ninjette.org - View Single Post - DIY- Changing Tires on the 250R

kkim · December 4th, 2008, 09:31 PM

Clean up the rim a bit and then put the wheel back on the blanket with the brake disk facing up. Lubricate the tire lightly just at the edges of the tire. For mounting the tire, a lot of stuf isn't really needed... in fact, it makes the job a bit dirtier and more difficult if you have too much.

-042.jpg

Look for the directional arrow on the tire and be sure you are mounting the tire in the proper rotation direction. It is a real pisser to mount the tire and find out you've mounted it the wrong way... ask me how I know.

-043.jpg

put the tire over the rim and try to work it over the rim by hand. Some tires will do this, while the stiffer sidewall ones are more difficult. One side of the front tire easily slipped over the rim edge with a little persuasion.

-044.jpg

Just as taking off the tire, position the rim protectors on the edge of the rim

-045.jpg

And just as you did to get the tire off the rim, you work your way around the rim with the tire irons a little at a time until the tire edge is on the rim.

-046.jpg

Screw in the valve core stem

-047.jpg

Then seat the tire by inflating until the air pressure inside pushes the tire edges against the edge of the rim. There will be a loud "pop" as the edges seat against the rim. Do not exceed the max rated pressure of the tire which is written somewhere on the tire itself. If the tire doesn't seat by the max pressure of the tire, deflate, lubricate a bit more, then try again.

-048.jpg

now that we have mounted the tire, it's time to balance it. I've found a cheap, easy way to do this is to put the wheel back on the bike with just the axle running through it and spin the tire. Mark the lowest spot to the ground with a grease pencil when the tire stops. Spin it again and see if it stops at the same place. If it does, you will need to add some weight so the tire will spin and stop at different, random spots. The tire will then be balanced.

-049.jpg

Of course, no project would be complete without doing other stuff "while you are in there", so I greased the bearings with some waterproof wheel bearing grease and tried to fill all cavities with grease so no water could fill empty spaces when ridden in the rain or when the bike was washed. I also greased the front bearing seal area well to stop the dreaded noise some people have experienced. Excuse the poor pics, my hands were filthy at this point and i was trying to shoot pictures holding the camera with it inside a ziplock bag with the lens pointing through a hole.

-050.jpg

After greasing the seals, put in the spacer on the right side and the speedometer drive housing on the left side. There are 2 ridges in the speedometer housing that need to align with a notch in the fork leg when you put the wheel back in so the housing will not rotate.

-051.jpg -052.jpg -053.jpg

Almost done... I grease the axle lightly with a coat of grease to prevent it from oxidizing. I have undone many a front axle only to find they have been corroded in place from years of exposure to water. Grease on the axle prevents this.

-054.jpg

Lift the wheel into place making sure the brake disc slips between the brake pads and the speedometer drive housing and then insert the axle through the forks and wheel. Put the nut on the end of the axle, but don't tighten yet. Spin the wheel and as it spins, grab the front brake and clamp it tight. Do this a few times, tighten the front axle nut to 65 ft/lbs per spec, then lock everything into place with the cotter pin.

-055.jpg

To be truthful, when I tightened the front nut to spec, I just felt it was way too tight. I backed it off a bit to a bout 55ft/lbs, then locked everything down with the cotter pin. At spec, it just seemed too tight and with the cotter pin in there, it's not coming loose. (spec is 65 ft/lbs)

Okay, next is the rear tire...

-056.jpg

(rear has a 17mm/24mm axle/nut, and the torque specs are 72 ft/lbs)

...which I am not going to do.

Suffice to say, changing the rear tire is essentially the same procedure as doing the front once you get the rear wheel off the bike.

The only comment I have is when putting the rear wheel back on, I could not for the life of me get the rear caliper to line up properly while juggling the tire and axle all at the same time. I must have worked on this for a good half hour before I found a solution. I couldn't believe how easy it was to assemble the rear wheel once I tried it. Instead of inserting the axle from the left side of the bike, insert it from the right side and use the axle to keep the brake caliper in place as you line up the rest of the wheel and axle properly.

-057.jpg

So there you have it, how to mount tires on the 250R. if you have any questions post up and I hope I can help to answer them.

