Changing tires myself... what do I need?

[DonaldLL]

Well,

I didn't have this problem in Houston but here in Miami, it's a different story. I called the BMW dealer (the only one I might add) and asked how much he'd charge to mount and balance my new tires if I brought the tires and the rims to him. He said, "We don't mount tires that aren't purchased from us." He explained that they were not responsible for the tires bought elsewhere and that they had some problems with failed tires and were blamed for the problem when the problem was the tires. After some discussion he said he'd not leave me hanging and mount and balance for $60 per tire.... that's PER TIRE. Somehow I don't feel comforted by his gesture of goodwill.

I know I need tire irons (how many?), a wheel balancer (what kind?), and what else?

Can someone give me a list of what I need and where to purchase these items?

Thanks

[DJ Downunder]

I'd ring around a few other bike shops and get more prices...it dosen't have to be BMW dealers.

Remember our rims a fairly soft and can be easily damaged.

I'm sure someone here can give advise on doing it yourself.

But for me it's one of those things I wouldn't attempt.

Maybe just take your wheels off and take them in to be done...that should save a few bucks.

DJ

[cmack]

The dealer tried to *cough* rape *cough* me... I mean gesture his good will toward me as well! That said, I went the same route as you, and couldn't be happier. Let's start with the tire irons. You'll need at least 2, one long and one short. I got mine and a set of rim savers (definitely worth while) from http://www.pitposse.com and am very happy with the quality. You'll need something to break the bead on the tires once you get the wheels off. There are homemade devices out there... as well as store bought devices... but I use an old fashioned style wood clamp that works exceptionally well. If you have two, they also do a great job of holding the wheel in the center well as you spoon it off with the irons. With the tire off, clean the wheel and balance it. Why balance without the tire? You'll need less weight later if you get a good balance without the tire. I use the Marc Parnes balancer, http://www.marcparnes.com , and it is also an exceptionally easy to use and well made tool. Once you find the heaviest spot on the wheel (valve stem in), chalk it... don't add weight at this point. Now comes the fun part... putting the tires on I won't lie to you, the first time will be a big ole royal pain in the ass! Find your wheel chalk mark and line it up opposite the heavy spot mark on the tire to equalize weight. The wood clamps will help to hold the wheel in the center well, and won't damage the side wall at all. You'll also want to spray the tires down with a good soapy water mixture to lubricate them. Once you get your technique down, the second wheel will go mutch faster. After you've got them mounted, it will take an air compressor to set the bead. It shouldn't take more than 40lbs of pressure, and you will hear 2 distinct pops. If you don't break the bead, check to see that it's seated properly, and try again. Finally, balance the wheel again at normal pressure, and add weights as needed to get a perfect balance. Remount, and your ready to test ride!

[R4R&R]

I recently bought a balancer from a guy on ebay - he really puts a great package together - Wheel balancer on ebay

I picked up a couple tire irons from a local dealer and have been wrestling them on/off. I think before the next change I'll get one of the tools from Harbor Freight (go there and search for motorcycle tire changer. I think for $200 you can have all the tools you need which will payoff if you plan on racking up the miles. I wich I bought this stuff five years ago!

[mnnden]

I know I will get some "heat" but here goes, IMOP taking your tyres to a dealer to have them mounted is akin to taking a steak to a restaurant and asking the chef to cook it for you. Just my opinion,Den

[Biff's R]

I would not have trouble buying tires at a dealership if they were priced somewhat competitively to what I can find online. But when the tires online are $40 a piece less than the same tire at the dealership, I have trouble paying the extra price. If it was $10 to $15 per tire I may consider it.

[DonaldLL]

Guys thanks for the information and the opinions. I did call a couple of other dealers in the area before I called the BMW dealer. Both said they could and would be glad to take care of the front wheel but neither was capable of balancing the rear wheel. I did not get into questioning the reason why.

Apparently, this dealer's concern about mounting my faulty tires disappeared for $120 bucks and that's what really pisses me off.

As far as asking the chef to grill my steak... like I said I have had my internet tires mounted at a BMW dealer in Houston for a reasonable price.
I think this responds to the analogy, I'm not certain though.

To tell you the truth, I don't mind paying a few dollars for convenience and establishing a relationship at a dealer, but if I'm gonna get ripped off then I'd rather do it myself. If some day I MUST use a dealer I'd rather postpone this type of abuse until later or find a good dealer. I'd rather do the work myself anyway. Two things for sure... I'll learn how to mount and balance my own tires and I'll never do business with this dealer.

Thanks again

Donald

[MikeCam]

I've got the complete setup and have learned a few things. Ruined a wheel and a new tire in the process. But I have serviced 8 bikes over the past 4 years, mostly without the dealer.

1. Tire machine -- not needed, save your money. Instead, the proven method is a milk crate or an old wheel with padding (or anything to provide a platform for your wrestling with the old tire off and the new tire on. Guard against damaging the brake rotor.

