changing your own tire
Road Warrior
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,286
Likes: 64
From: SoCal
I don't have a bead breaking tool. I have to drive my truck over the tire to get the bead to pop. If you use this method, be sure to remove the sprocket/pulley and brake rotor, take the valve out of the stem and lay the tire/rim combo on a blanket so it doesn't get ground into the driveway. You or someone else will need to stand on the opposite side of the tire to keep it from flipping up while someone drives over the tire (not the rim, just the tire). Harbor Freight has bead breakers if you plan on doing this a lot. Oh yeah, make sure its a big car or full size truck; some beads are really stuck in place.
You will need tire spoons, rim protectors and a valve stem tool. Also a soapy water solution or something like Ruglide (NAPA has it or something like it) for making the bead slippery so it'll pop in place when filling the new tire. Leave the valve out of the stem so you can "cycle" the tire's pressure just in case the bead doesn't pop right away. I haven't bothered to build a balancing setup. I just take it to a local shop and have them balance it. Be sure to install the sprocket/pulley and brake rotor before having it balanced.
I use inner tubes because I don't trust the bead to seal but if you don't scar the bead area of the rim, you can probably get away with tubeless tires. I've never tried tubeless tires on my motorcycles.
You will need tire spoons, rim protectors and a valve stem tool. Also a soapy water solution or something like Ruglide (NAPA has it or something like it) for making the bead slippery so it'll pop in place when filling the new tire. Leave the valve out of the stem so you can "cycle" the tire's pressure just in case the bead doesn't pop right away. I haven't bothered to build a balancing setup. I just take it to a local shop and have them balance it. Be sure to install the sprocket/pulley and brake rotor before having it balanced.
I use inner tubes because I don't trust the bead to seal but if you don't scar the bead area of the rim, you can probably get away with tubeless tires. I've never tried tubeless tires on my motorcycles.
Last edited by megawatt; Oct 19, 2008 at 03:44 PM.
Road Warrior
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,952
Likes: 15
From: Senoia, Ga., by way of Miami, Fl..
Gotta tell ya... I tried it and wont do it again.. I dont have a fixture to hold the wheel still and ended up fighting the damn thing for about 30min before calling the indy down the street... There's just some stuff that you can do without the proper tools and some you cant.. As often as I change tires, I'll continue taking them to my indy... Holding the wheel still is the biggest problem. My 21" was no problem, but the 16" whooped me..
Road Warrior
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,286
Likes: 64
From: SoCal
After writing my response to your tire changing inquiry I checked the Harbor Freight website because I wanted to know what a bead breaker cost from them. It is $40. That ain't too bad if you change your own tires from now on. It is made for car tires but it probably wouldn't take much to set it up to hold a motorcycle tire/rim.
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Road Master
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 1,223
Likes: 3
From: Peoria, AZ
I hope you all put it on correctly: anyone heard of the balance mark? Using a car or truck to break a bead? Must be a sight! I just throw mine on the freeway and let others do it for me. Never heard of c-clamps and 2X4's?
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Elite HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 4,468
Likes: 12
From: Bluffton, South Carolina
Also if your bike is tubeless put a tube insde of it and put it out in the sun for a while to expand/spread the bead. Some of the tire have the bead only a couple of inches apart from being stored one on top of the other, making it hard to get the tire to seal.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 8,200
Likes: 3,089
From: NW AR
I've done it over the years. I only do it when I'm broke, which fortunately hasn't happened lately. And I'll only do a 16", having ruined a couple of 18" tires. The 16's are easier. I don't have the HF bead breaker or stand to hold the rim. For the bead, I've used the C clamp method, put it in a vice, used a bumper jack under the truck, etc. I keep an old tire around to lay the tire/wheel on when I'm working on it. I finally made a large tire tool out of a piece of scrap round stock. My Wal*Mart tire spoons kept bending on me with the stiff sidewalls. I never bothered balancing them. Couldn't tell any difference either. You can play with the balance with the axle in the vice, moving weights and spinning the wheel until it doesn't stop in the same place anymore.
Anyway, the aftermarket shop only wants like $25 labor if I bring the wheel in and buy the tire from them, and that's well worth it. That includes servicing the bearings.
Anyway, the aftermarket shop only wants like $25 labor if I bring the wheel in and buy the tire from them, and that's well worth it. That includes servicing the bearings.