who changes their own tires?

[RedBusarider]

I had my tires on for TEN years !

So there.

I actually changed them because I was afraid of them not having enough grip - the tread was fine and I'm sure I could have gone a long time
before wearing out the treads. Tire technology has to have improved in 10 years, so that was the other reason to change them.

I believe you have the bead broke.

When I changed mine I thought I had the bead broke and yet I found it really hard if not impossible to get my
No-mar bar in between the tire and rim. What I discovered was that the bead was NOT broken. I went back and used
a lot of force (remember 10 years old) and there was a loud POP when it did break the bead then it was easy to get the bar in and
the tire came off without a problem.

Remember when you get ready to put the new tire on - set it in the sun (if possible). I think I set mine in the sun for ½ hour each side.
Lubed it up and had no problem pushing the first half on and the rest wasn't to bad either.

Are you doing both front and rear?

I would have the sprocket coupling sticking up which does not allow the levers to be pushed down as far---if that should be necessary. I have removed from the sprocket side on other rims.

My sprocket came off real easy and the cushions were in good shape. With the sprocket off you should have more room to push the bars down.

Are you going to be able to balance these when you get the new tires on?

 

[Mythos]

Are you doing both front and rear?
Yes. I plan to. I know the front is usually more difficult but one of the good folks who helped me out on this thread said the front at least has a drop center. Should be doable.

"My sprocket came off real easy and the cushions were in good shape. With the sprocket off you should have more room to push the bars down."
Oh yeah, I could see that as soon as I got the wheel off--the coupling will almost fall out. LOL my kawasaki is pressure fit and I thought it was bolted on. Found out it was NOT when I lifted the wheel by the sprocket a couple times. It fell on the stand. Scraped the paint a little. Good thing I have silver rims. Switched to Carros on the 14 now. DON"T USE SPROCKET AS CARRYING HANDLE ON ANY WHEEL! LOL

"Are you going to be able to balance these when you get the new tires on?"
Yes-siree. I have a balancing stand and weights. Remove wheel weights, balance wheel w/o tire to find heavy spot on rim, align red dot on tire with heavy spot on rim, balance again to find heavy spot on wheel w/tire, stick weights on til there is no heavy spot. Much easier than removing a old tire!

I have balanced in the past but have heard it is not really crucial on a motorcycle. It will help tires wear better but not going to make the ride smoother.

Well, in case you can't tell fro the change in my tone, I GOT IT!!


Here is my tire. I cut through the bead with the dremmel. You can see the steel cable around the inside of the bead in the inset enlarged photo. I could hear the last three strands pop as I cut through them. Sounded like a cutting torch but not quite as loud. There was no chance anything could fly out but I put a ratchet strap around the tire just in case. Once I got the third iron in the tire and pried up, the whole bead slid right over the top withhout even putting any more irons in. One of the rim protectors I was using also rolled over the edge and popped off. No damage to the paint on the rim though (gotta hand it to zuk on that rim paint---very tough).


Now for the bottom bead. I have a feeling it will be just as hard. I bet I end up cutting again. :dozingoff:

Thanks for ALL the help EVERYONE! I have a lot of good tips. Have to save this thread for future ref. Keep an eye on it, please. I still have to get a new tire on there and thennnnnnn...the front.:butbut::butbut:

one last thing--I discovered it really helped a great deal to get the tire iron in if you push the bead WAYYY down to the center. Maybe have to kneel on it to keep it down while you insert the iron. a couple inches wont do it. You have to get to the center to get the slack necessary to fit the tip in. Then work the lever in and out to let the bead rise up nearer the top where you can lever it over. AND LOTS OF LUBE. Pour it on to remove. Installing, I will try to go with less lube.

 

[RedBusarider]

Happy for you.

I personally don't think the second half should be as hard as the first half.

As far as balancing I would do it no matter what especially on a bike like the Busa.
We all know how easy it is to hit triple digits and that is not the time to have any vibrations or wobble occur.
But it seems like you have that covered, so all is well.

With what you have learned I would hope that you wouldn't have to cut the front tire up to get it off.
I'm sure other people have used tire irons and not had to cut them. Besides your almost an expert now.

Good luck mounting them.

By the way - What tires are you putting on?
I put on Q3's and the rear was a 190/55. So far so good.

 

[Mythos]

"By the way - What tires are you putting on?
I put on Q3's and the rear was a 190/55. So far so good. "
I always have gone with 190/55 for the 14. Higher in the rear, corrects speedo and drops into a corner a lot quicker.

I put Q2s on the 14 last time and have enjoyed them.

For the busa, I got a great deal on Pirelli Diablo Supercorsas. If I'm going to try a race oriented street legal tire one more time I might as well go all out. truth be told, I think I've cornered the hardest on street with plain old Bridgestone BT-016s. i might go back to those until I'm good enough to really use a track/street tire. Lots of extra $$ and still have inch chicken strips. The BT-016 was down to 1/4" on the rear.

