Getting a darkside tire mounted

[BonS]

Well, my go-to motorcycle dealer no longer mounts car tires. They had one of their technicians hurt while mounting one and that was that. I'm thinking about getting a Harbor Freight tool and doing it myself. Any darksiders mount their own CT using the Harbor Freight tool? Anyone in the KC, MO area that knows of a shop that will do it?

[matt]

Hey bons,   I work a a car repair/ tire business and the machines we have will mount car tire on motorcycle wheel. Check out some tire shops see if they will do it for you

[jdp]

Most small independent shops will mount it for you

[Houdini]

I go to the used tire shop in my town to have them mounted.  I started out by telling them it was a trailer rim but after while they called BS on me but still install them.  

[jdp]

I have a regular tire mounting machine but use to have a harbor freight one, I welded and mounted plastic rim holders onto it and had no trouble at all, it will just work you when mounting mc tires but the car tires just slip right on

[mustang071965]

do mine and dads, i have the tc-mcatvm changer from JCM automotive Equipment. its heavy duty and no need for mods on the grips. there hooked and already plastic coated. it will do from 4'' to a 21'' rim.mounted it on a pallet and its stable and no effort to remove and put on a CT or motorcycle tire.

[BonS]

do mine and dads, i have the tc-mcatvm changer from JCM automotive Equipment. its heavy duty and no need for mods on the grips. there hooked and already plastic coated. it will do from 4'' to a 21'' rim.mounted it on a pallet and its stable and no effort to remove and put on a CT or motorcycle tire.

I checked out the JCM changer and bought one today. It looks more substantial that the HF model and comes with nylon/delrin to protect the rims. I'll use a friends HF unit to do my tire change, that I need right away, and get some familiar with the procedure. For safety's sake I'm going to use a screw-on air chuck and stand safely away when filling the tire the first time.

[gordonv]

A warmed tire should also be easier to mount. I don't know if you're looking at a powered unit, or a manual one.

[art]

I've done all my tire changes with tire irons for 12 years. That's about 18 tires and half were C/T s

[Firefighter]

I used to change a lot of boat trailer and some car tires with hand tools but when I tried changing the Valkyrie tires I seem to always scratch the wheels. I was use to steel wheels, didn't have to worry about scratching wheels. Guess I don't have the correct tools to change my Interstate with out scratching, so I have paid a local guy to mount them, but not sure for how much longer he will be in buisness.

[RDKLL]

I was in the same situation and found a small shop and he initially said no and we got to talking and the reason for his no, he had never done one...so he said let's take a look and his main concern was clearance between the table and the rim...it cleared and he pit it on and aired it up and didnt charge me anything, just gave me his card ank asked that I check his tire prices before ordering tires....very cool

[RDKLL]

To anybody running a 130/100 or 100/90 h4 bulb....what brand? I will be ordering Bon's SMart Switch so I am assuming I will not need a relay in addition, correct. Thanks in advance

[..]

Hey bons,   I work a a car repair/ tire business and the machines we have will mount car tire on motorcycle wheel. Check out some tire shops see if they will do it for you

I used a small tire independent shop . Had to take rime and tire to them.

[The emperor has no clothes]

To anybody running a 130/100 or 100/90 h4 bulb....what brand? I will be ordering Bon's SMart Switch so I am assuming I will not need a relay in addition, correct. Thanks in advance

I have a 100/90 in my standard. I got it at Napa. I think it was a generic store brand, it did say on the packaging only legal for off road use. And yes as I understand it you won't need a relay with his SmartSwitch. 

[mustang071965]

also check out the Wikco mount demount bar, wikocind.com. i bought it to go along with my tire changer. it is made from a solid bar of metal very strong, it has the no scratch protectors on both ends. they are replaceable in case one wears out. love it. part# is 100-14c.

[BonS]

To anybody running a 130/100 or 100/90 h4 bulb....what brand? I will be ordering Bon's SMart Switch so I am assuming I will not need a relay in addition, correct. Thanks in advance

I have a 100/90 in my standard. I got it at Napa. I think it was a generic store brand, it did say on the packaging only legal for off road use. And yes as I understand it you won't need a relay with his SmartSwitch. 

That's correct. All you'll need is the SmartSwitch. The single headlight SmartSwitch comes standard with a 10 amp fuse. The dual headlight SmartSwitch comes with a 15 amp fuse. You can safely bump up the 10 amp fuse to 15 and the 15 amp fuse to 20. The 100 watt bulb draws around 7.6 amps so you're good to go. A 130 bulb draws right at 10 amps so I'd bump up the fuse to 15 amps if you do that.

[wiggydotcom]

I used my Harbor Freight unit to change out numerous motorcycle tires and my Yoko Avid Envigor car tire a couple years back. I did enhance the unit with mojoblocks and a mojolever which was a big improvement over the stock bar.

The tip about warming the tire in the sun is a good one.

I hope you have good success and like the JCM changer also.

[Led]

I used to work in the Tire and Lube section of Wally's. I punched out for the day, and brought my "darkside project" in, off the clock.  My Manager freaked out, wondering what I was doing.......

