changing own tires

truemd

truemd

Well-known member
Does anyone have experience changing thier own tires using a manual tire changer? I see them on ebay for about $200...I go through track and street tires regularly and so doing the job yourself would be most convenient.

thanks in advance for any experience....
 
It's very easy changing your own tire! There's a few Youtube videos that show you what to do. The hardest part is breaking the bead to be honest.. everything else is cake after that.

I've tried driving a car tire over the sidewall of the motorcycle tire and it wouldn't break the bead. I ended up taking them to a tire shop and asking them just to break the bead and they did free of charge.

You'll also want to balance your tire too.. which is easy, but you might have to fabricate something with bearings. I purchased this: http://www.marcparnes.com/Honda_Motorcycle_Wheel_Balancer.htm#HOV
 
You will find many different ways of doing this. This is how I break the bead:
(1) Remove valve core
(2) Apply soapy water to the rim
img8813e.jpg


(3) Gently push down:
img8816m.jpg

The small 2x4 has a 45 degree cut on both ends. This helps to keep the wood close to the rim so it doesn't push on the sidewall.

(4) Use tire spoons to remove the tire
(5) Coat tire bead and rim with soapy water
(6) Spoon on the new tire
(7) Put in valve core or maybe new valve stem
(8) Seat bead with compressed air
(9) Balance them like this, with stick on weights from Motovan
balancer.jpg


Note: The rim should be balanced with the rotors on. The pic was taken to illustrate the set up.
 
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I use a really big C-clamp to break the bead. If you've got space to store the manual tire changer that's good, but you don't really need one if you aren't doing tire changes all the time. I use an old 14" or 15" steel car wheel. The rotors of the motorcycle wheel fit within the car wheel, and everything is bolted down to my workbench using a long threaded rod. http://www.clarity.net/~adam/tire-changing.html
 
Franko! said:
You will find many different ways of doing this. This is how I break the bead:
(1) Remove valve core
(2) Apply soapy water to the rim
img8813e.jpg


(3) Gently push down:
.
Click to expand...

Thats pretty ghetto, but I'm sure it gets the job done. I've never break the bead yet, but I think I will just use the C-clamp I have already.

I still need to source valve stems and wheel weights
 
RockerGuy said:
Thats pretty ghetto, but I'm sure it gets the job done. I've never break the bead yet, but I think I will just use the C-clamp I have already.

I still need to source valve stems and wheel weights
Click to expand...

pop by, i will show you how i do it..
 
if you have some scrape flat bar and some tube steel you can weld up a manual bead breaker pretty fast as well. I'll take a pic of mine at some point soonish.
 
It works for me and takes 30 seconds to break the bead.
The last time I used a c-clamp it took forever, stretched the bead and the side wall. Plus it kept slipping away from the bead.

Like I said, there are many ways to do this...
 
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frekeyguy said:
pop by, i will show you how i do it..
Click to expand...

u had demonstrated before. But my garage does not have wood support as you do. Might have to build something out of a 2x4
 
I use the same 2x4 wood method.But my wood has a door hinge holding the to bits together and i use my wifes car as the leverage point.Leave the new tire in the hot sun to make it more pliable.
 
I've done the "drive over the sidewall with a car" method and it worked for my rear tire, although it was a bit tricky.
I don't want to use the same method for my front tire because it's much narrower than the rear and I really don't want to mess up my rim haha.

I am LOVING the 2x4 method displayed by Franko and honestly I am surprised I did not think of that. Having a long 2x4 like that as leverage will make it so easy for me to finally change my front tire.
I am not quite at the wear indicator but that time will come in about a month. I've been hesitant to take my front wheel off to bring it somewhere because everywhere around me will cost me a lot just to change one tire and I disagree with the prices I've been given.

Thanks for the enlightenment here guys.
And Wingboy's comment of leaving the wheel and tire in the sun for a bit is also a great tip.
 
Wingboy said:
But my wood has a door hinge holding the to bits together .
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. I was thinking of using bolts and cutting notches in the wood, but I think the hinge is a much better method
 
RockerGuy said:
u had demonstrated before. But my garage does not have wood support as you do. Might have to build something out of a 2x4
Click to expand...

4x4 or brace 2x4's togeather and create a external frame......2x4's are cheap.....basically you will have a frame
 
coyo said:
A great setup... but not cheap!
Click to expand...
I've used it five times in the last two years so I figure it's already paid for itself plus I know I will have no problem selling it when I no longer need it.I don't regret buying it for one second.The bottom line is you get what you pay for.A thousand times better than the made in China Harbour Freight setup.
 
Bobo said:
I've used it five times in the last two years so I figure it's already paid for itself plus I know I will have no problem selling it when I no longer need it.I don't regret buying it for one second.The bottom line is you get what you pay for.A thousand times better than the made in China Harbour Freight setup.
Click to expand...

Mine paid for itself in 3 months. Not riding the track this year i havent used it since April but i won't sell it.
 
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