bike was rolling off the assembly line.
 
I have the HF changer and a mojo bar but am going to spring for a no-mar bar before I do anymore. My mojo bar has a tendency to role into the bead and slice away. I did purchase a no-mar yellow thing and it is helpful. I drilled holes in my concrete floor and installed threaded inserts so that I can bolt the tire changer in place for use and then stow it away when done.
 
ChriSTian_64 said:
I just change my rear tire myself on my ST1100. You can follow that adventure, on page seven of this tread.

Maintenance of my "almost new" ST1100 | ST1100 Related

Welcome to the world of dealerships. Use this on your splines, Loctite 51048... Thanks Paul. Yeah, it make you think you should always service your bike yourself.
www.st-owners.com www.st-owners.com

It was the first time I was doing it. I wanted to give it a try. That is something that some guys are doing themself, and I wanted to learn how to do it.
I bought two tire irons, and rim protectors. I think, maybe I should have bought the longuer tire iron. I think mine are 16 inches.
Anyway, at some point, I was ready to give up, and @Sheriff41 sent me a link, toward a youtube video (see below), where a guy uses long cable ties. I tried it. A pack of 10 long 20 inches cable ties only costed me a few dollars. And it worked.
I'm also thinking about buying a small, around $100 - 140, tire changer, for next time. And in a couple years, I will be showing my grand childrens how grandpa is doing it.



ChriSTian.
Click to expand...
Damn, I wouldn't let that idiot anywhere near my rims with those automotive truck tire irons!
The alloy rims on your bike can be damaged very easily.
He's also doing Several things wrong in this video....:rolleyes:
When he is kneeling down on the tire, he is pushing the bead out of the drop center where you need it to be, and up on the bead, which can/will damage the tire, and/or the rim.
What he should have been doing, is lifting the opposite side of the tire (near him) into the drop center of the rim, that way it would take very little effort to slip the tire back on the rim....or if you use tape and the correct tire paste, simple hand pressure and no tools :rofl1:
While I like surfing youtube and always looking for easier ways to do things, you've got to be very careful on who's stuff you try and copy.
Yes, it may have worked for him, but that does not always mean its the correct, or easiest method to use.
Just watching those long automotive tire irons bend and flex, made me want to stop watching the video :eek:
 
beemerphile said:
It is not a desire to save money, and certainly not my love of getting greasy and swearing at machinery that causes me to do the work myself. It is the knowledge that it is my hindquarters on the line for having it done right. No-one cares for your bike like you do. Most likely nobody cares for your hindquarters like you do. It is also approaching likely that the "tech" was still crapping his paper pants when your bike was rolling off the assembly line.
Click to expand...

EXACTLY why I do my own maintenance. The ONLY other person I've ever let service my bikes is my father, who's a 50+ year veteran motorcycle mechanic, a former certified Honda Pro technician, and the only person I know who's more anal retentive about service work than I am (with the possible exception of Larry). ;)

I wouldn't trust the average shop mechanic to tighten the caps on my valve stems.
 
Igofar said:
Changing a tire by hand using tire spoons is all about Technique, not strength.
If your struggling, your doing it wrong.
I change all my tires using a portable Moose tire changing stand, and 3 Motion pro tire spoons...
Click to expand...

Interesting Larry. I know from other post from you that if someone has a well equipped garage, with the right tools for the right job, it's you.
I found it interesting that with the number of bike that must have come and go thru your garage doors, and with all the experience that you have, you're not using an expensive machine to do it for you. Rather, you prefer using simple tools, with the good technique, and doing it by hand.
 
While I use a handy table lift, K&L center jacks, and do have IR impact(s) that I rarely use, I prefer hand tools, and I actually enjoy removing and mounting tires by hand instead of using a machine.
The K&L tire machine I used to use would take up too much room in the garage. Over the years I've seen more scrapes and damage on rims from machines that when done carefully with irons.
I have several tire stands, ranging from a simple white bucket, with rubber hose around the edge, to a couple portable moose tire stands, to simple 4x4 blocks.
On some of the Harley rims (centerline aluminum) have large brake rotors that won't fit on the stands or buckets, so I use blocks of wood on a rubber mat on the Handy Table for height.
The only time I don't like changing tires is when your 100 miles out in the desert, surrounded by cactus, on a narrow, rocky trail, with no cell signal, one bottle of water, and its 104 degrees out with no shade, and oh yeah, did I mention the ants and scorpions? :rofl1:
I've done this several times already since I've moved to the desert.
 
Igofar said:
The only time I don't like changing tires is when your 100 miles out in the desert, surrounded by cactus, on a narrow, rocky trail, with no cell signal, one bottle of water, and its 104 degrees out with no shade, and oh yeah, did I mention the ants and scorpions? :rofl1:
Click to expand...

Don't forget the swarm of bees.
 
Shawn K said:
EXACTLY why I do my own maintenance. The ONLY other person I've ever let service my bikes is my father, who's a 50+ year veteran motorcycle mechanic, a former certified Honda Pro technician, and the only person I know who's more anal retentive about service work than I am (with the possible exception of Larry). ;)

I wouldn't trust the average shop mechanic to tighten the caps on my valve stems.
Click to expand...
Were you describing me or your father :rofl1:
 
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