Helllllllllp needed with tire change.

[BSTWAY]

So, I got tired of the ever growing hassle of paying others to change my tires and purchased some stuff to do it myself like many of you. I’m using (trying) a Harbor Freight unit with Mojolever and Mojoblocks to mount some new Dunlop RoadSmarts. It was fairly easy off with the old back tire and even on with the first bead of the new back tire. What do I do about the second bead that just keeps getting chased around the rim as I move the Mojolever? Seems the problem stems from a pretty shallow well so not much slack to be found.

[BSTWAY]

Sorry, false alarm; turns out I wasn't mashing enough of the bead already on the rim further into the well as I got close to finishing it off. New question though - is it ok to just hear one very loud pop when the beads set? Both sides of the tire look ok and it's holding air. Maybe both sides were set at the same time thus the very loud pop?

[oiasghar]

Yes one pop is ok. Between the two sets I have put on for myself and 5 for friends (using a modified harbor freight with nomar bar) many times there is only one pop. One of the beads will just quietly seat with no popping. As long as both are seated you are good.

Also if you find your self chasing the bead around, just wrap the beginning with belt or strap and then use the mount/demount bar to get the rest seated.

[reidmct]

Or get a "Yellow Thing" from No-Mar.

http://www.nomartirechanger.com/product/show/10

I love my No-Mar Jr Pro. Without the Yellow Thing, the BMW rear is tough. Heck, it's pretty physical even with it.

[RGuy]

On one of NoMar's videos they give you the secret - leave the bead dry and only spray a bit of lube on the section where you will apply the tool. The dry tire sticks to the dry rim well enough to keep it from sliding. Make sense? Worked like a charm for me. I use the NoMar bar with HF changer. Even works great for car tires on alloy rims. I have a new set of Pilot Roads ready to mount - Saturday if I get the time.
Neal

[Marty2]

A small C clamp loosely tightened with a piece of leather or heavy rubber to protect the rim also works well for keeping the top bead from creeping around the rim.

Marty

[R4R&R]

Hmm...You're in Falls Church. Sounds like you got it, and yes, the beads will normally make two loud pops when fully seated but sometimes you'll only hear one. As long as both are fully seated all the way around, you're ok. Check the lines on the tire around the wheel to make sure it is consistant.

http://bmwsr.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=24

If the bead wont seat, and no air is staying in, you may have to use a ratcheting strap to compress the tire to get the bead to seat with air pressure. Just make sure you remove the strap as soon as it takes air in and holds a few pounds. The pressure on the strap will not only make it hard to get off, but might cause the strap to come off explosively.

[Ukemi]

Tire always make very loud pops. The only thing you need to be careful of is when you are trying to mount the tire onto the rim. Make sure you get a lube or you may destroy the beads. If you start to hear a cracking sound as the tire is spinning, STOP.
Also if you are mounting your own tires make sure you go get them balanced. A new tire will throw off the balance of the wheel, so you need to get the wheel re-balanced or you will feel very unstable at higher speeds.

[BSTWAY]

Thanks to all. I’ve determined that this procedure is more technique than anything. The front went on really fast and produced two pops. The rear definitely is on OK. It held the same pressure overnight and the line around the tire near the rim is equidistance (thanks John). I got the Mac Parnes balancer so getting the wheels balanced was a piece of cake.

[Dr. Strangelove]

A little off topic, but...

how hard is it to do this, ie change the tires yourself. I, too, am tired of paying someone else to do it, plus the hassle of a 150 mile trip on the slab.

it would seem that it pays for itself at the second change and it is $0 sum at the first change.

The equipment needed is about $125??

What is the frustration quotient; can you be assured of skinned bleeding knuckles?
How much time for a novice to complete?

How do you secure the bike from falling forward or rearward?

Is there a video onlie of this? Is there a difference in technique between ABS and non ABS?

Lots=o=questions, sorry, but I am on my third replacement set of tires, and I think I can do this and live happier. Is that naive?


tia
John

[BSTWAY]

Obviously I’m only a novice but my experience is that the next time I mount tires it should be a breeze. I spent approximately $100 more than it would have cost me to purchase the tires and have them mounted at the dealer with the wheels on the bike. My equipment consist of: Harbor Freight portable tire changer (on sale), HF motorcycle attachment (on sale), mojolever, mojoblocks, Marc Parnes balancer, some weights, Ru-Glyde tire lubricant and a set of Dunlop RoadSmarts from SouthWest Moto. I already had an adequate air compressor for setting the bead. Yep there is a frustration factor. For me it was overcome back stopping a moment to think things through or have my youngest kid tell me what was really going on. You CAN do it and you should. Search here or ADVrider.com for tips from many of the already proven experts.

