Anyone change their own rear tire?
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Fun, ain't it?
I've had a fair amount of luck using a giant C-clamp. If I can't actually break the bead with it I can at least cause a gap large enough to get a tire tool into and eventually manhandle it enough to get some daylight.
After that there's the jack trick, the "run over it with the truck" trick, the Gizmow wedge trick....
If rust under the bead is the culprit once you get it off, clean it up and sand the inside of the bead surface with some 400 grit then put some dielectric or silicone grease on it. Anti-sieze is messy, but it works and as far as I know it won't harm rubber. I put my Bighorn on with it in hopes I'll have some chance of getting it off the rim some day.
Tried and true stuff like talcum powder, tire lube and dish soap tend to vaporize over time and that's desirable on most rims where using grease can become a safety issue, but as you can see a TW tire isn't in grave danger of slipping on the rim even if ridden flat.
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I've had a fair amount of luck using a giant C-clamp. If I can't actually break the bead with it I can at least cause a gap large enough to get a tire tool into and eventually manhandle it enough to get some daylight.
After that there's the jack trick, the "run over it with the truck" trick, the Gizmow wedge trick....
If rust under the bead is the culprit once you get it off, clean it up and sand the inside of the bead surface with some 400 grit then put some dielectric or silicone grease on it. Anti-sieze is messy, but it works and as far as I know it won't harm rubber. I put my Bighorn on with it in hopes I'll have some chance of getting it off the rim some day.
Tried and true stuff like talcum powder, tire lube and dish soap tend to vaporize over time and that's desirable on most rims where using grease can become a safety issue, but as you can see a TW tire isn't in grave danger of slipping on the rim even if ridden flat.
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164 Posts
Sure did, but I happen to have a 20 ton hydraulic press for building AKs that comes in right handy at tire change time. Notwithstanding this, I had a bear of a time getting the rear tire to break the bead as well as the press point kept slipping away from the rim. Ended up using a 6" piece of bar stock under the ram head to spread the load laterally and she finally gave up the ghost.
I use this bead breaker from Harbor Freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/bead-breaker-92961.html
It's designed for car and truck tires, but has worked for me on motorcycle tires.
jb
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590 Posts
Used the jack on my truck between the wheel and the bumper. That will break anything.
I don't live near your dealer, I live near mine. They don't price match but they do charge an arm and a leg to mount/change, tires/tubes. I have had two flats and got the shaft each time paying local shops to swap the tube. Why waste 25 bucks every time you need or want to change a tire or tube? I change the tires on my bicycles myself why not do the TWs? I also mash my own cars and change my own oil.
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I saw a picture of a home made version of abead breaker similar to that in the first picture. make out of lumber. Upright was the leg of his workbench. It folds up to be out of the way. I intend copying that idea.
I have changed my own. I use long tire levers made by welding ring spanners to them so I also have decent wheel spanners. You have to work your way around the tire pushing it down a little all the way around & increasing that. TW has very wide bead area with a safety ridge to hold it in place. It is the safety ridge & width that makes it so difficult.
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I have changed my own. I use long tire levers made by welding ring spanners to them so I also have decent wheel spanners. You have to work your way around the tire pushing it down a little all the way around & increasing that. TW has very wide bead area with a safety ridge to hold it in place. It is the safety ridge & width that makes it so difficult.
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652 Posts
For a simple bead breaker that I use all the time: a short 2x4 vertical on the bead and a longer 2x4 under the truck bumper (or some other immovable object) against the short 2x4, push down as a big level - fulcrum is the short 2x4 pressing down on the bead. I don't bolt anything together, it's all loose.
Here you go:
Poor man's bead breaker
If you haven't replaced a tube before, be careful not to pinch the tube with the tire irons or when inflating. Suggest you put one bead on, then put tube in and give it a little air to take some form (but not too much air - it needs room), then put the outer bead on, then inflate to seat bead. If the tube is flat and floppy, it's easier to pinch, if it's too full it is also easier to pinch.
Here you go:
Poor man's bead breaker
If you haven't replaced a tube before, be careful not to pinch the tube with the tire irons or when inflating. Suggest you put one bead on, then put tube in and give it a little air to take some form (but not too much air - it needs room), then put the outer bead on, then inflate to seat bead. If the tube is flat and floppy, it's easier to pinch, if it's too full it is also easier to pinch.
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Before I lived close to a motorcycle shop that let me use their equiptment, I wrestled them with large C clamps and carpentry clamps.
