I did mine myself. after owning my bike for only 1000 miles and 2 months... I watched that video up there ^ and made a makeshift version. I put the board under the tailgate of my truck and used it as the lever. popping the bead is the hardest part. once you get that done I used large screwdrivers and cut up a milk jug to make rimsavers. put a slit in the milk jug pieces to slide the screwdrivers through and lever the tire over the rim. I also used dawn dish soap to make it slide over a lil easier. It was a PITA at first. but Im glad i know how to now. and it was also a similar price for me at the local bike shop.

I used RIDE ON ... its a liquid-like substance that you squeeze into your tire when you inflate it and it balances the tire for you (no need for weights). it also will guarantee no flats even if you run over nails. look up vids on Youtube of RideOn they run over boards of nails then go race without a problem. Sounded good, Ordered it, now I dont have to worry about getting a flat and buying a new tire right away and my tire is balanced great. no problems 4k miles later. I will definately do it from now on. hope this helps a little. (worst case if you cant get the tire off you can bring it to the shop like originally planned)

Good Luck!

 

Yeah, SoCal we have it convenient...I'm 1/4 miles from Cycle gear & Harbor Freight...few miles from my Mechanic...guess that's the difference being in the bigger CITY. I can't imagine waiting so long just for tire change. That's why it's more logical just to learn to DIY

 

checking this vid right now, never heard of it.

 

Interesting stuff. Love that tire gauge.

 

Yup Thats the stuff ^ with my last tire I hit a nail and had to replace...didnt want that to happen again right away so this gives some peace of mind. Id definately recommend

 

ain't nothing to changing your own tires and balance beads are just fine so long as it's not the fake glass dust/sand kind - you'd need the ceramic bead type - work great.

Harbor Freight have a nice cheap easy motorcycle bead breaker too that's worth the
60 or so bucks

 

First of all let me say thanks to you guys for the help! But, I did not have enough beer to get the job done I guess. I made something like the bead breaker in the video and I could not get the bead to break and I manged to remove some more of my paint on the rear wheel. I took them into a local shop ended up paying $65 but I did get the wheels back the same day. AM drop off PM pick up. My son and I got them reinstalled and I am back on the road. In case you want to know I replaced the Michelin Road pilot 3 with the Pirelli Angel ST . The rear Michelin was completely worn (threads showing) on the sides with very little wear in the middle the front was showing separation lines between the sides and the center compounds. I put these tires on last spring and have about 6k miles on them I like the way they felt on the bike but I am very disappointed with the longevity. The Angels are a higher apex tire and feel different but, I like them so far. For the money I looked at Harbor Freight and could buy the motorcycle bead breaker for $20 on sale right now. I might go ahead and get it for next time. Here is a picture

 

Nice looking bike!

I bought a bead breaker for about $100 from Jake Wilson.com. The first tire I changed was a total nightmare! The second went better. Then the last 2 I changed I did by myself with no problem! It's all technique. Videos are a big help. The main thing is to get the opposite side of the tire from where you are spooning pushed down to the center of the rim to give you the slack you will need. I took a big C clamp and clamped down the other side of the tire so it would stay in the center of the rim.

 

+2 Bad *** looking Hurricane

 

Thanks for the kind remarks guys! She is not perfect but still a lot of fun!