changed tire today...

[hubcapsc]

Could have gone several hundred more miles on this tire... it doesn't look so bad in these pictures,
but it is changed now.

I tried some new stuff, liked it all...

Got a 8 inch clamp a month or so ago, and sawed a couple of pieces of hard maple one-by, used it
to break the bead... it wasn't nearly as easy as using a 8 foot long 2X4 lever to break the bead, but
I can't keep 8 foot long 2X4 in my saddlebag. I was on two rides last year where we had to change
out someone's valve stem... I'll be ready now...



After I broke the bead, I used a studly zip-tie to hold the beads together at one place, lubed the
first bead I wanted to remove, and used these honkin' new tire tools to easily take the bead off
across from the zip tie. Then I set the wheel on the bucket with tire hanging from the lower
edge on the remaining bead. I lubed the bead and it was pretty easy to remove enough bead
from the wheel with two honkin' tire tools that I could just push the tire the rest of the way off.



I think I can carry the tire tools in the saddlebag too, we'll see...

It was trivial to mount the new tire with the honkin' tools...

Mounted and balanced...



The splines and stuff all looked pretty good, all covered in goop, I'll clean it all up tomorrow and
know for sure...



-Mike

[lacon]

Very clever use of 5 gallon buckets.  I've got a new front tire to mount this spring & I will give the zip tie trick a try.

[Thunderbolt]

I always use some steel wool to get the rubber marks off the inside of the wheel, thinking that might make it slip on better and seal better also. 

[hubcapsc]

I always use some steel wool to get the rubber marks off the inside of the wheel, thinking that might make it slip on better and seal better also. 

I cleaned the snot out of the inside of the wheel with a stiff brush  ...

And cleaned and polished the outside of the wheel so I wouldn't get yelled at by.... you know 

-Mike

[Marcel]

Great pics, I learned about the stems or valve stems the easy way.

A few of us learned the hard way.

Change those valve stems regularly.

I am a new student to that as I have neglected those as well.

Owning mostly newer bikes I have been getting away with not changing them.

But not any more.

Al

[Big IV]

that tire had plenty of life left in it. Friday after work as I approached my bike I realized I'd rubbed the black off my front. The white strip down the center reminded me it was time to change it.

[hubcapsc]

that tire had plenty of life left in it. Friday after work as I approached my bike I realized I'd rubbed the black off my front. The white strip down the center reminded me it was time to change it.

Yeah... it depends on how you define "plenty"... I just skipped out on an awesome sounding 1,000 mile
ride because of it.  There's a third left on my rear brake pads, too, but I'm changing them out now
while I'm in there...

-Mike

[BIG--T]

Could have gone several hundred more miles on this tire... it doesn't look so bad in these pictures,
but it is changed now.

I tried some new stuff, liked it all...

Got a 8 inch clamp a month or so ago, and sawed a couple of pieces of hard maple one-by, used it
to break the bead... it wasn't nearly as easy as using a 8 foot long 2X4 lever to break the bead, but
I can't keep 8 foot long 2X4 in my saddlebag. I was on two rides last year where we had to change
out someone's valve stem... I'll be ready now...



After I broke the bead, I used a studly zip-tie to hold the beads together at one place, lubed the
first bead I wanted to remove, and used these honkin' new tire tools to easily take the bead off
across from the zip tie. Then I set the wheel on the bucket with tire hanging from the lower
edge on the remaining bead. I lubed the bead and it was pretty easy to remove enough bead
from the wheel with two honkin' tire tools that I could just push the tire the rest of the way off.



I think I can carry the tire tools in the saddlebag too, we'll see...

It was trivial to mount the new tire with the honkin' tools...

Mounted and balanced...



The splines and stuff all looked pretty good, all covered in goop, I'll clean it all up tomorrow and
know for sure...



-Mike

Mike now that is cool and sure can't beat free, and just think  I was going to Harbor Freight to buy a MC tire changer!! Do you use dyna beads? Thanks for posting.

[hubcapsc]

Mike now that is cool and sure can't beat free, and just think  I was going to Harbor Freight to buy a MC tire changer!! Do you use dyna beads? Thanks for posting. Wink

Well, I wouldn't want to talk you out of getting a tire changer, I kind of like to work this way and hopefully I'm developing the ability
to be of use when we have tire problems on rides... another member (Mac I think...) just got an awesome looking tire changer...

I had dyna-beads in the tire I just took off, I think they worked well, at least I never had any reason to think they didn't, I rolled down
the road smooth as butter... I didn't like putting them in, and I didn't like them spilling out all over the floor when I took the tire off...
If you look back at the picture, I'm balancing on one of those static balancers... I think they're easy and work great... I have a handful
of honda-style clip-on weights (you can see them in the picture too) that I reuse... I was doing a whole bunch of maintenance the last
time I changed tires, and  forgot to balance, so Highbinder was kind enough to give me 2 ounces of dyna-beads...

