I'm a pretty hands on kinda guy. I was thinking of changing my own tires because shops around me want $100 and off the bike. I was sure I could do it until I talked to a buddy who tried his dirt bike tires. He said he gave up and bent his rim...! If I get 3 wheel protectors and 3 irons; what are the changes of me bending the rim? $100 seems steep but I'm sure a rim is more

$100 and off the bike is ridiculous. If it was cheaper I might say otherwise, but for that I'd say do it yourself. The thing is that once you learn, you never have to pay anyone to do it for you in the future.

I've been changing my own tires for years. With the proper tools it can actually be pretty easy. Harbor Freight even has a tire changer that should make the job a snap. I still use old fashioned tire irons though, they work well enough and are also portable btw. Which can come in handy on the road.

So IMO it's a skill that any motorcyclist should learn.

Check this out. For less than $100 you can have all your riding buddies paying you to change their tires. :thumbup:

http://www.harborfreight.com/Portable-Tire-Changer-69686.html#.Ux_JEvldXng

http://www.harborfreight.com/Motorcycle-Tire-Changer-Attachment-60810.html#.Ux_Ja_ldXng

Maybe ill give it a go. How do you balance them? Dynobeads front and rear?

I'm a pretty hands on kinda guy. I was thinking of changing my own tires.............If I get 3 wheel protectors and 3 irons; what are the chances of me bending the rim?.......

Zero; do it !!! :)

Use plenty of rubber lubricant and protect those brake discs from forcing them against the ground.

Please, read these:

http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=10296

http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=93076

Maybe ill give it a go. How do you balance them? Dynobeads front and rear?

I don't even bother balancing anymore, but you just need some jackstands and stick on wheel weights.

So as long as I put the lightest part at the valve stem I should be ok not balancing?

Thanks moto :). Just seen that post. And thank you ninjamunky. All great info and fast!!!

Common Ryan!!! Balance those tires brah! You know it only takes a few minutes.

Yeah, it's usually marked on the tire so I just put it opposite of the valve stem. I used to balance my tires, it's easy, but after hearing that it wasn't really necessary with moto tires, I stopped.

Haven't had any problems, or irregular wear. I figure if they were out of balance you should feel shaking or something, but even without balancing all the tires I've changed rode smooth as silk.

If you're gonna ride bikes for a few years and you can do most of your own maintenance, you can (and should) change your own (and your friiends') tires.

If I can do it, then you ought to be able to, too.

Common Ryan!!! Balance those tires brah! You know it only takes a few minutes.

Yeah I know, and I even have a huge box of stick onwheel weights that i will probably never even use now. :doh:

If I noticed a difference I would, I guess I just haven't gotten a tire that was unbalanced enough to notice.

I'm thinking I should start selling those weight on Ebay or something, seriously, I've got like 500 of em or something like that.

How many weights? And how much you looking to get?

I don't know man. This was before I knew that you could buy just a few weights at a time. I went to NAPA, and all they had was a big box, thing weighs like 20lbs. Probably wouldn't even be worth it due to price of shipping.

Motorcycle tar weights are normally dispensed in quarther ounce (7 gram) increments. Car tar weights are usually heavier.

These aren't the big car ones that clamp onto your rim. They are the small stick on ones, just a big box of em. Is check the weight of em, but I'm on vacation right now.

... I'm on vacation right now.

Lucky you!

I use leather gloves to protect the rim. Effective and cheap.

On tubleless tires I use Ride-on. Balances the tire and has kept me from at least one flat that I know of. http://www.amazon.com/Ride-On-Tire-Balancer-Sealant-41208/dp/B0016680T0

What's that shortest spot you'd recommend?

^^ I can tell you that we changed out several tires with irons on the floor. It was not fun. They rode like champs and balanced out no issues, used them on the track the next day. But not fun.

do it yourself! My first time changing the tires I did it with an iron and two longish flathead screwdrivers. Total pain in the ass but doable. The plastic cover on five star notebooks works great as a rim protector (also pretty great for shimming the cush), and you can use the new/old tire as a table of sorts to do it on.

