Tire mounting DIY?

[swinada]

my new to me Tenere came with pretty much used up Mitas E-07's but also with a set of almost brand new metzeler tourance exp's (back is new, front looks like it has been used a little bit.) I already purchased a set of new 07's but i'm thinking my first trips will mostly be highway so considering to mount the Tourance EXP's for now.
I'm used of changing tires from my KLR's but these seem to be a little stiffer and less giving. Do you guys mount your own tires or do you go to the shop to have them mounted? Any tips?
How about balancing? I never bothered to really balance the KLR wheels but this bike probably needs it a little more. any experience with tire Balancing Beads ?

 

[RCinNC]

I mount mine with tire levers. I break the bead with a Motion Pro Bead Popper and a rubber mallet. I do balance mine, with a Mark Parnes balancer on a homemade jig, but I do that more out of habit than necessity. I've been tempted to forego balancing, but I don't want the hassle of removing the tire a second time to balance it if I was wrong.

Some tires are more difficult than others, and I once had a Battlewing that I couldn't get onto the rim no matter how I tried. I still think that was more bad technique than any peculiarity with the tire. So far, Shinko 705's have been the easiest ones to get on and off the rim.

My biggest issue has been seating the bead. I think that mostly has been because the tires have been so compressed from being stacked in a warehouse that the sidewalls have been pushed really close together. I only have a small 12 volt compressor, so it doesn't have the ability to push a lot of air into the tire at once, in order to push the sidewalls out a bit so they will seal. I've tried the whole ratchet strap, bounce the tire around the circumference methods, but when I get a tire like that, I end up dropping by a local tire shop, and they will seat the bead for me. In the future, as soon as I get a new tire, I'm going to start wedging blocks of rim-width 2x4's inside the tire to spread out the sidewalls, and let it sit like that til I'm ready to mount it.

I've never used the beads. A guy I know on a V-Strom forum, who's about as knowledgeable about bikes as you could be, uses that Ride-On stuff to balance his tires, and he swears by it.

 

[Davesax36]

I've got 12k miles on some Bridgestone A40s that might mounted on the ground with two 2x4s and some levers. I used dynabeads, since it was my first install at home and a friend had recommended them. I will use them exclusively from here on out. They're just so simple. I do have the harbor freight changer, which I'll use for future installs, but it wasn't set up yet. If you get one of those, get the MOJO blocks so you don't scratch your wheels all up.

 

[Pterodactyl]

I mount my own tires, Spousal Unit's tires, friend's tires, the occasional traveler's and my local BMW club gives tire changes away as door prizes. I have never accepted payment for changing a tire. I use a No Mar changer, Marc Parnell balancer and tire warmers designed for road racers. That being said, you can change tires with just a few tire irons and some patience. It helps if you can get the wheel at waist height and held tight. An old car wheel welded to a metal pole and plate to serve as a base works fine, but the Harbor Frieght changer is a great deal. There are several modifications you can make to the HF device; most can be found on You Tube. HF also sells a balancer that works. Use plenty of lube. It is available at many auto parts stores or just use Murphy's soap. Get two or three good tire irons that are 15-18 inches long and get the tires as warm as you can. Four hands make the job easier than two. And finally, watch some YT videos of other people changing tires.

A machine like a No Mar costs over $500, but what some riders do is share the cost with a group. If four guys go in on the machine the cost is reasonable and No Mar makes a machine that can be used and transported in the reciever of pick-up. It is a tool that sits idle the vast majority of the time, so sharing makes sense.

Good luck.

 

[ABBlender]

Had never changed a tubeless tire before the super Ten...and I did it with the E07 Dakar tires. First time it took a little while and as with many things in life, make sure you use lots of lube (real tire lube) and have patience if things don't go right the first time or two. I use three levers and 4 rim protectors so I don't accidentally scratch a rim. I balance with a marc parns balancer that works great.

When I first mounted them up while getting ready for the summer, the rear tire was great but I noticed a very slow leak on the front tire (a couple psi per week). Rode it this way for the summer, but before a very long trip to the Yukon the next summer I pulled the front off, cleaned the rim/tire and re-mounted on rim and installed on bike.. It held air perfectly and as I was congratulating myself for being awesome I noticed that in my haste I had mounted it backwards. @#$#@. Once I settled down, I got the rim off, tire off, re-cleaned everything, re-mounted the correct way, balanced and back on the bike within an hour. I figured it was good practice.

Tire were perfect for the trip and didn't need to touch pressures or use my changing skills while on the road...but it was nice to know if I had a problem I could handle it.

PS. Make sure the yellow dot and the air stem on the rim are lined up.

 

[worncog]

I have a NoMar but still swapped my tires last week with tire irons just to experience the pain of manually spooning the Mitas E07 Dakars off and on. I used a Motion Pro Bead Breaker and Motion Pro tire irons with the plastic rim protectors. I did prop the wheel on two 4x4's to prevent disc damage. I did balance with a static balancer and stick on weights.

Kind of a prep for the unplanned removal in the middle of nowhere. Like south of Ruidoso or the like.

The Mitas Dakars are very stiff, and my front was a bear to get the bead to seat. It is a trade off for durability off road.

 

[terrysig]

Used to do all my dirt bike tires and take street to dealer. Bought a used coates 220 for 85 bucks and now do everything on it. A simple task. Replaced the coates changing with a no mar and a harbor freight balancer rounds out the operation.

