Changing tires

[montmil]

This item, a "ghetto-style" tire bead breaker, may be common knowledge amongst veteran R65ers but I luckily tripped across it yesterday evening while reading about, what else?, BMW scooters. The idea is like old jokes; they're not really old jokes if you've never heard 'em.

Today is officially Tire Changing Day here in the garage at Casa Parkside. Without this simple "tool", I'd have most likely become very discouraged and not gotten tires changed as planned. As it was, I had to borrow some longer tire spoons as my vintage 8-inch irons from 1965 just didn't offer the leverage I needed... or else I was just a bit stronger at 19 years.

Check this out. The guy is even working on an R65 front wheel. This is gold!

http://www.webbikeworld.com/t2/bead-breaker/motorcycle-tire-bead-breaker.htm


For more good ideas and an escape from the wastelands of television, here's the main webBikeWorld site. Again, if this is old news and I'm the last to know, well, now I know!

http://www.webbikeworld.com/

[mikethebike]

I changed my front tyre a couple of weeks ago and managed to puncture the tube putting it back on! Doh!  Next time it's going to the tyre shop!  

I have a woodworkers vice in my shed which is great for breaking beads.

[Ed Miller]

I never saw THAT bead breaker before.  I bet it's faster than my bench vise.  I bought one of the bead poppers from Aerostitch to carry with me, but haven't had to use it yet.  

Thanks for the link.

[montmil]

I changed my front tyre a couple of weeks ago and managed to puncture the tube putting it back on!

Well, the only thing I pinched was my fingers while trying to work the valve stem through the "worm hole" in the rim. Couple nice bruises. Tire's holding air pressure.

While the front wheel was off, I bit the bullet and stopped by the local bearing supply house to pick up two new seals for the front axle. Yanked the old ones out, cleaned and inspected the bearings -thankfully in good condition- repacked the bearings and tucked them in behind the new seals. After my experiences with the rusted n' busted left-side rear axle bearing and race, I didn't want to take any chances.

Took some serious air pressure to seat the new tire's beads. Had stopped work and was walking off to go get a cool one when I heard, "pop" and I knew they were home... finally. Wasted a lot of time looking for my old tire irons thinking I might need 'em. Finally found them in a drawer of my newest rollaway chest. Dummy me... I had kept the spoons in an older chest, the same drawer for almost twenty years. I put them back where they belong.

Rear tire tomorrow. I can't not hardly wait. Better if I remember how much the local shop charges to mount new skins. 

Update #2:  OK... It's tomorrow already.  The rear tire was so much quicker to install; after the usual fighting to get the wheel off the bike, I spent one honest hour from old tire bead brake to completion.  A webBikeWorld tech article about -what else?- tires reminded me that the painted circle "dot" on the new tire sidewall is to be installed directly opposite the valve stem.  The "dot" is the mfger's communication as to where the heavy side of the tire is.

Note to self: Tire changer would not be a good career move.  [smiley=smash.gif]

Update #3:  Mid-afternoon right now and I just returned from a ride to gently scuff in the new Bridgestones. Holy lean angle, Blind as a Bat,Man, those puppies stick!  After the mounting chores were complete, I did my own ghetto-style balance on the tires and the R65 is a whole bunch smoother on the road than with the tired Metzlers.  Going back out just after dusk this evening -that'll be about 2115 hours- and play in the traffic.  

[mikethebike]

I was in Corfu (Greece) a number of years ago and was sitting in a cafe, sipping Ouzo and lemonade, watching an old guy taking off a motorcycle tyre. His arms and legs were everywhere and he seemed to be using about five levers!  I asked the waiter how long it took him to change a tyre.  He paused, looked across at the guy and said " Usually about five cigarettes!"  After about three quarters of an hour he took out the tube, repaired it and put it back on - with the bald tyre!

[Ed Miller]

I'm sure the rest of that was fascinating, but I'm still hung up on the Ouzo and lemonade....  Doesn't sound good.

But like I like to say when I brandish a cheap bottle of fortified wine, "Any Port in a storm!"

[MrRiden]

Changing your own tires builds character! You'll not need much more than a C clamp for bead breaking, some good purpose built tire Irons [no screwdrivers] some Murphy's Oil Soap [no harsh detergents, ammonia, or bleach] and some genuine Tire Talc, don't use Talcum powder. You can get the real stuff on-line or perhaps at a bicycle shop. A good crate to support the tyre & rim [don't do this on the shed floor] plastic rim guards and a nice sunny day to warm the tyres so that they are more pliable. There is a site with some step by step instructions but I'll hold short of posting it's tediousness.
Justin also has some tire balancing equipment for sale a while back. I got one and it works a treat!
rich
Who is thinking of some dual sport tyers for Arizona dirt roads!