I am thinking of changing the tires for my bike but am not sure how hard it is. Can you just buy a couple cheapo tire irons to remove the tire or do you need something more fancy like a bead breaking device which I saw at harbor freight for a reasonable price: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=98875
Changing Motorcycle Tires
- Thread starter slushie07
- Start date
Aetsh
Coast to Coast
slushie07 said:
I guess it would depend if you had tubed, or tubeless tires.
I have tubed, and changed my front with just some large metal spoons (Acting as tire levers)
I can't speak for the back, nor for tubeless tires, but I would imagine on a tubeless, you would have to break the bead like on a car tire.
At twenty bucks the beadbreaker is a cheap tool to have around the shed, If you know how to change a tyre
go for it, I always change my own tyres because I know i will look after the chrome or powdercoating on my
rims , which is not always the case at a shop no matter how much they tell you they will look after it
Anyway the trick is never take too big a bite when levering and use rim protectors ,if its a tubed tyre i find it
quite easy to roll the tyres back on with a little detergent smeared on the rim no need for a lever at all, it's always harder
getting them off , than putting them on.
go for it, I always change my own tyres because I know i will look after the chrome or powdercoating on my
rims , which is not always the case at a shop no matter how much they tell you they will look after it
Anyway the trick is never take too big a bite when levering and use rim protectors ,if its a tubed tyre i find it
quite easy to roll the tyres back on with a little detergent smeared on the rim no need for a lever at all
, it's always harder getting them off , than putting them on.
Before you go investing in tools to do this, check with the outfit you're buying your tires from (they're often just as cheap locally as through online stores) on how much they'd charge to mount them if you bring the wheels in.
Chances are it will be reasonable and they'll balance them properly. GK has a point on the rims - if you take yours into a shop, who knows what they'll do, but if they're a dealership and work on modern bikes, they'll have the right tools to do it without hurting your rims. Guys who drop $10,000 on their fancy new bikes don't like scratches on their rims either
Chances are it will be reasonable and they'll balance them properly. GK has a point on the rims - if you take yours into a shop, who knows what they'll do, but if they're a dealership and work on modern bikes, they'll have the right tools to do it without hurting your rims. Guys who drop $10,000 on their fancy new bikes don't like scratches on their rims either