[Airman]

A little off topic, but...
how hard is it to do this, ie change the tires yourself. I, too, am tired of paying someone else to do it, plus the hassle of a 150 mile trip on the slab.
it would seem that it pays for itself at the second change and it is $0 sum at the first change.
The equipment needed is about $125??
What is the frustration quotient; can you be assured of skinned bleeding knuckles?
How much time for a novice to complete?
How do you secure the bike from falling forward or rearward?
Is there a video onlie of this? Is there a difference in technique between ABS and non ABS?
Lots=o=questions, sorry, but I am on my third replacement set of tires, and I think I can do this and live happier. Is that naive?
tia
John

John,
As you suspect, this is not too tough to do. The way I secure the bike is to change the rear tire first and then put the rear bags on with a little something in them to give rearward bias. If you remove both at once you can simply set something under the fron fork tubes. I like to run a cargo strap between the center stand and the exhaust crossover when I do this sort of thing so the stand can't fold and cause me fallover issuses.

If you don't buy the Mojolever and the Harbor Freight set up, your cost can be very low. Here's my set up:

Mark Parnes wheel balancer. I paid $105 This is a excellent tool. Simple. Buy some 1/4 oz weights with it.
MotionPro 16" tire irons $12-13. You need at least 2, three might be better.
Nylon wheel protectors. (2) $6-7 each. There are other ways to protect the wheels, but the ones I used really weren't satisfactory and these things are cheap.

I made my fixtures from instructions online. I have a 15" Toyots truck wheel with a 5/8" threaded rod mounted to the ccenter. I set the RR wheel down on it and secure with a 5/8 nut and washer. This gives me a platform to work with the tire. There are lots of ways to break the bead. I use a 2x4 loosely bolted to the wall stud in my garage. A couple of feet from the wall I mounted a pointy piece if square oak as the point of contact. That's my bead breaker.
I have used dish soap for lube and since I have changed truck tires professionally I have used NAPA's product "Ruglyde" It's about $12 a gallon, but far better then dish soap. Buy the Ruglyde.
Use your protectors and tire irons for the rest. You can look on the website for the balancing instructions but it's simple stuff.
Your first tire change will pay for the tools pretty much. I like the satisfaction of knowing it's done right.

My Harley tech riding buddy told me how he spent full day dressing and polishing a custom wheel when the "new guy" dinged the wheel really badly mounting a tire. So shops aren't always the best solution. The best techs aren't changing tires.

[CycleRob]

One very important warning to all:

Be very careful how you break the beads so you do NOT apply any bending side loads on the brake rotors. They cannot be straightened back to perfect -and- they are VERY expensive.
Use wood blocks under the rims so the rotors do not touch anything.
You have been warned.

I also recommend you get a genuine tire mounting solution concentrate from (to be specified tomorrow after I phone-in for the info). It worked great, made tire removal & mounting really easy thereby minimizing rim and beadwire trauma.

.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Use wood blocks under the rims so the rotors do not touch anything.

picture?

you mean like a couple of 2x4's for the rim to rest on, so that the rotors touch nothing?

I made my fixtures from instructions online. I have a 15" Toyots truck wheel with a 5/8" threaded rod mounted to the ccenter. I set the RR wheel down on it and secure with a 5/8 nut and washer. This gives me a platform to work with the tire.

Is this the point of what Airman is suggesting?

And an obvious answer to a novice question: So you do NOT remove the rotors to change the tire? The answer is No, correct?


Good thread, very useful info.
John

[SLEDGE]

Yes technique is everything! I use a 7"C-clamp to break the bead,milk crate to rest the tire on (watch those rotors)and 2 $5.00 tire spoons.Firts tire was a Bi..h, the 2nd tire was a piece of cake. For balancing line up the dot to the valae stim (if the tire has one) set the bead reinstall and ride. My tires did not need wheel wts.,she ride smooth as glass!
Good Luck

[taosports]

Use wood blocks under the rims so the rotors do not touch anything.

picture?

you mean like a couple of 2x4's for the rim to rest on, so that the rotors touch nothing?

Here's my home made set up John. I added a mojo bar since this photo was taken which makes mounting a breeze.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Thanks to all for the info and the photo.

John