Some 20/80 tires with less stiff sidewalls i but would be easy with irons. Some of the 50/50s seem like they would be a bear but leverage, patience and tire lube (RuGlide) are your friend.

 

[Ironhand]

You really haven't had any tire changing fun until you've had to fight a cold, double rim-locked ice tire with 1500 screws and a liner. "Normal" tire changing is totally doable with a set of long irons, rim protectors, lube, and the proper technique. Warming any tire prior to spooning it on makes life much easier.

 

[WJBertrand]

I too use a Harbor Frieght changer and also a Harbor Frieght wheel balancer. I cannot skip the balancing step due to the in-wheel TPMS sensors. I have the No Mar bar, but it seems I still need to use levers to get the last bit of the second bead over the wheel. So Far I've changed the OEM Battlewings to A40s to Anakee IIIs. The A40s were the most difficult, but not too bad. The HF changer has a built in bead breaker that works great.

 

[WJBertrand]

I too use a Harbor Frieght changer and also a Harbor Frieght wheel balancer. I cannot skip the balancing step due to the in-wheel TPMS sensors. I have the No Mar bar, but it seems I still need to use levers to get the last bit of the second bead over the wheel. So Far I've changed the OEM Battlewings to A40s to Anakee IIIs. The A40s were the most difficult, but not too bad. The HF changer has a built in bead breaker that works great.

I throw my new tires out in the sun whilst I dismount the old ones to soften them up. On one cloudy, but otherwise warm, day I put them inside of my closed car to take advantage of the greenhouse effect to warm them. Don't do this. It worked out functionally but unless you like the smell of new tires permeating the interior of your car for the next couple of weeks...

 

[swinada]

thanks for all the tips. I guess i just have to tackle it as i'm to cheap to pay somebody else for doing it. And besides that, I need to know that I can do it too in the middle of nowhere if I have to.
I'm waiting for a sunny day to warm the tires up but the weather does not corporate this year. Hopefully spring comes soon.

 

[shredmeister]

Harbor freight changer for me as well. I highly recommend the Mojo Blocks and Mojo Lever, makes it much easier. Lots of lube too. I'll never go back to tire irons but, to each his own. I use the Harbor Freight wheel balancer with stick on weights.

 

[jbrown]

I'm another HF changer & bubble balancer user, only I made my own mojo-like blocks and mojo-like lever using some delrin plastic. I'm not only too cheap to pay someone to change the tires, I'm too cheap to buy real tools, too!

 

[swinada]

is this what you are talking about?

with this on top?

 

[Brick]

No-Mar tire changer is the way to go. However if you must cheap our and buy the HF... do get No-Mar's mount/demount bar. https://www.nomartirechanger.com great people too!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[rid34fun]

I do it with Motion Pro tire irons and some rim protectors. It reminds me of my high school wrestling days :-\ I use Windex as a lubricant, after I warm the tire, it slips on pretty easy. The key is to get that bead stuck in the depth of the rim on one side, and then the rest goes on pretty easy. If you are putting alot of pressure on the irons, you don't have the bead in well of the rim. Watch some you tube videos, and give it a try, take your time, it is not hard. I made my own balancer using some old ABEC 5 bearings from some inline skates mounted in some angle aluminum and I use two jack stands and the axle in the wheel. Works great. Plus if you ever have to change or patch a tire on the road, you have some experience. Doing it yourself adds to your knowledge and abilities and makes you better. And fighting back the frustration sometimes makes you a better person too!

 

[shredmeister]

Yes, that's it. Bottom pic is with the motorcycle attachment. Google Mojo blocks and get them along with the lever (well worth it). Many mount the stand to a piece of plywood that you would stand on while doing the change, makes things more stable. I made provisions to mount mine to the garage floor when doing tire changes. Be patient and take your time on the first change. There are some good videos you can watch on the internet too.

is this what you are talking about?

with this on top?

 

[steve68steve]

I've always done my own with a combination of tire spoons, lube, patience, effort.


The more you do it, the better/ faster/ easier it gets. My first few changes - despite reading all about it online - were pretty protracted, frustrating episodes. My last change was accomplished in relative ease.


A fancy machine or super duper levers is nice to have, but the important aspects of the job are the seemingly trivial things which you'll be tempted to THINK you can skip. As mentioned already, things like a warm tire, lube, pinching the beads down into the well of the rim (this buys you slack on the other end of the tire to make spooning it over the rim easier/ possible).


If you want to learn how to do it with minimal tools, watch a few youtube vids of guys doing it with minimal tools. You'll get a sense of whether you're struggling too much or on the right track.

 

[nico_yyz]

depending on your needs, you might want to consider something you can take on the road with you.

I live in a condo, so I dont have the room for a full time tire changing rig.

consider this: https://bestrestproducts.com/shop/beadbrakr-tcm/tireiron-beadbrakr-2/

 

[The Mountain]

Sorry for reviving an older thread. Regarding DIY tire changing, my biggest concern is supporting the wheel during the process. If I don't have a tire stand, and need to jerry-rig something to hold the rim off the ground, where should the wheel be supported? In various videos and pictures, I see people supporting the wheel on the spokes and on the rim itself. I don't want to risk bending a rim sidewall, to say nothing of some spokes, and certainly not a brake disc.