Tire Changer on a Budget

[Andrew Shadow]

If any one is interested in a budget tire changer, have a look at the below. It is not a No-Mar by any means, but it is no where near the price of a No-Mar either, and you are still getting a bead breaker and tire changer.

They go on sale. A friend just picked one up for $179.99 CDN from the below website. He hasn't set it up or used it yet so no comment on how well it works, but he seemed to think that it was going to work just fine. The only comment that he had was that it is to short to be mounted to the floor, it would be to low for his liking. He was going to mount it elevated a little higher up.

The below link is a Canadian company. I am sure that this is another generic made-in-China tool, so certainly it is available in the US as well.

MULTI TIRE changer 4 to 20 inch MTC (20510)

Multi Tire Changer

outilsquebec.com

 

[Uncle Phil]

What's crazy is that Harbor Freight used to sell basically the 'same' machine for $79.99 USD when on sale ...

 

[bdalameda]

I recently bought a MSR BIB Tire changer - similar to the Rabaconda. Some of the rear tires for my Africa Twin have very stiff sidewalls and this tire changer makes changes very easy. You use a different technique than the typical changer with the mount/ demount bar that slides the tire around the rim. This work great though and the leverage to unseat the bead works very well and you simply push the tire right off the rim. I have changed road tire with this as well as the adventure tires. This was originally designed to install the BIB Mousse tubes or tire balls which are incredibly difficult to do. It also comes apart easily and fits into a duffle bag.

Moose Racing Mousse Bib Tire Changer | Parts & Accessories | Rocky Mountain ATV/MC

Shop for Tools, like Moose Racing Mousse Bib Tire Changer at Rocky Mountain ATV/MC. We have the best prices on dirt bike, atv and motorcycle parts, apparel and accessories and offer excellent customer service.

www.rockymountainatvmc.com

 

[Andrew Shadow]

What's crazy is that Harbor Freight used to sell basically the 'same' machine for $79.99 USD when on sale ...

The one that you are probably thinking of is the PITTSBURGH AUTOMOTIVE manual tire changer that was designed for automotive wheels that have a bolt pattern. A motorcycle adapter had to be purchased separately to use it on motorcycle wheels. Quite a few mods were also required, including getting a different mount/dismount bar, if you didn't want your motorcycle wheels all scratched up by it. The company that I linked to also sells that same automotive manual tire changer for $110.00 CDN, not on sale.

The one that I linked to is supposed to be designed for motorcycle wheels that have bearings as opposed to a bolt pattern like automotive wheels have. It supposed to already have protection on the mounting/clamping surfaces to protect the wheel, unlike the automotive one that I believe that you are thinking of.

When I get out to my friend's place, I'll have a good look and see.

 

[Uncle Phil]

The one that you are probably thinking of is the PITTSBURGH AUTOMOTIVE manual tire changer that was designed for automotive wheels that have a bolt patter. A motorcycle adapter had to be purchased separately to use it on motorcycle wheels. Quite a few mods were also required, including getting a different mount/dismount bar, if you didn't want your motorcycle wheels all scratched up by it. The company that I linked to also sells that same automotive manual tire changer for $110.00 CDN, not on sale.

The one that I linked to is supposed to be designed for motorcycle wheels that have bearings as opposed to a bolt pattern like automotive wheels have. It supposed to already have protection on the mounting/clamping surfaces to protect the wheel, unlike the automotive one that I believe that you are thinking of.

When I get out to my friend's place, I'll have a good look and see.

Yep, that was the one - I broke mine several times and had to weld it back up.
But they would run them on sale (as Harbor Freight often does) and it was quite the deal.
About one tire change front and back and it paid for itself.
I've got one of them fancy air machines now ...

 

[Erdoc48]

My brother in Colorado has the Harbor Freight one from years ago, but what he did was to install Delrin ends on his tire bar and on the bead breaker. Never scratched a wheel with those installed. Last year, I bought via eBay the Olmax Motors tire installer and it works well (it’s a floor mounted model- I dropped 2 concrete anchors in the garage floor and basically bolt it to the floor when ready to use it. The tire bar has the ’duckbill’ attachment like a garage tire machine (so a little different than No Mar or similar). It was $350 or so, but I got it with the tire balancer as well. I noted it’s a lot less difficult to install tires with the spring plastic clips that hold the wheel in the drop center

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MFNJJVK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1