Haven't ridden the bike yet, so I have no feedback yet on the tires.

December 4th, 2008, 09:31 PM	#3
kkim Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: Too much.	Clean up the rim a bit and then put the wheel back on the blanket with the brake disk facing up. Lubricate the tire lightly just at the edges of the tire. For mounting the tire, a lot of stuf isn't really needed... in fact, it makes the job a bit dirtier and more difficult if you have too much. -042.jpg Look for the directional arrow on the tire and be sure you are mounting the tire in the proper rotation direction. It is a real pisser to mount the tire and find out you've mounted it the wrong way... ask me how I know. -043.jpg put the tire over the rim and try to work it over the rim by hand. Some tires will do this, while the stiffer sidewall ones are more difficult. One side of the front tire easily slipped over the rim edge with a little persuasion. -044.jpg Just as taking off the tire, position the rim protectors on the edge of the rim -045.jpg And just as you did to get the tire off the rim, you work your way around the rim with the tire irons a little at a time until the tire edge is on the rim. -046.jpg Screw in the valve core stem -047.jpg Then seat the tire by inflating until the air pressure inside pushes the tire edges against the edge of the rim. There will be a loud "pop" as the edges seat against the rim. Do not exceed the max rated pressure of the tire which is written somewhere on the tire itself. If the tire doesn't seat by the max pressure of the tire, deflate, lubricate a bit more, then try again. -048.jpg now that we have mounted the tire, it's time to balance it. I've found a cheap, easy way to do this is to put the wheel back on the bike with just the axle running through it and spin the tire. Mark the lowest spot to the ground with a grease pencil when the tire stops. Spin it again and see if it stops at the same place. If it does, you will need to add some weight so the tire will spin and stop at different, random spots. The tire will then be balanced. -049.jpg Of course, no project would be complete without doing other stuff "while you are in there", so I greased the bearings with some waterproof wheel bearing grease and tried to fill all cavities with grease so no water could fill empty spaces when ridden in the rain or when the bike was washed. I also greased the front bearing seal area well to stop the dreaded noise some people have experienced. Excuse the poor pics, my hands were filthy at this point and i was trying to shoot pictures holding the camera with it inside a ziplock bag with the lens pointing through a hole. -050.jpg After greasing the seals, put in the spacer on the right side and the speedometer drive housing on the left side. There are 2 ridges in the speedometer housing that need to align with a notch in the fork leg when you put the wheel back in so the housing will not rotate. -051.jpg -052.jpg -053.jpg Almost done... I grease the axle lightly with a coat of grease to prevent it from oxidizing. I have undone many a front axle only to find they have been corroded in place from years of exposure to water. Grease on the axle prevents this. -054.jpg Lift the wheel into place making sure the brake disc slips between the brake pads and the speedometer drive housing and then insert the axle through the forks and wheel. Put the nut on the end of the axle, but don't tighten yet. Spin the wheel and as it spins, grab the front brake and clamp it tight. Do this a few times, tighten the front axle nut to 65 ft/lbs per spec, then lock everything into place with the cotter pin. -055.jpg To be truthful, when I tightened the front nut to spec, I just felt it was way too tight. I backed it off a bit to a bout 55ft/lbs, then locked everything down with the cotter pin. At spec, it just seemed too tight and with the cotter pin in there, it's not coming loose. (spec is 65 ft/lbs) Okay, next is the rear tire... -056.jpg (rear has a 17mm/24mm axle/nut, and the torque specs are 72 ft/lbs) ...which I am not going to do. Suffice to say, changing the rear tire is essentially the same procedure as doing the front once you get the rear wheel off the bike. The only comment I have is when putting the rear wheel back on, I could not for the life of me get the rear caliper to line up properly while juggling the tire and axle all at the same time. I must have worked on this for a good half hour before I found a solution. I couldn't believe how easy it was to assemble the rear wheel once I tried it. Instead of inserting the axle from the left side of the bike, insert it from the right side and use the axle to keep the brake caliper in place as you line up the rest of the wheel and axle properly. -057.jpg So there you have it, how to mount tires on the 250R. if you have any questions post up and I hope I can help to answer them. Haven't ridden the bike yet, so I have no feedback yet on the tires.