I am NOT sure where I can have one mounted anymore, myself.  I LOVE that I got away with mounting my own, the first time, with professional equipment!!!  My Manager was young enough to be my Son.......that is why He let me slide on that one.......

[BonS]

Thanks all! I have a NoMar bar on order along with the YellowThing. The changer that I have on order has some type of wheel protection. I don't think its nylon or delrin so we'll see. If I don't like it then it'll be my first mod. I've watched a few YouTube videos so I'm the Expert now.    Wish me luck!

[wiggydotcom]

One more thing. I'm sure you've noticed if you watched a lot of videos but lube is your friend. It makes the job a lot easier if your get the tire and rim lubed generously.

And no wisecracks. 

[Bone]

My independent bike shop has closed. The owner changed all of my tubeless tires and 3 CT for me.
I bought myself a H.F. changer last fall and a new front tire. Haven't tried the machine yet but
last week bought a gallon of tire lube at Advanced Auto.  I'm ready to wrestle

[BonS]

I went shopping for tire lube and found nothing at several auto parts stores. I was hoping to find a small tub or bottle but not a lifetime supply - unless it has alternative uses! The guy at Advanced Auto looked up something and he came up with "Discontinued". I read that antifreeze is a good lubricant and dries slowly so I think I'll be using that. I used beads for balancing and don't want sticky residue inside the tire. I'll be doing a CT on the rear wheel and an Avon on the front.

[rhinor61]

Tire lube is to be used on the inside not the bead side of the tire as per the guys at NoMar.

I have their lube..
TIRE LUBE PASTE [1 PINT JAR]

otherwise, you could spin the tire off the rim, which I have done after the boys at the honda shop did my tire install.. No more, I do all my own tires and services.

J.

[mark81]

Dawn dish soap or Murphys oil soap are good mounting lubricants that will not deteriorate the rubber

[Bone]

Don't want to create a dangerous problem I have a large bottle of Dawn.

I'll go with what is known to work thanks.

[BonS]

Okay, change of plan.

Michelin says "Vegetable oil soaps or animal oil soaps, in solution, are the preferred materials for use as bead lubricants. Never use antifreeze, gasoline, ether, silicones, or any petroleum based lubricants. Never dilute lubricants beyond that recommended by the manufacturer since this may have a harmful effect on the tire and wheel/rim."

Here's a link to their advice. http://www.michelintruck.com/assets/pdf/bulletins/TB_Lubricant_MX_Truck_Tires.pdf

I noticed that Murphy's soap is a vegetable oil soap but it also contains propylene glycol which is antifreeze.

I guess I'll keep looking for a lube! Or maybe it'll just be Dawn.

[The emperor has no clothes]

I've used Dawn and other dishwashing soaps. The problem is mixing them with water to the right consistency. Lately I've been using the foaming hand soap. The kind that comes out of the dispenser in a foam. I just apply straight onto the tire and it seems to be the right consistency. I haven't had any problems with the beads, but I don't put mass quantities on.

[Skinhead]

I went shopping for tire lube and found nothing at several auto parts stores. I was hoping to find a small tub or bottle but not a lifetime supply - unless it has alternative uses! The guy at Advanced Auto looked up something and he came up with "Discontinued". I read that antifreeze is a good lubricant and dries slowly so I think I'll be using that. I used beads for balancing and don't want sticky residue inside the tire. I'll be doing a CT on the rear wheel and an Avon on the front.

Use Murphy's oil soap and water.

[mark81]

I noticed that Murphy's soap is a vegetable oil soap but it also contains propylene glycol which is antifreeze.

I think they were referring to ethylene glycol which is the most common antifreeze. Propylene glycol can also be used as an engine antifreeze but is more commonly used to winterize boats and RV's. It is also used as a food preservative

[da prez]

Half dawn and half water. Brush on until you have a foam appear. When  done , tire can be rinsed off easily .
There is a bead up wax soap made for tire mounting. I can't think of the name now. My coffee isn't fully working  as of yet. I have used both for years and still do at the HD shop where I work.

   Bonn , I still have not gotten any  more  of the info on the HD situation I mentioned .  Maybe a talker only.

                                        da.prez

[BonS]

I got that car tire mounted today - by myself. Tough job the first time. Learn as you go. I need better clamps to get the tire compressed. "C" clamps weren't getting the job done. Pipe clamps too shallow but were forced into service. I just ordered some wood screw clamps for the next time. They'll sure help getting the wheel secured in the changer and getting the bead to set down in the drop of the wheel when mounting. I think the next tire will be 30% of the effort that went into my tire change today.  

[The emperor has no clothes]

I got that car tire mounted today - by myself. Tough job the first time. Learn as you go. I need better clamps to get the tire compressed. "C" clamps weren't getting the job done. Pipe clamps too shallow but were forced into service. I just ordered some wood screw clamps for the next time. They'll sure help getting the wheel secured in the changer and getting the bead to set down in the drop of the wheel when mounting. I think the next tire will be 30% of the effort that went into my tire change today.  

I think I've done 5 or 6 tire changes myself on the Valkyrie now. It gets easier.