 

[pashnit]

You guys are working way too hard.

I have my kids do mine.

 

[Mythos]

Oh, please!

I can't believe this. Almost hated to say anything but I'm having the same problem with the lower bead. No easier than the top.

I just can't get 3 irons in there. It's was still hard even with the bead cut when I did the top.

I may try releasing the tire and then positioning all three irons. If it's too much trouble I'm just cutting again.

At least with installing, there should be no problem getting the iron under the bead. i hopelease:

 

[RedBusarider]

You guys are working way too hard.

I have my kids do mine.

View attachment 277734

I believe that it would take more than 50lbs. of weight or pressure to break a bead.
I like that the girl is learning how to supervise at such a young age.

I see you took off the rotors - didn't trust the kids with the rotor on?

Good thing your son couldn't break the bead - if he could have, it might have startled him and he could end up on the ground.

But it is nice to see them being exposed to motorcycles at such an early age.
Then again, I wouldn't have expected anything less from you, Tim.

 

[RedBusarider]

Oh, please!

I can't believe this. Almost hated to say anything but I'm having the same problem with the lower bead. No easier than the top.

I just can't get 3 irons in there. It's was still hard even with the bead cut when I did the top.

I may try releasing the tire and then positioning all three irons. If it's too much trouble I'm just cutting again.

At least with installing, there should be no problem getting the iron under the bead. i hopelease:

I'm not sure what is going on but you sure seem to be having your share of trouble changing these.
I have changed dirt bike tires and they were hard enough. So I bought a No-Mar to do the Street riding machines I have + maybe cars in the future.

Now, if you have your rim protectors on You should be able to lift the entire tire up to the under side of the upper rim.
Actually you lift up the side your going to insert the irons up to the rim, the other half, lift that up into the drop center there by giving you room to insert.
You may need help holding it up while you insert the irons.

The second half is easier to remove then the first, usually.

If you don't under stand what I mean then PM me your number and I'll try to talk you though it - that is unless you WANT to cut the ******* thing off for satisfactions sake.

 

[Mythos]

"Actually you lift up the side your going to insert the irons up to the rim, the other half, lift that up into the drop center there by giving you room to insert.
You may need help holding it up while you insert the irons. "

Yup, that's what I did. Lifted the bead where I inserted the first iron. The opposite side of the bead goes to the center on it's own when I lever the first iron. Then, it's VERY tight all around except a half inch to either side of iron one (cuz the bead is stretched away from the rim now).

I had to let up on iron 1 to fit iron 2 in there about eight inches awayfrom iron 1. Then I levered iron 1 back down to lift he bead over once more, the opposite side of the bead is still at center, then I levered up iron 2. Now the the bead that has not been lifted is so %^(&ing tight, Superman couldn't get an iron in. I tried letting up on lever 2 so I could get lever 3 in but no luck.

I wonder if the bead has shrunk? When I first broke it from the rim, it was like it wanted to stick no matter how far I pushed it down to the drop center. It did not glide over the inside of the wheel but rather wanted to grip it. Both beads were like that. When I did the other tire changes, the tire was a little loose and floppy when I pushed it down to the drop center. Not this one.

At one point, I did have three irons in after i let up on iron 1 and iron 2, I just let go so it stuck straight up. Then the tire slipped off of iron 1 and I had to start all over. I'll try that approach one more time and if no love for mythos, Mythos cut.ityfool:

 

[1 wheel peel]

I have my kids do mine.

Cute kids.

 

[RedBusarider]

"Actually you lift up the side your going to insert the irons up to the rim, the other half, lift that up into the drop center there by giving you room to insert.
You may need help holding it up while you insert the irons. "

Yup, that's what I did. Lifted the bead where I inserted the first iron. The opposite side of the bead goes to the center on it's own when I lever the first iron. Then, it's VERY tight all around except a half inch to either side of iron one (cuz the bead is stretched away from the rim now).

I had to let up on iron 1 to fit iron 2 in there about eight inches awayfrom iron 1. Then I levered iron 1 back down to lift he bead over once more, the opposite side of the bead is still at center, then I levered up iron 2. Now the the bead that has not been lifted is so %^(&ing tight, Superman couldn't get an iron in. I tried letting up on lever 2 so I could get lever 3 in but no luck.

I wonder if the bead has shrunk? When I first broke it from the rim, it was like it wanted to stick no matter how far I pushed it down to the drop center. It did not glide over the inside of the wheel but rather wanted to grip it. Both beads were like that. When I did the other tire changes, the tire was a little loose and floppy when I pushed it down to the drop center. Not this one.

At one point, I did have three irons in after i let up on iron 1 and iron 2, I just let go so it stuck straight up. Then the tire slipped off of iron 1 and I had to start all over. I'll try that approach one more time and if no love for mythos, Mythos cut.ityfool:

1. your are going to need a few drinks When you get everything done.
2. you are reinforcing many a guys' decision to purchase a No-Mar after reading this thread.
3. If you don't already have them - after all this work I would recommend you install 90 degree valve stems, NOW. BEFORE the new tire(s) goes on!
4. if installing the new tires is a hard as removing them, have another drink.

