How To Change A Tire On A Motorcycle
Common Tread Supreme Ruler Lance made one of his regular sojourns to ZLA headquarters in Philly from his lair in Ohio in early fall. Although he was up for the trip, his tires were non. His rear Dunlop had seen better days, and then he took a piddling detour up the loma to Lemmy Mountain for some tire attention before making the ride domicile.
Our commencement order of business was to eat the doughnuts Lance brought, washing them down with coffee. If you're swapping tires before nine a.yard., we recommend you lot do the same. (If it is after 9, please swill beer instead.)
Lance's editorial comment #ane: Lemmy likes to dive right into a job, only I like to call back about the significant of it all. Such as why do I ever change my own tires? There are a couple of adept reasons. Commencement, you can relieve coin by ownership your motorcycle tires from RevZilla at a good price, probably better than what your local shop charges. Plus, you'll salvage the fee for changing them. With shops charging $xx to $twoscore per cycle, the equipment you buy to practise it yourself will pay for itself before long. The second reason is that you'll salvage yourself some time, and that's even more valuable to me than coin. I can modify my own tires faster than I can brand an date, take the wheels off the bicycle, take them to the shop and wait for someone to practice the work. I do information technology on my own schedule, when it's convenient for me.
I should also specify that everything here is about changing tubeless tires. If Lemmy e'er gets out and rides his neglected Honda XR650L enough to wear out the OEM tires, peradventure I'll be able to go him to do a how-to on changing tube-blazon tires. Now I'll mitt the mic dorsum to Lemmy...
Our starting time job was to go the rear end of the wheel up in the air. At that place's lots of methods for lifting a scooter: wheel jacks, ratchet straps to overhead rafters, centerstands, wheelstands, you lot name it. I've even changed tires with a wheel frame up on a log before, and I've laid them on their sides too. Exist creative, but be conscientious. Lance set his wheel upwards with a pair of swingarm spools at some point, and so we merely picked upward the machine and put information technology on some plain old automotive jackstands. We did loosen the beam nut slightly while the wheel was all the same solidly on the basis. No demand to torque on information technology after information technology'south raised.
Lance'southward editorial annotate #two: I take the swingarm spools because at home in my own garage, I'd rapidly and easily raise my Versys on my rear stand. Since Lemmy only rides Shovelheads, choppers of muttly lineage and other odd junk, to which no one has always fitted swingarm spools, he didn't have a rear stand. The jackstands worked just fine.
Next, we loosened the concatenation adjusters so we could slip the chain off the sprocket, and then slid out the axle. Go on track of the club of the beam hardware, particularly wheel spacers. If you fail at this step, you have to put together a little jigsaw puzzle when you reassemble everything.
Lance'southward editorial comment #3: My tip: I like to put the spacers back on the axle in the proper lodge and put the nut on loosely. That keeps me from forgetting what goes where and misplacing any pieces. Plus, brand a note of where the restriction caliper mounting subclass fits into the scheme.
Before sliding the axle out, I like to put a little chock of wood under the tire being removed to hold it up. Then I use a drift dial to drive the beam out of the wheel. If you lot're doing a front cycle, the process is the same (don't forget to loosen the pinch bolts at the bottom of most fork legs), just you will probably have to remove both brake calipers to remove the wheel. Wire the calipers up out of the way. Don't let them dangle by the brake hoses.
If you're so inclined, now is the time to check those bike bearings. If they feel gritty, repack or replace 'em! Don't forget to check the brakes while you've got them off, as well.
Deflate the tire by removing the valve core with a valve core tool. After the air has made its exit, information technology's fourth dimension to break the beads. At that place are a multitude of ways to practice this, but we elected to use a transmission bead billow. It makes quick work of an otherwise-hard job.
Lance'south editorial comment #4: Breaking the bead can exist the hardest part of the job, in some cases. The tool Lemmy has worked like a amuse. At home, I have a Harbor Freight irresolute stand I bought years ago. It has its drawbacks and doesn't get much respect from tool aficionados, but it has a dewdrop breaker that works well, and that lonely makes it worth its price, to me. At that place are some other smashing tools that don't cost a fortune.
After the beads are broken on both sides, it's time to begin pulling the tire off the wheel. This part of the chore is more of an art than a scientific discipline. Everyone seems to find their own way of doing things. I similar to work on old squares of carpeting to keep from beating the tar out of the stop on the wheels.
Lance's editorial comment #5: Although it was mildly alarming to watch Lemmy battling my wheel and tire on his knees like an Everglades 'gator wrestler, I have to admit his methods got the job done. Personally, my knees accept a lot more miles on them than Lemmy's and I prefer to work continuing up. Plus, having the wheel clamped to a stand up makes information technology easier to avoid the possibility of putting pressure level on a brake rotor. If you lot do apply the Lemmy method, keep the rotor side up to avert leaning on it.
In that location are means to make your own tire-changing stand up, if you're lacking funds to buy one. I've seen some skilful homemade tire-irresolute setups created with a few dollars of materials: A discarded machine bicycle with a department of old garden hose sliced lengthwise and put on the wheel's rim for rubber protection, and a threaded rod in the eye to clamp your motorcycle wheel to the machine wheel. My shop-bought tire-changing stand is some other choice. If you're fix to pay more, I've seen people change tires in a flash without breaking a sweat using 1 of those fancy (and pricey) No-Mar changers.
The task will go easier with the right tools. Use tire lube. They make this stuff for a reason — it works! It helps with de-mounts also as mounting, and protects the bead from rips or tears from the tire irons.
