Tire mounting tips

[Butterthebean]

Getting ready to mount tires on my S10. Going to spoon on the tires myself for the first time. I've got the motion pro bead breakers, ken tool tire irons, a gallon of Ken tool lube and rim protectors (are these really necessary? I've watched a couple of videos where people changed tenere tires and the did not use them.)

I do not have a sunny day to set the tires out in the sun to get them soft and pliable. I also do not have a compressor. I'm going to take them down to a gas station and hope their compressor will seat the beads. If not then I'll take them to a car tire place and let them seat the beads for me.

Any last minute tips?

 

[gv550]

I place wooden 4" blocks between the tire beads to spread them apart for a week, and have never had a problem seating them to the rim. you could also use an old inner tube to spread the beads.
When installing the tire be sure the bead is pushed down into the center of the wheel while spooning over the rim. Rim protectors will prevent the paint from chips or scratches, but makes it harder to spoon the tire over the rim.

 

[RCinNC]

I use rim protectors. It's easy to tell on my rims that there were a few occasions where I didn't use them.

I used to go to a tire shop to have them seat the bead, but that always ended up making the task that much longer. I finally started just doing it at home using a cheapie 12 volt compressor like you buy at WalMart. People like to say that you can't seat a bead unless you blast a big volume of air into the tire, but once I got the hang of it, the 12 volt compressor has never failed me, including when I mounted my E07 tires. Worst case scenario, you have to use a ratchet strap to spread the tire walls a little.

Lots of tire lube is the key, both to removing the old tire and getting the new one on. I slather it on with a chip brush when I change tires. If you take the tire to the gas station to use their compressor, make sure you take the tire lube and a ratchet strap with you. I generously apply the tire lube around the area between the tire and the rim while the compressor is running; the lube can provide a momentary seal that is sometimes just enough to hold the pressure in the tire long enough to push out the sidewalls further towards the bead channel. If you can't get the bead to seal, wrapping a ratchet strap around the circumference of the tire and tightening it will spread out the sidewalls and push them tighter against the rim, forming a better seal and keeping the air pressure in. Bouncing the tire on the ground while the compressor is filling it can also help.

Listen for the "pings"; that's the sound of the bead seating in the bead channel. You should hear two; one for each side. Even when you do hear the pings, visually inspect the tire to make sure it's properly seated on the rim. There's a small line molded into the circumference of the sidewall, right where it meets the rim. This molded in line helps you see if there are any parts of the tire that aren't seated correctly.

Unless you can't feasibly do it, I would probably put the tire in the house the day before you change it. It won't be as pliable as if it was sitting in the sun, but it'll be better than if it was sitting in a garage at 30 degrees right before you start trying to spoon it on.

 

[RCinNC]

You could buy all that stuff, but honestly, the job is tolerable with just the tools that you're talking about, Butterbean. I've been changing my own tires for years now, and all I have are the tire irons, rim protectors, a 35 year old 12 volt compressor, a ratchet strap, a jug of RuGlyde lube, and a Motion Pro Bead Popper (the old plastic wedge kind that you hit with a mallet). It's about 90 percent technique and 10 percent force, and the more you do it, the more you'll understand how it works and the easier it gets. I don't even dread having to change a tire any more.

The first time you try it, you'll probably swear that it's impossible; that's what I did the first time I attempted to change the back tire of a Road King. Swore I'd never do it again. But once I started going through 3-4 tires a year, it became ridiculous to pay someone to do it, or even take it off myself and take it to a shop and have them do it. I watched a bunch of videos on Youtube, bought the few tools I just described, and was off to the races.

 

[tntmo]

I know you watched my video because I remember your comment about rim protectors. On the road you can either carry all that stuff, hope you are in a location to pay to have it changed or figure out what works. That was the first ride I have done where I had to change tires in the middle of the ride. For tire changes at home, use rim protectors if you're concerned about scratches. Lots of information on making them, as well.

 

[gunner]

When you get ready to put the new tire on, lube the center of the wheel (the well) liberally in addition to the rim. When you lever the bead over the rim, the opposite side must slide down into the well. If it's not lubed, the bead will drag on the dry wheel and make it much harder to mount.

 

[treybrad]

When installing the tire be sure the bead is pushed down into the center of the wheel while spooning over the rim.

When you lever the bead over the rim, the opposite side must slide down into the well.

Multiple folks have said this because it's important, and I think the most overlooked 'trick' of mounting your own tires. Check, recheck, and check again that the opposite side of the tire is down in the well of the rim if you're having difficulty getting the bead over the rim. Even the much maligned Mitas tires are a snap to install with the right technique.

Ruglyde or similar lubricant is your friend as well

Good luck!

trey

 

[Gigitt]

I made my own rim protectors because those little strips did not look like they offer lots of inner wheel protection.

I cut the sides off of my old 4 or 5 lt (gallon) plastic oil containers. I use about 4 when doing a change, and slip then around the wheel and deep into the wheel. this helps protect the inner wheel finish when you are digging around to pick up the inner bead when you are 3/4 seated and the tire is tight and your fighting to keep tire levers down.

