Front Tire Valve Stem Changeout

[Pluggy]

Men,

I have seen pictures of a front tire being squeezed with C clamps and wood blocks.  The bead is broken at a location so a stem may be removed and replaced, on the bike   The pictures show a skinny tire.  Has anyone done this with a Valkyrie radial tire?

Thanks / Pluggy

[hubcapsc]

Works good. Ten inch clamp is better than eight...

Here's us scrambling around with some eight inch clamps and some
pieces of 1-by that I broke off an old bench, getting Joe going again
out in the middle of nowhere:



Here's a rear tire under more controlled conditions with ten inch
clamps...



The boards spread the point load of the clamps on the sidewall, it
looks scary to try and do it without them.

-Mike

[Pluggy]

Thanks, Mike.  I did an inventory, and my clamp collection only goes up to 8 inch.  I can see the advantage to one that's larger.  The 10 inch clamps are expensive.  I may be able to figure something out.  How about drilling a hole through both sidewalls and passing a large bolt through it?

Pluggy

[hubcapsc]

How about drilling a hole through both sidewalls and passing a large bolt through it?

I bet that would work great. Except for the part about using the tire again...

-Mike "eight works... I got my tens on Amazon..."

[Jess from VA]

I've seen guys back their car over the tire to compress the bead, but man you don't want to run over the rim (wheel).

[Pluggy]

The guy that changed my tire said he had a stem.  Went to pick it up and he said his would not fit, but mine was OK.  OK = loses one or two pounds a week.  If the fix is more work that filling the tire multiple times, then I won't do it.  And, I don't want to screw anything up.  No "Maintenance Induced Failures", as we used to say.

[vanagon40]

Is this an OEM valve stem? If so, is there an OEM keeper for the stem?

If the stem was leaking through the schrader valve (and replacing the insert would not cure the leak), I might trust it. If it was leaking anywhere else, I would be concerned about a catastrophic failure.

If the c-clamp is too expensive, you might be able to fabricate something with a couple pieces of ready rod (all thread)--one on the outside, one through the rim.

[vanagon40]

I've seen guys back their car over the tire to compress the bead, but man you don't want to run over the rim (wheel).

Been there, done that--on a car or truck tire with steel wheels. Also used a bumper jack (remember those).

[Jess from VA]

I've seen guys back their car over the tire to compress the bead, but man you don't want to run over the rim (wheel).

Been there, done that--on a car or truck tire with steel wheels. Also used a bumper jack (remember those).

Yeah I remember those.  Once on an icy road it shot out and missed me.  Once, on one of my old beaters, it jacked the bumper off it's rusty mounts (partially). 

[Ramie]

The guy that changed my tire said he had a stem.  Went to pick it up and he said his would not fit, but mine was OK.  OK = loses one or two pounds a week.  If the fix is more work that filling the tire multiple times, then I won't do it.  And, I don't want to screw anything up.  No "Maintenance Induced Failures", as we used to say.

I had a rear tire that did that on my I/S. Turned out I had a dozen pinholes in the Avon Cobra with still good thread.

[Hook#3287]

I wouldn't ride on a front tire that leaks.