-Mike
   

[BIG--T]

Mike now that is cool and sure can't beat free, and just think  I was going to Harbor Freight to buy a MC tire changer!! Do you use dyna beads? Thanks for posting. Wink

Well, I wouldn't want to talk you out of getting a tire changer, I kind of like to work this way and hopefully I'm developing the ability
to be of use when we have tire problems on rides... another member (Mac I think...) just got an awesome looking tire changer...

I had dyna-beads in the tire I just took off, I think they worked well, at least I never had any reason to think they didn't, I rolled down
the road smooth as butter... I didn't like putting them in, and I didn't like them spilling out all over the floor when I took the tire off...
If you look back at the picture, I'm balancing on one of those static balancers... I think they're easy and work great... I have a handful
of honda-style clip-on weights (you can see them in the picture too) that I reuse... I was doing a whole bunch of maintenance the last
time I changed tires, and  forgot to balance, so Highbinder was kind enough to give me 2 ounces of dyna-beads...

-Mike
   

I love your post and I don't need a tire changer. I mean how often will I be changing tires, plus the fact that's a great idea to use while traveling if I or someone has a blowout! And I have the 2x4 and clamps, tire tools and co2! 

[Hoser]

"I love your post and I don't need a tire changer. I mean how often will I be changing tires"

Once, sometimes twice a year.  Hoser  

[BIG--T]

"I love your post and I don't need a tire changer. I mean how often will I be changing tires"

Once, sometimes twice.  Hoser  

Got a point there Hoser, guess I've been lucky so far! One time I had 3 flats in one week on my truck and I'm not talking slick- they  had  a lot of meat on them!!

That would be bad to have 2 flats at one time!

[alph]

Alright, just a question; if you're going to throw out the old tire, why not just cut the tire off??  I don't need to change my tire yet, but when I do I plan on using a dremel tool with a cutting wheel to cut the beads, making it easier to remove the tire.  Don't know if anyone's done this before, just sounds easier to me.  Now, I know not to cut into my rim, but once the outside of the tire is cut it would be pretty easy to pull the bead off of the edge of the tire.  also, doing this will allow me to reuse my dyna beads.

Just a thought.

[hubcapsc]

Alright, just a question; if you're going to throw out the old tire, why not just cut the tire off?? 

I tried to cut a tire off once, a long time ago... I wasn't happy with the result... it was a hack job 

Let us know how it goes when you turn a dremel tool loose on a tire... maybe it will be easy...

-Mike

[Big IV]

Tires, even bald tires, don't cut very well. I've decided the blades are worth more than the trouble to cut one off. I'm also always concerned I'll hit the rim and do damage with the newly dulled blade. That would be bad.

ha, he said hack job.

[Jess Tolbirt]

the wires in the beads are hardened steel,, at least where i worked they are (Bridgestone)

[thumper]

See what a "Clemson man" can do when he puts his mind to it.  You make us proud Mike.

[G-Man]

I mean how often will I be changing tires.....,

New valkyrie owner???  If you ride her, probably every 10 -12,000 miles!

[hubcapsc]

My brake pads and some caliper seals came on Monday... I worked on it some the last couple of afternoons
after work...



I got that stainless steel speed bleeder six months ago or so... since I was ordering seals, I also ordered
the pads from the Parts side of HDL, rather than the Accessories side... pads from the
Parts side don't come blister-packed to piece of cardboard... plus they're made of pure gold!



-Mike

[BIG--T]

I mean how often will I be changing tires.....,

New valkyrie owner???  If you ride her, probably every 10 -12,000 miles!

Then I'd better quit smoking the tires!! 

[hubcapsc]

Like they said, this is a rainy weekend, so I haven't been rushing... over a couple of afternoons
after work last week I removed my caliper, put in new seals and pads...

Today I finally cleaned up my final drive stuff... I've put about 40,000 miles on my Valkyrie since I
had it, all of it on the same final drive until six or eight months ago when I found that my
pinion seal had come out... it was just floating around on the shaft, not down in the pinion cup
for who knows how long... pretty long I'd say 



I was rushing to get ready for a ride then - I tried to get the pinion cup off and put another good
one I have on, but it didn't immediately comply, so I changed over to my eBay spare... it is still OK...
here's what it looks like now...







There's no picture, but I also cleaned out my pinion cup real well, poked the red tube of my
WD40 can into the two little lube holes in the bottom of the pinion cup and gave a squirt, they're
totally clear. I held my final drive so the pinion cup was pointing down and gave it some rhythmic
shakes and once it was "shook down", final drive fluid started spurting out the lube holes on
each shake...  I'll replace the final drive fluid when I reinstall the final drive...

-Mike