 

[Mythos]

Yes, I picked up some 90° valve stems. Love them on my 14 and a must have on the busa. Hope 11.3mm is the right size.

 

[RedBusarider]

Yup 11.3 is I believe the base size and the thread is a 10mm. Not sure why they label them that way but they do.

I'm pretty sure that is what I put on mine. Work great.

Now get off the forum and get that job done, Unless you are taking a drink break.

 

[pashnit]

http://pm-pashnitmoto.com/category_s/69.htm

 

[Mythos]

Thanks for posting the pics, Tim. Without removing mine from the packaging, that looks like the size I have.

"Yup 11.3 is I believe the base size and the thread is a 10mm. Not sure why they label them that way but they do."
I recall installing them on my two other sets of rims and it's as you say. the hole in the rim that the valve stem goes through is the thing to measure to determine the size to order. The thread diameter will be smaller than the hole in the rim, obviously.

"Now get off the forum and get that job done, Unless you are taking a drink break. "
LOL This PM was a childcare break. Grilled some corn and fried up some garlic noodles. Then climbed a tree! got bit by ants. Tomorrow will not be so hectic. I'm just going to cut it and pull it and find the heavy spot with the new valve. Then we'll see if installing is as hard as removing. It can't be.

 

[Mythos]

I gave it a quick try but I could see there was no way I was going to get that third iron in there no matter what I did. ..so I cut it again. Here's what happened to my rim. No scratches on the outside and just a one or two small scraped areas close to the very edge of the rim (and that was with rim protectors).

Should I give it a quick sand and spray some black gloss paint in there or just get the new tire on and forget it?



"2. you are reinforcing many a guys' decision to purchase a No-Mar after reading this thread."
yup. IDK what kind of machine the dealership uses to change tires but they scraped a line all around the inside of my kawi rims. Never used a No-Mar but if you ever take off 6 year old tires, I would suggest you keep the dremmel on the bench just in case.

BTW, I did a runout test on both sides of the rim and it is well below service limit. No bent rim but hell on the inside paint.

 

[RedBusarider]

If there is ANY roughness to the messed up area then yes I would sand it with maybe 600 grit.
You should lube up the center area so the tire can slide over it. That's why I say sand it, if rough at all.

Aluminum wheel is not going to rust, so IDK if it's necessary to paint it. You have enough problems, right?
Painting involves masking etc and you don't know how hot it will get inside the wheel. Might flake off ??? But it's your choice.


I'm pretty sure that motorcycle dealers don't use no-mars and probably have power equipment. So once it starts
going around they can't feel it scratching. I'm pretty sure not all dealers scratch all wheels but it boils down to how much
someone cares and if the Tech doing the tire changes that day doesn't care - well you know the rest.

You still have to do the front wheel? Those rotors are a lot bigger and in the way more - might want to remove them? ???

Have you thought about putting an ad on Craigslist asking if anyone has a no-mar available.
Seems there must be someone in your area that has one collecting dust.

I'd be willing to make a drive but if someone a few blocks away has one.

 

[Mythos]

"If there is ANY roughness to the messed up area then yes I would sand it with maybe 600 grit."
Nah, the paint on the inside is quite thin and even if it chips, there is no real edge. The paint on the edge of the rim is thicker but the that scrape is small. Maybe I'll dad a bit of touchup paint on that spot and sand it smoother. There are no burs of metal turned up.

I may paint them next time. It would be quick. I don't think I'd bother to mask anything.

"You still have to do the front wheel? Those rotors are a lot bigger and in the way more - might want to remove them?"
I thought about taking the rotors off a while back. It's pretty tough to brake the bolts free with the wheel off so I'd have to put it back on the bike. Anyway, I already broke the bead on one side. I don't plan to even try to get the tire off without cutting so I think I can manage with the rotors on as long as I'm careful to not touch them with the irons.

"Have you thought about putting an ad on Craigslist asking if anyone has a no-mar available."
I should do that some time in the future. I just went into debt for the next 12 months buying a front/rear Ohlins suspension for the 14.

 

[VFRcanada]

The front tire is much easier to change than the rear tire. I can almost put it on without any tools.

 

[Mythos]

The front tire is much easier to change than the rear tire. I can almost put it on without any tools.

Thank God for that. I managed to get both beads off without leaving a single scrape! I lubed it up all around inside the rim and on the tire bead. Do it all over before you start pulling up the bead. Sloppy, glistening moosh everywhere! The third iron was still a bit tricky to get under the bead but I was able to reach down in there and feel what was going on. Fortunately, I slid a piece of milk jug plastic under the bead otherwise I think I would have chipped it one time when the iron slipped over the hump inside the bead.

Tomorrow is installation day. Damn, this is work.