Best advice.... lube lube lube as the last 18in of bead are the hardest to pull over.... sink the opposite side of the tire deep into the tire rim (pinching it closed can help) then use small tire lever spacing to pull the last of the bead over. The small spacing help reduce the effort used on the levers as you are using 2-3 levers rather than 1.

Another tip... get some thick cardboard and cut it to the size of the disc rotor, lay it on top of the rotor while working and i also cover with an old towel. this help protect the rotor from the tire lever when you flip it over the rim, and keep the skin on your knuckles. It also is a good tool rest for you tire irons.

 

[RonH]

All the advice is good. It just depends how easy and damage free you want to go. Using no protectors, for sure the black on the wheels will be damaged, so protectors, or a tool with protectors is needed. You can go to nomar tire website and look at the videos. Of course mostly they are showing use of their changer with the center post, but some use tire levers showing very good advice. The yellow thing as mentioned is a great help. Using small wood blocks to hold the tire to the center works great. Good lube is essential. (No WD40, dishsoap, or the like). I've been changing my own tires since I was 15 years old back in 1975. Tires on the super tenere vs old bikes or several other newer motorcycles is very easy compared to most. Getting the tires to seat is near effortless on the Yamaha on the tires I've done. All pop on with 20 or 30psi, but you do need a compressor with some air flowing. Remove the valve core when seating the tires, the core cuts the airflow a bunch.

 

[Butterthebean]

Well.... mission accomplished. I ended up using the zip tie method that I found on youtube. Made for very easy removal and remounting. I used about 6-7 big zip ties per wheel and lots of lube. I needed just one spoon from the inside to pop the old tire off and zero spoons to pop the new tire on. Instead of the rim protectors I just covered the lever in a couple layers of gorilla duct tape. I only had to pry the spoon into one place to pop the tire off so there was no scratching of the rim.

Absolute best part was.... my 15 year old 12 volt craftsman tire inflator seated the beads in about 20 seconds each. Again.... lots of lube used. Maybe this was just beginners luck but I'll take it.

Thanks for all the tips and encouragement guys. I don't plan to pay anyone to change a tire for me ever again.

 

[RCinNC]

Excellent work! Now you'll never have to drop your bike off at a shop, wait a day, and pay a hundred bucks just to have a tire changed.

I've tried the zip tie method in the past, and found it to be more trouble than it was worth. I'm glad it worked out for you!

 

[KYwoodsrider]

If you do get a few scratches on your rim I found a black paint marker or even a black felt tip marker does a decent job of touching them up.
It will at least pass the 10 foot rule.

 

[Mak10]

Using a hair dryer inside your tire works great to warm them up.

 

[Lux]

What do you guys do for balancing the tire after it's mounted? Just a static balance? Tire balancing beads? Don't bother?

 

[SilverBullet]

Ride-On here
balances perfect, helps keep bead airtight and might aid in preventing airloss for a small thorn or nail/screw if you dont remove it.

Also makes for a good tire lube when you have to do a tire change on the road. DAMHIK
_

Sent from my SM-G860P using Tapatalk

 

[Butterthebean]

What do you guys do for balancing the tire after it's mounted? Just a static balance? Tire balancing beads? Don't bother?

Previously I've used the balancing beads but I think I'm going to try the Ride-on sealant this time. Balancing plus leak prevention.... sounds like a good deal to me. I've heard nothing but good things about Ride-on.

 

[RCinNC]

I balance mine with a Marc Parnes balancer sitting on top of a jig I made out of 2x4's. I have a set of beads for the tire but I've never used them. I keep telling myself that one of these days I'm going to just skip the balancing and see if it makes any difference.

 

[RonH]

I use the Marc Parnes setup too. It works great. Somehow my brain cannot accept that beads or sealant can do $0.01 worth of anything to balance a tire, but many people report good results.
I just started balancing tires about 5yrs ago. For nearly 40yrs before that I never bothered to balance, and it never caused any issues. I decided the big runflat tire on a GL1800 probably could benefit from proper balance. I'm glad I balance now, but it's not all that critical in my experience.

 

[Mak10]

I put on a set of Kenda Bog blocks a couple of weeks back. I was concerned as I did not balance them, just put the dot by the valve stem. Today it hit a balmy 38 degrees and it was time to take it out for a spin. No issues at all with them feeling out of balance at all. Got up to 95 for a bit and all felt great. I was also concerned about them being more noisy. No problems there either.

 

[Propsoto]

I balance mine with a Marc Parnes balancer sitting on top of a jig I made out of 2x4's. I have a set of beads for the tire but I've never used them. I keep telling myself that one of these days I'm going to just skip the balancing and see if it makes any difference.

I started with the Marc Parnes balancer, then switched over to beads. The balancer is smoother, especially at speeds over 100mph. But the beads are so much faster.