Member Contributer cozye Posted June 12, 2006 Member Contributer Share Posted June 12, 2006 For all of those who are contemplating tire changing, do it. I had my first go at it this weekend and it really wasn't difficult at all. I made my own tire changing stand (a 15" car rim with plastic tubing to protect the edge). Made my own bead braker out of a couple of boards bolted to the wall of my garage. My wife gave me a static balancer for my birthday (which is so accurate, i could have used 1/16 once weights). Getting the tire off was easy. Getting the new one on was mostly easy, the first bead slips over by hand, the second one was a little tricky but still only took 5 minutes. Balancing was easy. I did find it amazing how thin those tires actually are once you wear them down. Don't think I'll be going much past the tread indicators in the future. I wore this one down where the tread almost dissappeared, and the amount of rubber between that and the belt must have been the thickness of a coat of paint. From now on, I think I'll leave 1 mm to spare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Chev Posted June 12, 2006 Member Contributer Share Posted June 12, 2006 I gotta ask. I changed some dirtbike tires a few years ago. I then vowed that the cost was worth someone else doing it. Are street tires that much easier than dirt tires? Of course there is no tube to get in the way..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 Did you basically follow the tutorials on here? Which balancer do you have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer cozye Posted June 12, 2006 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 12, 2006 I gotta ask.I changed some dirtbike tires a few years ago. I then vowed that the cost was worth someone else doing it. Are street tires that much easier than dirt tires? Of course there is no tube to get in the way..... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Well, there is no tube like you say. That makes it less to worry about. Getting the last 1/4 of the tire over the rim took a little finesse. I just had my 10 year old hold one side of the tire with a tire tool to keep it from working around and me having to chase it. Like I said, took about 5 minutes. The most time consuming part for me was actually balancing the tire. If your not one who enjoy's tinkering around in your garage, you may be better off paying someone to do it. For me, I can't stand paying somone 70$ to mount a set of tires when I can do it myself and spend some quality time in the Garage. Not to mention lately I've grown really tired with the world not really caring about the job they do or the service they provide. I can't tell you the last time I've paid someone to do something and they actually gave a sh1t about the quality of work. I've vowed to never pay anyone to do a job I care about again, unless there is no alternative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Vecky5 Posted June 12, 2006 Member Contributer Share Posted June 12, 2006 Awesome to hear. Any discounts in the Cozye garage for a fellow Kentuckian? I'll need to meet up with you one weekend to ride some twistys around your neck of the woods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer cozye Posted June 12, 2006 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 12, 2006 Awesome to hear. Any discounts in the Cozye garage for a fellow Kentuckian? I'll need to meet up with you one weekend to ride some twistys around your neck of the woods. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Any time. I'll help my fellow riding buds change tires for free. Doesn't bother me at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer cozye Posted June 12, 2006 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 12, 2006 Did you basically follow the tutorials on here?Which balancer do you have? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I researched these links pretty well: http://www.marcparnes.com/Honda_Motorcycle...alancer.htm#HOV http://www.clarity.net/~adam/tire-changing.html The Marc Parnes wheel balancer is the one I used. My wife bought it from www.derbycycles.com I pretty much followed along with the wheel stand and bead braker from adam's site. I used simple green diluted 50/50 for a slippery substance. I used a 16" tire iron and two 11" tire irons which was plenty. I bought two rim protectors from motion pro which worked great. I also bought the lead 1/4 oz strip weights from Motion pro as well. Besides the wheel balancer, I got everything I needed from motion pro for like $54 I think. I bought the 15" car rim at a junk yard for $10. I bought about 7 feet of 1/2 clear plastic water line from Lowe's and split it down the middle with a razor knife, and used it to cover the edge of the car rim to keep from scratching my rim. This was the harder type plastic tubing used for water lines (icemakers, etc..) