First tire change

[triman11427]

I'm about ready to change the tires on my bike, which I've never done on this bike. In the past I had a dealer do it but this time I'd like to try it myself. I'm not sure how its done although I ride mountain and road bikes for 25 years and change those tires regularly. I don't have the proper tools yet but I'm willing to invest in some. I'm looking for suggested tools to make this process painless. If I need to balance the wheels following the changes how do I go about it? I see my local dealer gets about $150 labor to do the change for both wheels. Is this a fair price? Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[autoteach]

It is a two hour job total. So, I would say that is about right. Some give you a better deal if you buy the tires with them, but I would say that you are probably looking at retail plus 150, or about 450-500 plus tax.

 

[Don in Lodi]

And it's usually more economical if you carry in your rims already off the bike...

 

[~TABASCO~]

I'm about ready to change the tires on my bike, which I've never done on this bike. In the past I had a dealer do it but this time I'd like to try it myself. I'm not sure how its done although I ride mountain and road bikes for 25 years and change those tires regularly. I don't have the proper tools yet but I'm willing to invest in some. I'm looking for suggested tools to make this process painless. If I need to balance the wheels following the changes how do I go about it? I see my local dealer gets about $150 labor to do the change for both wheels. Is this a fair price? Any thoughts are appreciated.

What tire did you decide on ? Come on over, Ill throw them on for ya ! ::008::

 

[Poohbear]

I'm surprised at the cost of tyres in the USA. In the UK the labout cost at a tyre specialist is usually around £20-£25 ($32-$40) per wheel which includes removing the wheel from the bike, change and balance and re-fit. For a set of Michelin Tourance EXP you'd expect to pay less than £200 ($316) fitted on a ride in ride out basis. You only save yourself around £15 ($24) per wheel by taking the wheels off yourself but I prefer to do it anyway because I know it's been done correctly and I get a good look at a few other things while I'm at it.

 

[triman11427]

What tire did you decide on ? Come on over, Ill throw them on for ya ! ::008::

Hah, I haven't decided. If I have you do it ill need a new set by the time I get home

 

[offcamber]

And it's usually more economical if you carry in your rims already off the bike...

this is what I do....the guy charges about $15 to swap the tires....next time I'm going to have him give me a quote to purchase the tire from him...its nice to keep him in business...

 

[pqsqac]

There is a good thread on tire changes I believe it's in the tech folder. No special tools needed you can use the six sided back end of a socket to remove the front axle. Also as long as you don't disturb your current weights on the rim and place the valve stems on the painted dot on the new tire, balancing is usually not required. I mounted my own using our tire machine at the M/C safety center and no vibes at all. Here is one link for rear drive maintenance during a tire change.

http://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?topic=4713.0

Here is the rear tire change thread: http://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?topic=5275.0

I'm about ready to change the tires on my bike, which I've never done on this bike. In the past I had a dealer do it but this time I'd like to try it myself. I'm not sure how its done although I ride mountain and road bikes for 25 years and change those tires regularly. I don't have the proper tools yet but I'm willing to invest in some. I'm looking for suggested tools to make this process painless. If I need to balance the wheels following the changes how do I go about it? I see my local dealer gets about $150 labor to do the change for both wheels. Is this a fair price? Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[greg the pole]

get some tire irons, rim protectors, and dyna beads, a rounded shovel, and away you go!
Mind you, it's a pain in the ass, especially on street tires (17" with low profile tires)
I do it, since i'm lazy and cheap. I have to drive 20km one way to drop them off, at $30-$40 bucks each, then come back and pick them up.
Next time I do a tire at home i'll do a pictorial, and write up, sweat, bloody knuckles and tears ::015::

 

[Ironhand]

get some tire irons, rim protectors, and dyna beads, a rounded shovel, and away you go!
Mind you, it's a pain in the ass, especially on street tires (17" with low profile tires)
I do it, since i'm lazy and cheap. I have to drive 20km one way to drop them off, at $30-$40 bucks each, then come back and pick them up.
Next time I do a tire at home i'll do a pictorial, and write up, sweat, bloody knuckles and tears ::015::

Add a "Bead Popper" and a dead-blow hammer to break the bead, and go to work. Changing tires is painfully simple. Anyone can do it.

 

[triman11427]

You had me up until the rounded shovel. What would I need that for?

get some tire irons, rim protectors, and dyna beads, a rounded shovel, and away you go!
Mind you, it's a pain in the ass, especially on street tires (17" with low profile tires)
I do it, since i'm lazy and cheap. I have to drive 20km one way to drop them off, at $30-$40 bucks each, then come back and pick them up.
Next time I do a tire at home i'll do a pictorial, and write up, sweat, bloody knuckles and tears ::015::

 

[greg the pole]

SHOVEL=BEAD BREAKER
works awesome. I have a rouded one my wife uses in the garden ::013::,
works very well, I break the bead in two places, on both sides of the tire.
I have bought dynabeads in the past, I will be buyin some Counteract balancing beads.
I'll try to do a write up shortly, if I can 'practice' on one of my friends tires

 

[Thunderpig]

I use this

http://www.motionpro.com/motorcycle/partno/08-0519/

Works very well.