Employ dedicated tire spoons. I'm not going to child you lot and say I've never fudged it with the wrong tool, but I've as well ruined some wheels one-half-assing the job alongside the road in the middle of Due east Jabip. Rim protectors are a bully thought if you want to keep your wheels looking skilful. If yous think I'm just pitching stuff we sell, let me dispel that notion: Yous tin easily cut up quondam milk jugs, or you can utilise College Lemmy'south impromptu rim-saver: heater hose scraps filched from the car parts joint.
Removing the tire is prolly the trickiest step. Apply the spoons, take your time, and every bit Lance kept reminding me, "Take small bites!" He's got a cracking point. I have a habit of getting greedy. I try to de-mount the whole dang tire at one time, and it never works. It bends the spoons, makes my arms sore, and puts the fragile beads at risk. Work smart, not hard. Do little sections of bead at a time and don't forget the tire lube.
Here's the most of import affair to remember. The act of levering the dewdrop over the rim lip merely can happen if the bead is in the "drop-center" on the opposite side of the tire. The drop-center is the shallow channel that runs the circumference of the wheel at the center and information technology makes the whole procedure possible. If you're having to use excessive force and nevertheless can't get the bead of the tire over the lip of the rim, your problem is that the tire bead is not in the driblet-center.
It can be difficult because the tire doesn't want to stay in the drop-centre. I typically kneel on the tire to go along information technology where I want it. At this point, later a few bad words, you should take i bead free of the tire. Repeat the procedure on the other dewdrop, only the same side of the bike.
Lance's editorial comment #6: I find that having a couple of different shapes of tire irons makes the task much easier. I have 1 long fe with a nice bend in it that's near indispensable for that outset grip on the second bead, which is harder to access than the beginning.
With the tire off, I requite the wheel a visual inspection, and so replace the valve stem. You lot can either pull the old one out with a tool or merely cut it out. Lance didn't have a replacement valve stem ready, so we reused the same one. You can exercise that, only replacing it is inexpensive protection.
Using the directional arrows on the sidewall, bank check and double-check the direction of the new tire relative to the cycle. Nil is worse than mounting it backwards and having to practise the chore twice. Be generous with the lube and slather the new tire's beads. Installation of the new tire is much the same as removing the old ane. Again, "take small bites" and be certain the opposite bead is in the driblet-center of the bike. If there'southward a small dot of paint on the sidewall, that's the balancing marking. Line it upward with the heaviest part of the bike, typically where the valve stem bolts in (meet balancing section below).
Once the tire is mounted onto the wheel, y'all need to seat the beads. Remove the valve cadre from the new stem so you can inflate it faster. A large air compressor will have plenty oomph! to blow the beads of virtually tires onto the wheel, but in that location are ever kludgy exceptions. If your compressor's non doing the job, there are a number of redneck ways to make the tire assume its new home. I'm non going to claim that I've never used ether to accident a dewdrop onto a wheel, but I certain am not recommending anyone else practise it. Dewdrop seating tools (likewise known as Cheetahs) are much less unsafe. Watch your fingers during this step! I have pinched the ever-livin' bejesus out of myself past getting my finger too close to a dewdrop that was about to seat.
Lance's editorial annotate #seven: Lube is again your friend when trying to seat the beads. Information technology encourages the bead to slide into its home and, because it is liquid, it volition create tell-tale bubbles to show yous where air is escaping, instead of inflating your tire. Sometimes pressing on the tread next to the spot where air is escaping past the bead will be enough to get that satisfying and loud "pop!" y'all're seeking.
With the bead set, replace the valve core and accommodate the inflation to the correct pressure. If you are the balancing kind of fellow, at present is the time to do so. (Lance and I have like views on balancing tires. We don't.) Please don't leave murderous comments about balancing. I encourage everyone to do what they feel is best with regard to tire balancing.
Lance's editorial comment #eight: Uh, actually I've been known to balance tires, peculiarly forepart ones and especially on a bike I'm going to take to the runway and ride at college speeds, where a vibration tin show upwardly that I never felt at street speeds.
Static balancing isn't difficult. One of these balancing stands (or a homemade alternative), some stick-on wheel weights and some patience are all yous need. The skillful news is that quality control keeps getting better, and more ofttimes these days I find tires need trivial or no weights to be in rest. Yous can likewise use your balancing stand up on your cycle alone to determine if the valve stem area actually is the heaviest spot on the wheel. That lets you know where to line upwards the balancing spot on the tire.
Lemmy's editorial comment #1: This guy sure has a lot of advice to dole out for a guy with clean easily, doesn't he?
At this stage of the game, you ought to be ready to reinstall your wheel. I put that chock of woods back in place to hold the wheel up. Reinstall your caliper (or restriction assembly, if your bike has a pulsate brake), get all your spacers lined up in the right spots and slide the beam back in. Leave the axle nut slightly loose while you adjust the tension on the chain. Snug everything upwards, cheque the concatenation tension again (the chain on Lance'due south Versys gets tighter when you torque that axle nut), cheque to brand certain the rear wheel is straight past sighting downwardly the chain, lubricate the chain, put a new cotter pin in the castellated beam nut, and go ride! (Carefully, of form, so you can scrub in that new tire and brand certain you accept everything snugged down right. And don't forget to pump up the brakes before you ride.)
As a parting thought, keep your caput virtually you if this is the first fourth dimension you're changin' tars. Even thousands of tires subsequently, these things nonetheless become me riled up. Chaplet don't seat, tires won't get onto their rims. Information technology's always something. Patient and methodical work gets the task washed, so don't get discouraged!
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Source: https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/how-to-change-motorcycle-tires
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