I have three LARGE Harley type tire spoons that work very well once the bead is broken.
On really tough cases I have been known to clamp the tire to squeeze it and work the spoons in to get the bead to slip away from the rim. The lube tit with the same soap stuff you would us when mounting the tire, to lube into the fissure you create. This has always worked. When mounting the new one, I us the partial inflate technique to avoid pinching the tube. When you have it on and before you inflate, bounce it around its' cirumference to settle the tube into its proper place. Now puff it up until the bead seats and set the desired pressure.
BTW most motorcycle tires are direction designed so look for a directional arrow. also look for a round dot of color or white paint. This should be at the position if the valve stem when mounting. This gets you close to balancing and will require less weights to balance the wheel when done.
Have good supply of profanity when starting the job. It makes things go easier. Remember, if you don't shed at least a little blood, you probably didn't do it right.
Phelonius
I have three LARGE Harley type tire spoons that work very well once the bead is broken.
On really tough cases I have been known to clamp the tire to squeeze it and work the spoons in to get the bead to slip away from the rim. The lube tit with the same soap stuff you would us when mounting the tire, to lube into the fissure you create. This has always worked. When mounting the new one, I us the partial inflate technique to avoid pinching the tube. When you have it on and before you inflate, bounce it around its' cirumference to settle the tube into its proper place. Now puff it up until the bead seats and set the desired pressure.
BTW most motorcycle tires are direction designed so look for a directional arrow. also look for a round dot of color or white paint. This should be at the position if the valve stem when mounting. This gets you close to balancing and will require less weights to balance the wheel when done.
Have good supply of profanity when starting the job. It makes things go easier. Remember, if you don't shed at least a little blood, you probably didn't do it right.
Phelonius
i used 3 10" pro motion tire spoons, took a while to break the bead, but it took forever to get that tire off the rim for me anyways, front was no problem and it was my first time doing it there are some good dunlop tire change videos on youtube if you need a guide, they also use the same tire spoons as i did, hope that helps
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I change lots of motorcycle tires, including TW200 tires--all I ever use is 2 10 inch Motion Pro tire levers, (old ones that I picked up years ago, there's nothing special about them) and all 300+ pounds of me. So far I've never met a bead I couldn't eventually break. Sometimes I put a couple of 4x4's on the floor first and put the wheel on top of them just so that everything sits flat and level and doesn't try to roll out from under your feet. In really bad cases I have resorted to clamping the tire in a big vice or with c-clamps, and in extreme cases I have even used a propane torch to heat things up enough to get the rubber really soft and pliable, just be careful not to burn the rim (or set the tire on fire!). Also, I use silicone spray to lube the tire--I stay away from oil based lubes like WD-40 which will eventually rot the rubber, but silicone based sprays don't seem to hurt the rubber or the wheel and they seem to dry out all right, leastways, I've never seen a seated tire slip on the rim because of silicone spray.
Putting any bike tire back on, I get the first side on, get the tube in place, then put it all on the floor and use the tire levers to get the second side started, then use my knees to hold the tire in place while I work my way around the wheel. This works really well for me, but then, I am a little bigger and heavier than average. I've changed hundreds of tires this way, I usually tell customers that they are welcome to wait if they want to and I'll have their tire changed in a half-hour to 45 minutes, and that's when they bring in a whole bike, not just a wheel. Granted most of the bikes I work on are Honda XR's, Yamaha XT's, TW's, DR's, etc. Dual purpose bikes, no Gold Wings that have been JC Whitney'd to death.
Putting any bike tire back on, I get the first side on, get the tube in place, then put it all on the floor and use the tire levers to get the second side started, then use my knees to hold the tire in place while I work my way around the wheel. This works really well for me, but then, I am a little bigger and heavier than average. I've changed hundreds of tires this way, I usually tell customers that they are welcome to wait if they want to and I'll have their tire changed in a half-hour to 45 minutes, and that's when they bring in a whole bike, not just a wheel. Granted most of the bikes I work on are Honda XR's, Yamaha XT's, TW's, DR's, etc. Dual purpose bikes, no Gold Wings that have been JC Whitney'd to death.
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Hey Junglebiker, since you're undefeated, maybe I could offer you a challenge. Next time I need this bighorn off, could you come and do it?? LOL. Just kidding, I worked as a tire buster a part time job for four years and getting this bighorn off and on was one of the biggest tire challenges I have every had.
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