 

[EricV]

I'm about ready to change the tires on my bike, which I've never done on this bike. In the past I had a dealer do it but this time I'd like to try it myself. I'm not sure how its done although I ride mountain and road bikes for 25 years and change those tires regularly. I don't have the proper tools yet but I'm willing to invest in some. I'm looking for suggested tools to make this process painless. If I need to balance the wheels following the changes how do I go about it? I see my local dealer gets about $150 labor to do the change for both wheels. Is this a fair price? Any thoughts are appreciated.

A lot of dealers over charge for this. If it takes someone 2 hours to change a couple of tires, including the time to pull the wheels off this bike, they are incompetent and should not be allowed to use tools. they need more practice or are unfamiliar with the bike.

The wheels come off in 10 minutes on this bike if I'm hustling, 15 if I'm not in a hurry. With a modern rim clamp tire machine, (not a manual model), the actual tire swap is very quick. A little more time to balance the wheel. One of my local dealers charges $9 per wheel to dismount/mount and balance. The other one across the street charges $27 each, off the bike in both cases. Guess which one I go to. At those prices it's just not worth the cost of a manual tire changer and associated tools. And have no interest in dicking around with tire spoons on the garage floor.

Even the expensive dealer only charges about $100 to do a set of wheels on the bike.

I've had tire changes done so fast at dealers that the wheel was waiting for me by the time I paid for it, and there wasn't a line. That wasn't the best balance job, but I was in a hurry and they were closing. I appreciated them just jumping on it and doing it.

If you just want to do your own, go for it. There are a lot of options, depending on how much you want to invest in tools or how little. It gets easier with practice, or so I'm told. And I disagree about not needing to balance them after a tire change. Lots of tires don't have a dot, and you do sometimes get a tire that requires a lot more weight or some shifting around the rim, than the previous one did. It pays off in tread wear to check the balance.

You might just pull the wheels and call some of the other dealers in your area. Any shop can change a tubeless tire w/o much trouble. Some just want more than others.

 

[BaldKnob]

Triman, if your tire changing skills are not up to snuff, sometimes it is worth the money having someone else do them. Your time is money. That being said, I change mine and found the Anakee II and TrailWings spoon off and on pretty easily. The hardest part was breaking the bead and thanks to Greg we have the shovel in our tire change arsenal. Now the K-60's... they were a bitch. Much stiffer sidewall. Great tire.

 

[snakebitten]

Changed my front K60 saturday. Heard they could be a pain.

Took my time. Used the typical lubricate\pry bar technique. Much easier than I was expecting. Never broke a sweat.

I suspect the 150 is tougher than the 110 though. Good thing I'm 12,000 miles from finding out!

 

[BaldKnob]

I suspect the 150 is tougher than the 110 though. Good thing I'm 12,000 miles from finding out!

You are correct, sir. The rear is the mother of the two.

 

[greg the pole]

The rear Shinto was a pain to take off. Thaw the hardest part for me.
Once the new tire is on, lots of tire lube on the rim and tire.
My next tire will be a mitas Dakar
Better life and less flex than the k60

 

[iridemotorbikes]

With a garage full of bikes an my lady regularly burning the rear tire of her Ducati I went with a No Mar changer many years ago-- easy, painless and fun to use.. You will instantly become a popular guy amongst your riding buddy's. lol


http://www.nomartirechanger.com/category_s/37.htm

 

[markjenn]

Tire changing is cave man mechanics - not terribly difficult, but sensitive to good technique. And you need a few somewhat specialized tools which can be very simple/homemade or very elaborate, depending on your budget.

If you don't want to invest in the effort/tools to mount your own tires, removing the wheels and taking your mail-order tires and wheels into a cooperative shop is a good compromise. But not all shops are supportive of mounting tires they haven't sold. Some can be downright hostile, in fact.

If you want to tackle the entire job and do it without buying a tire changing machine (like the NoMar), this is the best tutorial I've run across:

http://www.clarity.net/adam/tire-changing.html

A lot of guys like the Harbor Freight setup, but I've tried it and thought it was mostly a piece of crap. I prefer my homebrew setup which is:

- a small Craftsman shop air compressor
- a junkyard 14" steel car wheel with split garden hose protecting the wheel from scratches and using a long threaded rod with wingnuts to mount it to my bench
- a homemade 2x4 bead breaker mounted on the wall
- 3x 16" MotionPro irons (highly recommended - good tire irons are key)
- 3x plastic rim protector strips
- Ru-Glyde mounting lubricant
- a Metzeler wheel balancing stand with appropriate adapters/weights.

Not including the air compressor, I invested maybe $150 initially to get setup, but I've probably changed a hundred tires and most of the shops in my area now get $40 or so per wheel to mount a tire you bring in (if they'll do it at all). So it adds up and it is always nice not to have to run back and forth to the shop.

All this being said, I've never enjoyed changing tires. As I said at the beginning, it's cave man mechanics and if you have a shop close by that will mount tires at a reasonable cost, I'd suggest you just use them and keep your hands clean.

- Mark