Tyre changing gizmos

blade1

Choice of tyre will also have a say in how hard or easy the job will be for you.
I've seen more than one person struggle to get a Bridgestone on even with the best of gear.

On the flipside, I bought a set of Dunlop Mutants a while back and they nearly fell onto the wheels!

Richard tea

blade1 wrote: »

Choice of tyre will also have a say in how hard or easy the job will be for you.
I've seen more than one person struggle to get a Bridgestone on even with the best of gear.

On the flipside, I bought a set of Dunlop Mutants a while back and they nearly fell onto the wheels!

I get ya. The new PR4's Feel much softer than any tyre I have had before.

serious3

Heidenau k60 had 2 of us sweating and swearing for about 30 mins.....

Richard tea

serious3 wrote: »

Heidenau k60 had 2 of us sweating and swearing for about 30 mins.....

Get a swear jar pop a euro in for every curse. Put it towards your next tyre:p

Max Headroom

serious3 wrote: »

Heidenau k60 had 2 of us sweating and swearing for about 30 mins.....

What page of the Kama Sutra is that one on....did ya use plenty of washing up liquid..or spit..:D

Hotblack Desiato

Octavia Gray Ash wrote: »

It was the done thing that you bought your tyre from the shop, rode home with it over your shoulder and got to changing it with your trusty ol tyre levers.

Back in the day when most bikes had narrow cross-ply tyres. Basically a scaled up bicycle tyre, easy to change with levers.
Modern tyres are wide and hard to get off and on the rims, especially radials as the tread layer is quite stiff.
I once ordered a pair of tyres from some crowd in Fermanagh for a CBR600, got them delivered to work, stepped through them climbed onto the bike and rode home like the Michelin Man :pac: dunno if I'd be able to fit a 17" tyre around my middle these days!! Got a proper shop to fit them though.

Its a serious pain in the hole.

I really don't see the point of doing this yourself. If track day nutters / amateur racers aren't doing it then it's not worth the while of any road rider to do it.

If you were that concerned about being stuck waiting for a shop to get/fit tyres for you then you could always invest in a spare pair of wheels...

Pay the few bob and have a shop do it is my advice.

+1. OP if you're in the Dublin area then just go to Cotters they have very competitive prices to supply & fit Michelins to loose wheels. Dunno what the ride in-ride out price would be, but on a loose wheel I recently got a front PR4 fitted for 132 or so euro.

Richard tea wrote: »

Another benefit will be changing a tyre with only a months life left on it before winters kick in. Then reuse that tyre come the summer. For example I'm changing my front now but there is easily 5 - 7 weeks worth of a commute left on it.

Jaysus. Don't do this. It's not like we have a dry season and a wet season, you can get heavy rainfall in any month of the year so if the tyre is not up to bad weather in the winter it's not up to summer riding either.

gerrowadat

Roughly how long do you end up waiting in cotters? I've only ever done the dealer/loaner bike dealie for an afternoon, rather not end up sitting staring into space for hours if I can.

Richard tea

gerrowadat wrote: »

Roughly how long do you end up waiting in cotters? I've only ever done the dealer/loaner bike dealie for an afternoon, rather not end up sitting staring into space for hours if I can.

1hr 15 mins. There was 3 bikes ahead of me. I must say they do a good job and I don't think they can be beaten on price compared to other motorbike shops. They are just flat out busy answering phones and fitting tyres amongst other things. If time is an issue I would bring them the wheels in the morning and collect them that evening.

Richard tea

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Back in the day when most bikes had narrow cross-ply tyres. Basically a scaled up bicycle tyre, easy to change with levers.
Modern tyres are wide and hard to get off and on the rims, especially radials as the tread layer is quite stiff.
I once ordered a pair of tyres from some crowd in Fermanagh for a CBR600, got them delivered to work, stepped through them climbed onto the bike and rode home like the Michelin Man :pac: dunno if I'd be able to fit a 17" tyre around my middle these days!! Got a proper shop to fit them though.



I really don't see the point of doing this yourself. If track day nutters / amateur racers aren't doing it then it's not worth the while of any road rider to do it.

If you were that concerned about being stuck waiting for a shop to get/fit tyres for you then you could always invest in a spare pair of wheels...



+1. OP if you're in the Dublin area then just go to Cotters they have very competitive prices to supply & fit Michelins to loose wheels. Dunno what the ride in-ride out price would be, but on a loose wheel I recently got a front PR4 fitted for 132 or so euro.



