Just thinking the other day if anybody does change there own tires and what they use if they do? Is it super hard or easy? I major in automotive yet have no clue if the sidewalls on the bike would make it easy to come on and off due to being a softer tire.

Any feed back will help

Thanks,
Jason

 

Hey Jason :-)

Here is my take and I maybe completely wrong but my woman logic says why on earth would you wish to do this?? ... even if I bought tyres online I can take them to my local bike dealer who will fit and seal them professionally AND balance them for low cost ... if I am buying tyres from them then fitting is free anyway, right? The last tyres I bought for my F3 were from a proper bike tyre place here in Wales and the tyres I bought were fitted free of charge and balanced ... all I had to do was take the wheels up in my car, I take the wheels off myself and put them back to save on labour but the actual fitting, no just no, I mean I watch them and they have these very expensive looking press machines which fit them evenly and safely with straining any local areas ... then they are balanced with high tech. balancing machines ... bicycle tyres I would do myself, my sportbike which does 165mph, no, just no ...but, what do I know


Jules

 

I change my tires. It saves me 80 bucks a change in the SF Bay Area, and a lot of shops won't change if I don't buy tires through them. With a balancing stand (you can make one out of 2x4 if you don't want to throw down serious cash to do it), lead weights, spoons, and some rim protectors (you can make them out of a plastic soda bottle) you can do as good a job as any shop. A hydraulic press is a must to break the bead, but cutting it off the rim with a knife also works. It takes a few hours to do a set of sportbike tires.

The other nice thing is that when you do your own tires, you get to know the rest of your bike. It's easy to inspect your suspension, chain and sprocket, brakes and bearings when the wheels are off. Anyways, I've seen the work a lot of shops do, and I sure as hell trust my own work more.

 

I've done it. It's not necessarily fun, but can save you some money if you can't find a decently priced tire shop in the area.
I refused to pay the $50-$60 each that some of the ****** around here were charging (with the wheel off!!).

Now I have a cool little shop to do it for half that, so I'm not gonna mess with it anymore. Plus, he's saying he'll beat any internet price on the tires, too, so I'm done f'in with it.

Not necessarily. I've used 2x4s (one long/one short) like a lever on my truck bumper to break 'em. Works pretty good.

 

Guys love to give themselves grief ..lol ... sorry but I am just a lazy tart in my old age ... I prefer to just polish these days, filling up with fuel that is one of my biggest chores ..lol

Jules

 

A friend of mine has a No-Mar tire changer, and does mine for me for free. A long time ago, when there use to be a bunch of riding, he bought it so we could all change our tires much cheaper. He goes through 2-3 sets a year, so the 120-180 a year he saves paid for the changer pretty fast. He got his for around 300 used. They are 500 or so new. He also has a ballancer, the two upright bars with the bearings on top, and rod going through the wheel. I've changed 3 sets with it, and ballanced without any issues at all.

Its incredible how fast and easy it changes the tires. Honestly, 5 minutes start to finish.

If I had to change them myself with spoons, I'd just pay the money and not risk messing up my rims. but since I have a good friend, I dont pay the money. I offer it to him, but he doesnt take it. And, after using it, I'd prolly buy one if he ever sold his. And, its better than the highschool kid in the back of the dealership who doesn't care about your wheels tossing them around.

Nah, girls just love to spend money

 

I got the harbor freight changer with motorcycle attachment. Can change one in 20 minutes no problem ... dynabeads = no stupid balancer (even though I do have a balancer).

 

Nah, life's too short to change tyres ... I get it in certain instances like you and your friends all chipping in and sharing etc because you maybe go through two or three sets a year but an old gal like me who doesn't want to break her nails anymore and only does a few thosuand miles a year in a good year, then hell .. let someone else do my tyres ..lol

Kudos to thsoe that do bother though :-)

Jules

 

I did a forum search of tart and ended up here.

Win.

To the OP...

Yes, I do. And by yes, I mean no.

 

I change mine because shops want $60 to change a set they didn't sell, and I run at least a set of tires in a day... if it rains I'll switch to rains, and if it is hot I'll toast off a set in under a day...

I've saved the cost of the no-mar in a year.