ylw600F4

Is it hard to change tires yourself? What tools do you need to do it?

Buddie

I don't care what anyone says, it is impossible without a machine!!! I took my front tire off and it was a PITA! I had to cut through the steel belts around the beed on the sides of the tire! Not worth saving the 25$!!! And I scratched my rim to **** in that spot

GSE Nick

i did mine myself its not to bad. i had to cut some steel too though. tools were- grinder, pry bar, and water with some soap. good luck.

Bill McMahon

Changing tires manually isn't hard and I guarantee they're are going to be ton's of others that have been doing this for a while that will say the same thing on this post. You need a good set of tire spoons, a large c-clamp to break the bead, and a tire iron to work the tire off with. Don't forget to use plenty of soap and water. Line the balance mark up with the valve stem when you are done (it will be a paint mark on the side of the tire, especially dunlops) so you don't have to balance it. I can change a tire in about a half hour or better with minimal wear to the rim. If you struggle impossibly with it you need to change your technique. Just like anything else in this game.

NovaMan

I used to work at a couple different tire shops and if its anything like putting a car tire on without the machine then i think im goin to do my next tire change. Its really not very hard if you know the technique and have some practice. We will see how it goes though

mako

here is a guide, i do all of mine and for friends too

i use three tire irons and the car rim and threaded rod and some soapy water. it takes some practice. but just to swap tires only takes about 30 minutes to pull old ones off and put new ones on and throw it back in the bike. balancing takes a bit longer so the stuntbike doesn't get that

http://www.clarity.net/~adam/tire-changing.html
i used this as a simple guide to get the idea and technique

i only balance the tires on the trackbike using
one like these
http://www.pbase.com/rodneff/image/1297754


breaking the bead: and you DO NOT NEED A MACHINE OR SOME CONTRAPTION MOUNTED TO THE WALL (it does make it a little quicker but i'm cheap)

i have never had to cut a tire off the rim or cut the belts off to remove it from the rim (maye if you do a burnout and the tire is splilt in half, but i never changed one of those). the easy way to bead breaking:

Pepe

I change all of my tires and most of my teamates too. I made a bead breaker tool out of 3ft of square tubing (so it doesn't roll out from underneath you) and welded a 4in peice of angle iron to the end of it. Lay the 4in peice on the bead next to the rim and jump on the bar. This breaks the bead then I use 3 pry bars to take the tire off. Lots of soapy water to get the new tire back on and the pry bars and I'm done.

The most important part to remounting the tire is to keep the opposite to the side of the tire your pry bars are on, in the center of the rim when you are prying it back on, this gives you the most room to work with. So if you are prying at 11 oclock and 2 oclock make sure 6 oclock is in the center ( hope that makes sense to you)

I'll admit, having a size advantage helps a lot ( 6'2" 215lbs)
If you don't have size use your head, you will need more leverage and practice, but you can still do it

20dub

i usually change one a month in the summer...by hand..it ai'nt that bad once you've done it a bunch of times..just take your time.once you pop the bead it comes of pretty easy.

20dub

see all you need is some patience and some ingenuity...!

jowalskiMO

Change it just like a bicycle tire. its not that hard. 20-30 minute at the most. Its alot easier to break the bead if you just blow up your tire.

bill parr

i change the tires for me and the 6 other guys in the group, a large 6 inch c-clamp works well also, its what i use. i made a large plastic disc to replace the metal one on the threaded side of the clamp. it works well. beind 5'7" 148 lbs i had to use my head instead of leverage. i can do a change start to finish in about 15 min. now.

X DIZZLE X

heres a fast way , just take a spade shovel put it on the bead and jump on it , this is the cheapest and fastest way with out a machine

Kaotic

i take the wheel off bring it to the shop, takes them 5 minutes allot less of my swaring and bitching

ylw600F4

Well I guess i'll give it a try once i get my tires in. Everyone seems to talk alot about breaking the bead. I wasn't too worried about getting the old one off, but is it really that hard to get the new one on without messing up the rim?

ROB OUTERMOST

we just put the wheel on the ground and run the tire over with a truck and it breaks the bead. just do it slow and dont run over the rim. then turn it over and do the other side. then use tire irons to take it off the rim.

o2chingching

to get it off just do a big burnout and pop it. then cut it. its alot easier that way. putting it on is a little harder for me. (only 130 lbs haha)

20blks

The tire shop around the corner from me changes my tires for 5 bucks. Just gotta take the rim off of the bike. One of the advantages of living in NYC.

korno1

this is what i do me a certified honda mechanic that i am:
first let all the air out tire off he bike

then get a long flat head screw driver put it on the bead and smack the screw driver with a sludge hammer over and over til the bead breaks takes me like 5-10mins just to do that

use the long screw driver to pry tire bead up over the rim when u do that grab a few adjustable wrenches use the handle ends to pry the tire off

do the same thing on the other side of rim

get tire off spray the **** out of it with windex pop new tire on and add air

no lie this is how i change my tires

GsxrMike

Get three people with bars in hand pushing down on the tire at one point and the bead will break. Next use two flathead screwdrivers to work the tire off the rim. The first bead of the new tire goes on easy with a little soap, then pry the other side on with your screwdrivers and thats it. Its easy...

slikz

****, breaking the bead I just put a 3-4 foot 2x4 on the tire, line it up right close by the rim and give it a good jump and it usually pops it the firs ttry.