Jaysus. Don't do this. It's not like we have a dry season and a wet season, you can get heavy rainfall in any month of the year so if the tyre is not up to bad weather in the winter it's not up to summer riding either.

Well by those calculations they charge €10 per loose wheel and €20 per wheel if not removed from bike.

Regarding track day nutters etc etc where do they get there tyres changed? If you tell me there is a bloke in a van that changes the tyres on track days your point is null and void.

CJhaughey

I do my own, tyre levers, tyre soap and rim protectors.
If you have owned offroad bikes you'd be well used to it.
Bead breakers are easy to make out of 4x2 and some scrap wood and a few bolts,or you could make one like this which would be a good thing if you are regularly changing tyres.
The more you do the easier it gets.
Don't forget a manual balancer as well.

Max Headroom

Some people want everything done for them these days...cant be arsed to try themselves, or maybe theyre just too "busy"....each to their own i suppose..:)

two wheels good

CJhaughey wrote: »

I do my own, tyre levers, tyre soap and rim protectors.
If you have owned offroad bikes you'd be well used to it.
Bead breakers are easy to make out of 4x2 and some scrap wood and a few bolts,or you could make one like this which would be a good thing if you are regularly changing tyres.
The more you do the easier it gets.
Don't forget a manual balancer as well.

That's nifty! After faffing about with a scissors jack I've been thinking about something similar. If only I had a welder - and some skill.

For balancing here's a nicely-made piece of kit - but from the US unfortunately.

Richard tea

two wheels good wrote: »

That's nifty! Aftering faffing about with a scissors jack I've been thinking about something similar. If only I had a welder - and some skill.

For balancing here's a nicely-made piece of kit - but from the US unfortunately.

I have my eye on this one https://m.louis.de/en/artikel/rothewald-wheel-balancer-for-motorcycle-tyres-inclusive-axle/10009184?list=209412967&filter_article_number=10009184

two wheels good

Richard tea wrote: »

I have my eye on this one https://m.louis.de/en/artikel/rothewald-wheel-balancer-for-motorcycle-tyres-inclusive-axle/10009184?list=209412967&filter_article_number=10009184

Looks good. Good price too. Will the cones fit your rear wheel? Don't forget to order weights too.
(I'm wondering why the lower rotation points are required.)

CJhaughey

two wheels good wrote: »

(I'm wondering why the lower rotation points are required.)

They are for single sided wheels like Ducati's etc. They clamp the wheel in place

Richard tea

two wheels good wrote: »

Looks good. Good price too. Will the cones fit your rear wheel? Don't forget to order weights too.
(I'm wondering why the lower rotation points are required.)

I haven't looked into it in any detail yet. Ill have to check out my wheel spec.

Ah I see CJ answered the other question. I knew that:p

Richard tea

Lovely fresh rubber arrived today. The PR4's are fantastic but I fancied trying another brand. The Roadsmart III are getting decent reviews so I went with them. There is still life in the PR4's so I wont be changing them for a while.

mamax

Where did you buy the tyres and what equipment did you eventually buy ?
I've 3 bikes and considering investing as I used to change my own 20 years ago with tyre levers lol although the bikes were a lot smaller then

Richard tea

mamax wrote: »

Where did you buy the tyres and what equipment did you eventually buy ?
I've 3 bikes and considering investing as I used to change my own 20 years ago with tyre levers lol although the bikes were a lot smaller then

I went for the sealey TC965 tyre changer.
This wheel balancer
https://m.louis.ie/artikel/rothewald-wheel-balancer-for-motorcycle-tyres-inclusive-axle/10009184?list=294702324&filter_article_number=10009184

And I have no link at hand but I also invested in a tyre bar that has carbon tips to help prevent scratches the the wheel. The initial outlay is expensive but it will be worth it.

I ordered the tyres from openeo. They were €250 for front and back. I think the pr4's were €230.

I had the pr4's fitted in a dublin shop last time and it cost €324

Tigger

Octavia Gray Ash wrote: »

After changing a few tyres I bet my life on it that you'll be going back to a dealer to have it done.

It was the done thing that you bought your tyre from the shop, rode home with it over your shoulder and got to changing it with your trusty ol tyre levers.

Its a serious pain in the hole.

There are various methods for breaking the bead, from using the side stand on your bike to all sorts of home made contraptions (I bet youtube is full of 'em).. Then its a strong arm, lots of sweat and a little blood if your levers break.

