I don't know about the rest of you but I was fed up with paying $40-45 per tire to have someone else change the tires on my bikes, especially now that we have three bikes in the garage. Not to mention the fact that no one ever seems to have the tires in stock when I need them and a lot of shops won't put the tires on anymore unless you buy them from them. I want to get a No-Mar or Cycle Hill tire changer someday but that wasn't in the budget right now. I also don't have room in the garage at this time, so I went another route.
Motorsport Portable Tire Changer With Bead Breaker
1 $103.95 BikeMaster 2-Piece Tire Mounting Wheel Rim Protector
1 $7.95 Motion Pro Assorted Tire Iron
1 $27.95 BikeMaster Steel Tire Iron with Handle
1 $14.95 Motion Pro Steel Wheel Weights 72-Pack
Black, 72
1 $9.95 K&L Wheel Weight Scraper $1.99 Venom tire balancer $59 (normally $69)
For $227 I bought everything I needed to change the tires myself. I figured that in only two times it would of paid for it's self. Yes, I know Harbor Freight makes a wheel balancer that costs less but after reading all of the reviews there were just way too many reports of people buying them and having the rod be bent. Needing to get this done within the first couple of day of being home on R&R I didn't have time to fool with it if I got one that was bent.
Now, back in the day I changed plenty of dirtbike tires so I figured it couldn't be much different for a street tire and it wasn't..... just a bit more tougher.
First thing I did was find a good video online of someone changing tires. This is was actually harder than you'd think because there are a lot of bad videos of how to change a tire out there.
Buying the portable wheel changer w/bead breaker was the biggest expense and some would say it's not needed but I disagree. The bead breaker worked well and it allowed me to leave the brake discs on without fear that I'd damage them while changing the tire.
All in all everything went fine but I did have some lessons learned:
1. Pay attention to the direction arrow or you'll have to pull the tire back off and put it back on again.
2. Pay attention to the "dot" on the tire and align with the valve stem (this is suppose to be the light spot on tire which helps when balancing)
I only had these problems with the front tire. Of course, I wouldn't of had these problems if I wasn't extremely tired from jet-leg and my attention to detail was lacking. After the second time I called it a night and finished it in the morning.
I used a normal air compressor that plugs into the cigerette lighter in the car to seat the beads and it worked well enough contrary to what I read online (on some forums they said you need an aircompressor with at least an 8gal tank to seat the beads).
The only thing I still need to get is a front stand. I used jack stands to hold the forks, and it worked, but having a front stand would be easier and safer.
So when all was said and done was it worth it? I think so, because the past three times I needed tires put on the bikes (excluding the time I had Bandito do it) I had scramble first to find someone who had tires in stock that fit and then someone to put them on. The guys at Sport-Tour Ltd (Sharonville, OH) were great two times and fit me in knowing that I had no time to waste (I can't say enough about those guys. When I buy an item if they have it or can get it, I buy from them even if its a few dollars more than I can find it online. Everytime I've really needed something they have gone out of their way to be helpful and their prices are competitive). The problems is they aren't always open or available when I need them to be.
What I plan on doing now is waiting till I find the best prices on the tires I want and keeping them in stock in my garage so that the next time I get a flat or I think the tires will last another 500 miles and they only last 200 I will have them available to spoon on.
CLUTCH NOTES: Bought the tools to change the tires myself. Was worth it. Would do it again. Now going to keep spare tires in my garage.