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Stéphane Posted June 12, 2006 Member Contributer Share Posted June 12, 2006 I researched these links pretty well:http://www.marcparnes.com/Honda_Motorcycle...alancer.htm#HOV http://www.clarity.net/~adam/tire-changing.html The Marc Parnes wheel balancer is the one I used. My wife bought it from www.derbycycles.com I pretty much followed along with the wheel stand and bead braker from adam's site. I used simple green diluted 50/50 for a slippery substance. I used a 16" tire iron and two 11" tire irons which was plenty. I bought two rim protectors from motion pro which worked great. I also bought the lead 1/4 oz strip weights from Motion pro as well. Besides the wheel balancer, I got everything I needed from motion pro for like $54 I think. I bought the 15" car rim at a junk yard for $10. I bought about 7 feet of 1/2 clear plastic water line from Lowe's and split it down the middle with a razor knife, and used it to cover the edge of the car rim to keep from scratching my rim. This was the harder type plastic tubing used for water lines (icemakers, etc..) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I go to a car tire shop with my wheels, and using their mag machine, it is pretty easy. They charge a fraction of a bike shop. As for balancing, I can easily do the front using 2 car stands and a straight rod. As for the rear, it is a bit problematic. There is someone on the site who machined a hub for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 Not to mention lately I've grown really tired with the world not really caring about the job they do or the service they provide. I can't tell you the last time I've paid someone to do something and they actually gave a sh1t about the quality of work. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> :wheel: Aint that the truth. Its actually a VERY sad indication of our society. Where has Pride and Work Ethic gone?? OK.....I'm off my box...........back to your regulary scheduled programming :music: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer teleskier Posted June 12, 2006 Member Contributer Share Posted June 12, 2006 I too found the tire changing to be relatively easy. I used an old 15 or 20 gallon drum with the rim of the drum covered by old garden hose. For a balancer, I got mine off of Ebay from a guy back east. Included is the correct larger diameter cone for the VFR rear wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer RosscoB Posted June 12, 2006 Member Contributer Share Posted June 12, 2006 I made my own tire changing stand (a 15" car rim with plastic tubing to protect the edge). Made my own bead braker out of a couple of boards bolted to the wall of my garage. My wife gave me a static balancer for my birthday (which is so accurate, i could have used 1/16 once weights). Getting the tire off was easy. Getting the new one on was mostly easy, the first bead slips over by hand, the second one was a little tricky but still only took 5 minutes. Balancing was easy. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Do you have any photo's of what you made? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer cozye Posted June 12, 2006 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 12, 2006 Do you have any photo's of what you made? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I could take some easy enough, and thought about it. Decided not to, as Adam's website and tutorial pretty much covers it. If you want a photo I can take one and send it to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 static versus spin balance?? I had cycle gear mount a new front tire for me Metzeler, I dont know if they spin balance or static, but the tire exibited alittle unbalance feel in the 100mph region, enough to where I was comfortable spending alot of time there. I took the wheel to another shop who has a snap on spin balancer, I also made em use vfr type weights versus the sticky Tape weights. They said they spun it twice after balancing cause of my complaint and said it spun out zero both times. I rode the tire over 2000 miles till I got the energy to yank it off and have it rebalanced, couldnt take it anymore. If the issue is corrected I'll have to think twice about cycle gear, I just wonder if they utilize a spin balancer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer jeremy556 Posted August 18, 2006 Member Contributer Share Posted August 18, 2006 The Cycle Gear in my neighborhood uses a spin balancer. I had a similar issue to you with them on my first change. The front would vibrate at 90 mph. I bought a Marc Parnes balancer and just do it myself now. Here you save about $14 per change by not having them do the balancing.I think the issue is the operator and not the machine. As someone said in another post, it's hard to get good work done these days. Static balancer will give you as good of a balance as you are going to ever need, just takes a couple of minutes. What are VFR-type weights? My last two sets have been with adhesive weights (which I'm not really fond of). I think he is referring to the type that clip on. I prefer stick on myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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