Pay the few bob and have a shop do it is my advice.

this
i was also a despatcher in the 90's
i used to buy my tyres and ride home with them accross my shoulder

i'm a big guy and the amond of strength you need to do it with levers is crazy

rat_race

Richard tea wrote: »

I went for the sealey TC965 tyre changer.
This wheel balancer
https://m.louis.ie/artikel/rothewald-wheel-balancer-for-motorcycle-tyres-inclusive-axle/10009184?list=294702324&filter_article_number=10009184

And I have no link at hand but I also invested in a tyre bar that has carbon tips to help prevent scratches the the wheel. The initial outlay is expensive but it will be worth it.

I ordered the tyres from openeo. They were €250 for front and back. I think the pr4's were €230.

I had the pr4's fitted in a dublin shop last time and it cost €324

Was just thinking, I'd like to be able to change my own tyres. Think I was charged €20 a tyre when dropping two wheels in, last time. It's a pain in the ass for starters, getting yourself and your tyres to the garage, waiting. At €40, say, a year, spending €300-400 on equipment to do it yourself, seems okay to me...plus, the freedom to do it whenever you want, would help.

Is it really still a pain in the ass even with the equipment you listed?

Richard tea

rat_race wrote: »

Was just thinking, I'd like to be able to change my own tyres. Think I was charged €20 a tyre when dropping two wheels in, last time. It's a pain in the ass for starters, getting yourself and your tyres to the garage, waiting. At €40, say, a year, spending €300-400 on equipment to do it yourself, seems okay to me...plus, the freedom to do it whenever you want, would help.

Is it really still a pain in the ass even with the equipment you listed?

I can't comment on the job just yet as I have yet to fit them. I'm sure everyone is in agreement that the old method of tyre levers was a pain.

There is a youtube video of lads more or less the same equipment.

Richard tea

Well I finally got around to changing my tyres last weekend. Firstly just a quick note on the PR'4s. They lasted me 20,500km. Thats when the rear hit the wear indicator. The fact that the rear was squared off didnt cause me any concern and only for the front developed 'cupping' I would have got more miles out of them. The front developed this cupping wear on the right side of the tyre. This caused the front to feel unstable whilst taking right hand turns on roundabouts. My NC has one brake disc on the front. I imagine this causes the cupping effect on the tyre when I brake. 20,500km on the Pr'4s is still very good and I have to say they tyre were great in all conditions.

Thread left on Front PR4


Thread left on Rear PR4



I used some chalk to try and show the cupping on the front tyre. Its basically groves worn into this part of the tyre causing an uneven wear.



I changed the tyres to Dunlop Roadsmart 3's. The changing itself went ok for my first time. Breaking the bead was simple. Removing the tyre was surprisingly easy. Fitting the new tyres was a little more difficult but now that I have done it once, next time will be handier. The Sealy tyre changer I use came with a steel bar to remove and fit the tyre but this would definitely scratch up the rim. I used a bar with carbon tips ''Alloy-mate'' to change them. Did I scratch the rim? yes I did a little but it was just from being clumsy and my fault not the tools. Nothing major.

The only part that caused me concern was re-seating the bead. I popped off to the the local garage only to discover they upgraded to one of the fancy automatic air pumps. It was no good. I didnt notice but I have read that some of them have a button for inflate from flat option. It was late in the day so I left it until the next day. I mulled over different options in my head, Ratchet strap, wd40 fire method etc. I said I would give the ratchet strap trick a try. I used my small Aldi compressor and within seconds I heard the glorious POP. I then tried the rear without the ratchet strap and it set into the bead no problem.

So next was the balancer. Rothewald is the brand and I bought it from Louis.de. Very simple to use and very sturdy. It comes with a built in spirit level which was handy. I also bought the tyre paste from louis.de and it works great. Sort of like a lumpy version on the hygiene gel you get in hospitals. Im sure it evaporates over time. The only other tool I used was a small tyre lever. I will get some rim protectors next time though just to be sure.

Its hard to put a time on the tyre change itself because I also cleaned the bike and fitted rear pads and bleed the front and rear brakes. At a stab I would say the tyre change took me 3hrs. Next time should be under 2 hrs.

So if anyone is interested in changing there own tyres I say go for it if it makes sense financially and time wise. As mentioned I commute 5 days a week. Thats 600km a week.

Tools


Sealey TC965


Ratchet strap and Aldi compressor


Rothewald wheel balance