The only real problem I had was getting the bead to seat. A part of me really wanted to go with the starter fluid trick(cause you know, fire and stuff) but I didn't want to risk damaging anything, so I just took it to the closest tire shop and they sealed the bead in about two seconds for free.

Oh, and just get some dyna beads. I tried the balancing method on the wiki page but it was hopeless.

I do my own tires, and it's really easy. There's no magic to what they do for $100, which is crazy, which is what I was quoted years ago, which is why I've been doing my own ever since. Plus, you'll feel like a man afterwards, unlike last night. hazaa!

The other reason I change my own tires is because most places make you buy the tires from them. The iron pony near me does it for a reasonable price, but their tire selection sucks.

I've done a few by hand (irons and 2x4s) but upgraded to a manual then to a pneumatic machine.

When your mounting and dismounting keep the bead of the tire in the center of the rim (drop center) this allows you to pull the bead further away from the rim as your mounting/dismounting.

Dismounting pull the bead up to the drop center.

Mounting push the bead down into the drop center.

Breaking the bead I would use 2 2x4's on to support the rim and keep the rotor off the ground, use another 2x4 on the edge of the tire and jump on it to break the bead...

When setting the bead after the tire is on keep the valve core out, this allows a higher volume of air to enter and can help with setting the bead. I've had to put as much as 70psi in a tire before the bead would seat and this is even after several attempts at lower psi and re-lubing the beads. I eventually bought a tire bead blaster but have only had to use it on harley/cruiser tires.

Check your local forums and craigslist, I advertise tire changes on there and make decent side job money.

I don't balance my own wheels either, but use a static balancer to do customers wheels.

Thanks for all the info guys. Couple more quick questions.

1: is dish soap and water or to use as lube or does the soap eat the rubber?

2: I bought 3 wheel protectors, 3 16" irons, two tires ( haha), dunno beads (if needed) and a valve core tool. Anything missing?

3: is there any sure fire way to bend the rim that I should avoid?

Thanks for all the info guys. Couple more quick questions.

1: is dish soap and water or to use as lube or does the soap eat the rubber?

2: I bought 3 wheel protectors, 3 16" irons, two tires ( haha), dunno beads (if needed) and a valve core tool. Anything missing?

3: is there any sure fire way to bend the rim that I should avoid?

I've never heard of soap eating away rubber and have always used water/soap mix.

How are you going to break the bead?

Try and jump on it with a garden spade haha

I admire you guys that change tires with a couple tire spoons on the grass. But
I'm kind of a wuss, so I decided to get some specialty tools.

I decided to start changing my own tires in February 2005, when I found a big
cut (at least that's what it appeared to be, but I now know it was a
delamination failure) on my front Metzler. Local independent tire shops didn't
have it in stock (about a one week lead time), friendly local dealer had the
tire, but it was $157 mounted and balanced if I brought the wheel in.

The dealer had it, I wanted it, and I didn't want to wait a week for a tire, so
I bought it. (8 months later, it exhibited the same delamination failure as did
the previous tire, but that's fodder for a dreaded tire thread, rather than this
tire-changing thread).

I don't like paying $50+ dollars extra per tire, and I also don't like having to
drive to the shop, drop stuff off, wait around and/or entertain myself for the
good part of an hour, and then drive home for something that I might be able to
do myself in less time…

So I got together with a couple of other guys who are similarly minded and we
started acquiring tire changing stuff. Since that time, I've changed 60 or so
bike tires, with no chips or dents. Changing car tires with the items listed
below is really easy after having done a few motorcycle tires.

My thoughts on various products (acquired over several years by several people)
and techniques are as follows:

Harbor Freight tire changer with motorcycle wheel adaptor:
Expected HF fit and finish. Does the job. Does it better and a lot easier if
it's bolted to the floor. Recommend Mojo blocks. Also works well for car tires.
Have never used the included HF mount-demount bar on MC wheels, as I don't want
to scratch a wheel.

