Changed my first motorcycle tire this weekend.

[burkbuilds]

Over the years I've changed a few bicycle tires, but I never did a motorcycle tire before, so this was a first for me. My son-in-law needed a new rear tire on his Honda shadow 750, and I just bought some tire irons and stuff to change my own tires next week, so I told him to come over to my shop and we'd give it a shot. Breaking the bead on his tire was really tough. First we tried stacking it on top of the new tire and just jumping on it (after we'd removed the valve stem from the tube), but we were not able to break it that way. I'd seen a guy use that technique on Youtube, but it didn't work for this tire. Then I decided to wedge a 2 x 4 under a cabinet base and put a block of wood under it, on top of the tire next to the rim, but even with a long lever like that and my 210 lbs, it wouldn't break loose, and the 2 x 4 was about to break. So then I wedged a 4 x 4 under the same spot and with me pushing down on the lever, my son-in-law added his weight right above the rim and it finally broke loose, whew! Once we had it broken loose we had to get the first side up and over the rim, well, that was tougher than I thought it would be, even with two new tire irons, it took a lot of effort to finally get it done. Next we had to get the inner tube out and that was pretty easy, but somewhere in all of this we managed to bend the valve stem, so off to the local dealer and plop down $20 for a new inner tube. Finally, getting the other side off the rim was equally tough, but between the two of us we managed to do it. The rim strip looked good so we decided not to replace it. Getting the new tire on the first side was a piece of cake, basically we just "hooked" one edge under the rim and smacked it a couple of times with our hands and then one good push with a boot and it was on. Next goes the new inner tube and it also went in easily. We made sure it wasn't being pinched as we wrestled the last side of the tire onto the rim, which took a lot of effort, but wasn't to bad. We aired it up and everything seated fine, then we balanced it by putting the axle through it and setting each side of the axle on a concrete block stood up on end. The heavy side would go to the bottom and we added weights to the opposite side until the tire would stay put no matter where we rotated it to, that seemed to work pretty well, and was a technique recommended by my friend who taught at a motorcycle repair school for many years, and later served as a service manager for a local dealership. We got the tire back on the bike, adjusted the chain and brakes and Raymond did a test run on it and it did fine. He rode several places later that night and finally parked the bike about 2 AM. The next morning, the tire was flat! Crap! :??: I hooked up my trailer and went and got him and brought the bike back to my shop. Along the way, I decided to stop at Harbor Freight and plop down about $150 for a manual tire changing stand and a motorcycle tire adapter for it. We pulled the tire and checked the tube and found two pin hole size holes, they corresponded to two nicks on the inside of the rim, which we probably put there when removing the original tire. So, we filed the nicks smooth, checked the rim carefully for any other rough spots and put a new $20 tube in and remounted. I've got to say, the Harbor freight tire changer worked really well at both breaking the bead and helping us mount/dismount the tire from the rim. It was a lot faster and easier to do with this tool and we didn't mess anything up while using it.
If you've read this far you are probably aware that we spent a lot more money doing this than it would have cost to pay the dealer to do it. However, I feel pretty confident that I can change my own tires now and do a good job of it without having to pay the dealer in the future, so eventually, it should work to my advantage, plus, I just like doing things myself whenever possible. I get a lot more pleasure out of doing a job for myself, than I do paying someone else to do it for me. I also think I can change my own trailer tires now and even replace the spare tire on my truck without any problems, so I kinda like that too. As for my car and truck tires, I'll probably continue to have them professionally installed and spin balanced, but for trailers and spares, and my motorcycle tires, I'll do them myself. :2tup:

[blaine]

Excellent post.Thanks for the "How-to".

[BillInGA]

Outstanding! :2tup:

I've watched some videos on changing motorcycle tires on YouTube. Some folks like to use 3 tire irons - it prevents having to scoot an iron around the rim under pressure. They also use talcum powder on the tubes and Windex as a lubricant to help get the new tire on the rim.

[Water Warrior 2]

Nice write up. Buy the tire changer first to avoid work and flats. Actually I have never changed a bike tire in all my life. I always found it easier to pay some one else with more patience and experience.
Talcum powder is a good way to help the tube to nestle into it's new home. Tires themselves should be lubed with a special tire lube to help them over the rim. Some folks use soapy water but that will tend to leave a slippery residue which sometimes allows the tire to rotate on the wheel. That will shear off the valve stem quite nicely. Instant flat.
Oh, before I forget. Do not tighten up the valve stem nut real tight. Just kinda snug and no more. You can pull the stem loose from the tube. Don't ask me how I know.

[bonehead]

I figure 3 tires and you break even. Start doing them on the side and make a little extra $$$.