Rear tire change

[Crashgordon74]

In an effort to save myself $75 I have decided to dismount and mount my own tires. Front tire......... no problemo. Back tire.........$&#*%$*(^%(%^!!!!!!!  I simply cannot get the tire off the wheel. That last bead is a real sumbitch and of course I talked myself into buying 8 1/2" tire irons. They don't have much leverage so now my hands look like they've been through a meat grinder. All the U-Tube videos make it look so easy but the ones I've seen are mostly low profile sportbike tires. Any suggestions????

                                                                      Crash 

[MarkT]

If you think it's hard getting it OFF - wait til you try to put the new one ON.  MUCH harder.  You need bigger tire irons.  Harbor Freight sells them.  I bought their manual tire mounting machine, and the motorcycle adapter, and have mounted all my tires for several years.  EXCEPT.  I put a Yokohama AO48 205/55-16 on recently, and the sidewalls were so stiff I couldn't mount it.  I took it to my dealer and he had a helluva time with his powered machine, though he got it mounted eventually.  That is the only one I COULDN'T mount even with oversize irons.

Here's Fred Harmon's stepwise how-to page on mounting tires - he's using the H-F machine, but the same tips and steps apply:  http://www.pbase.com/fredharmon/tirechange

What Mike said below - pay attention to keeping the part of the bead in the valley while you're pulling the opposite side on - I do it with little blocks of wood, just like in Fred's pic here:

[hubcapsc]

This will get the bead off both sides...



I used my 8 inch tire irons on many Valkyrie tires. Ditch them, and get some gnarly
tire irons, the job is hard enough without making it harder...



Lubrication is important, and make sure that the already-on part of the bead is
up inside the rim when you're getting that last bit of the bead on...

-Mike

[Crashgordon74]

O.K. I'll try bigger tire irons and leave the small ones for my wife's 250 Ninja.  Thanks.


     

[Daniel Meyer]

And make sure, with wedges or something...that the bead that's on the rim, is pushed to the center (deep) part of the rim while you are working on the other side...it's a mistake many make...and it will *not* come off unless you get that bead to the center.

[Jess from VA]

Believe it's also helpful if tires to come off or go on lay out in direct sunlight (won't fit in the dryer).

[John U.]

Sunshine and hot asphalt help a lot. In the winter I heat my wheels/tires up in front of a wood stove. These ideas sound kind of silly but when you've got a tire that is winning the battle, any advantage is worth a try. 

[Crashgordon74]

I gave up fighting with the old tire and cut the bead with my dremel. There's so much steel in that bead it's a wonder you can get the tire on or off  without a machine. I'm gonna save the tire installs until next weekend. By then I should have longer irons. Good news is the splines still look like brand new. Thanks for the help. This board is the best!

                                                                       Crash  

[Tropic traveler]

I hear ya on the DIY manual tire change!
I have three 11.5" tire spoons and no changer, I just put it on the floor & go at it. I have found one benefit of being 250 lbs, when I push down on the tire with my knee... it stays put! 
The things we do to save a buck!     

[Crashgordon74]

Yeah the local shop here wanted $36 per wheel for mount and balance. I decided I would show them and do it myself. However with all the tools ( tire irons, rim protectors, bead breaker and now longer irons) I had to purchase the stealer would have been cheaper. Oh well, live and learn!!! 

[sutterhome]

but now you know how to do it and have the tools.i use the long 2x4 method myself

[gordonv]

I'm glad hubcapsc posted his pic.

HF has 24" irons, and also tire lube, get them both, and make it 3 irons.

It's summer now, so place the tire out in the sun for a while before you start working on it, the heat will allow it to stretch more easily.

Don't forget new valve stems.

[valkyriemc]

A friend who is a local mechanic and who has a good selection of tire changing equipment, calls the lowest part of the rim the "drop zone". Keeping the tire in that extra space makes its easier.

[F6MoRider]

Ditto on the HF tire changer w/motorcycle tire adapter.  My changes go fast and are easy (now) thanks to the how-to videos on YouTube.  Lube is most important as is pushing the tire portion already on the rim down off the bead as you stretch the final section of bead on/off the rim.

C-clamps also assist when used like the blocks of wood in Markt's pic in this thread.

[Ricky-D]

You can use a right angle grinder to cut the bead portion of the loose tire to make removal a very easy operation.

Just be careful not to grind the wheel.

***