No-Mar mount-demount bar:
Excellent for tire removal. Terrible for tire installation.

No-Mar Spoonbars:
Will install any difficult tire if you have at lest 3 of them. Haven't needed
them since acquiring a Mojo lever. Could maybe mount a tire without the other
tools listed here. Maybe.

Irwin Quick-Grips:
Handy for holding tire bead in rim center groove opposite the tire "spoonbar"
(see above). Haven't needed them since acquiring a Mojo lever.

Mojo blocks:
They bolt onto the Harbor Freight tire changer and totally prevent the tire
changer chipping wheel paint. They also grip your buddy's R1200GS spoked tubless
wheels with the wide rim. But the Mojo blocks are slippery and strapping a wheel
spoke to the Harbor Freight tire changer prevents the wheel from spinning and
really helps.

Mojo lever:
Ok for tire removal. Excellent for tire installation. Haven't needed the tire
irons or the No-Mar bar since getting this item.

Beemer Balancer:
Essentially rollerblade bearings on metal plates. I made my own stand out of
2x4's and a piece of scrap plywood. Ordered it with a nice straight shaft, a
pair of stepped cylinders for front wheels, and a multi-use BMW rear wheel
adapter. Everything works great, except for the rear wheel adapter, which has
just enough slop so as to provide questionable rear wheel balancing (my opinion,
your results my vary). Rear wheel adapter no longer used since a coworker who
bought a No-Mar cone set joined our little tire changing co-op.

Quickie Kit (from Beemer Balancer):
Well worth the $13. 5 gram magnets with sticky backing that you temporarily
stick to your wheel that's on that balancer, along with several weights that are
10 to 25 grams each that stick to the magnet. Allows me to achieve accurate
weight location and amount in a minute or two.

No-Mar cone set ("cone pack 6"):
An acme-threaded shaft and cones that has allowed accurate slop-free balancing
of every rear wheel we've thrown at it.

General observations on amateur tire changing:
Use tire lube on the tire beads and rims.
If it's warm and sunny, set the new tires in the sun while you're demounting the
old tires.
If it's cold, let the new tires sit in your heated house for a day or 2 (they
smell bad, though, and the outgassing is probably not good for you).
Wear eye protection and ear protection just in case when seating the beads.
Wear old clothes, because you will get filthy.
When changing tires with (for) friends or neighbors, make it a social event:
have a cup of coffee or a beer or two while working.
Honda wheels seem to require less weight for static balance than do BMW wheels
(especially GS wire wheels). Kawasaki wheels are not quite as consistent as Honda wheels, but require less weight that some BMW wheels I’ve seen.
Tube type tires are a PITA.

+1 for the heat thing^
I've been using dish soap because I was too lazy to get real tire lube, but I've been actively ignoring the fact that it can ruin your rim. (On a side note, the open bowl of soap that I just sort of left sitting on my counter afterwards attracted and captured like 15 fruit flies).
also, I assume you're using the wiki page, but there are tons of kickass guides on youtube as well. it'll give you an idea of how much force people are using with the irons.
also, I used a clamp to break the bead and it worked like a charm, good luck with your spade haha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6FD_lXPYbM

I do it pretty much the same as the video.

Only thing really different is that I made a nice square out of flat 2x4's to set the wheel on. Big enough to sit outside of the rotor, and small enough that the wheel doesn't fall into/off it. It also makes it easier to find when I need it, and there is a small chance of me accidentally using it for something else on a another project.

A long ass 2x4 is good for adding leverage when breaking the bead. If you don't have exposed wall studs or even a garage, use the hitch of your truck. My old place had drywall in the garage, so I just screwed a 2x4 to the wall and used that.

I also use actual rim protectors and not the oil jugs like he uses.