2. Bead breaker - very much needed but almost always an integral part of the tire machine. The C clamp method is slower and more deliberate, but effective. In breaking the bead be very careful of the brake rotors. It cannot be stated clearly enough- no pressure, no scratches, no bending, no touchy the brake rotors! This is not as easy as it sounds.

3. Tire irons. I had 9" and 16". I was told by a pro - throw the long ones away. It is not leverage and force, it is finesse that seats a new tire. One tip - keep the lower bead of the new tire in the center of the wheel's circumference while spooning the upper part onto the wheel - it is narrower and permits more wiggle room. Go slowly and you will quickly mount the new rubber. Go quickly and you will break something important. Take little bites of new rubber and spoon them over the rim- use cut-up plastic milk carton as rim protector; use small wooden blocks as bead holders to keep the tire from backing off the rim. Don't let anything fall inside the tire or you must go back to START.

4. The old tire's upper bead should come off after less than 1/3 iron work around the rim (or so); the lower bead with almost no effort at all. The new tire's lower bead, almost seats itself. The upper bead is the bituch - if it's causing you to sweat you are working too hard - back off and go slowly.

ADVRider.com has a good how-to section as does IBMWR.Org

5. Balancer - Marc Parnes. 'Nuff said. Ditto the wheel balancing first; then the wheel and tire.

[Ves]

Found this a little while ago. I just ordered a new tire and am going to try this. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 6315225781

[Ves]

Well, job is done, and yes it works just like in the video.

Here's the bead breaker I made. Pretty much like in the video except for one simplification. I just left one side long:



And here's the freshly mounted front rubber:



Some points to remember if doing this:
When removing old tire.
- Don't really need to remove the valve stem, just let all the air out. The breaker will still break the bead.
- Make sure you break the bead completely on both sides. If you don't it will make the first side of the tire more difficult to remove.
- Don't spare the Pledge.
- As demonstrated in the video, you have to get your knees into the tire to force the bead toward the center of the wheel as you work it with the tire irons. Standing on the edges of the tire worked better for me.
- Once you get the first bead off, the second one basically pulls off with your hands... yeah I worked up a bit of a sweat.

When installing new tire.
- Don't spare the Pledge.
- First bead slips on no problem.
- Second one takes some knee and tire iron work again. In the video he doesn't use the rim savers when putting the tire back on. You have to do that, I don't see how you could pry the tire back on without messing up the rim. No different than taking it off. Takes a little work.. standing on tire, gradually working rim savers closer together, etc..
- I took the tire to the gas station. They had a crappy air pump. It pumped really slow... gradually... I still managed to get the thing to seal up and pop out both beads. But you want to find an air pump that has a high pressure and blasts the air. You need that blast to make the initial seal.
- Keep your ears away from that tire. When the beads snap into place it's quite the pressure wave.
- Did I mention, don't spare the Pledge.
- Put the wheel and tire on the axle, support it and spin to balance. Mine stopped at different spots, so no heavy spot. Interesting that the tire didn't have any dots on it to indicate light spot either.

Took me a couple hours, including taking the calipers and wheel off and putting it all back together. Rear would take even less time.

Last time I pay someone to change a tire...

[Boxer]

The Yamazukionda dealer did mine last time for $24 each, mounted and balanced. My new Metzler ME880s just cost me $255 for a set from SW Mototires (shipped free). $255 + $48 + a little sweat to take them off the bike...VIOLA! New rubber.

The BMW dealer wanted $400+...with me bringing in the wheels off the bike. The math is easy to do.

[SLEDGE]

MikeCam & Ves have good advice. I used a large C-Clamp (7") to break the bead. I used 2 small tire irons 8"or 9" to spoon them on and off. The nexed time I will use 3 tire irons or get one of those small clamps to keep the tire from walking off the rim as you are levering the tire on. This will keep you from needing 3 arms. I did the frount and lined up the mark on thr tire to the valve stem, ckecked the balance with the tire back on the bike smeemed good. When test driven no vibration, needed no weights!
I thought it was easy to do. You may want to look on the IBMWR web sight as the have good tech info.

Have fun, Good Luck

[Sit]

I too am getting ready to take on this task of doing my own tires. Has anyone here used the mojolever? Was looking at getting it and avoiding the rest of the tools as he says you dont need them.

[geothepencil]

We have had good luck with the Harbor Freight tire changer w/motorcycle attachment. Cover the clamps with pieces from a leather glove to save from scratches.

A Parnes balancer works well.

Motion Pro tire irons and No Mar tire iron bars as well as the No Mar Mount Demount bar are used for various situations. Rim savers also help as well as the proper lubricants.

You should watch the NoMar videos on their site to get a feel for how to use the tools in the most effective way.

Replace the valve stems while you are at it with good quality units.

Its possible to do it yourself but helps to have a friend at various times.

Good luck !

geo

[jm1515]

I too am getting ready to take on this task of doing my own tires. Has anyone here used the mojolever? Was looking at getting it and avoiding the rest of the tools as he says you dont need them.

Mitch's MojoBar is a great tool. If he is still making and selling them via the ST site, I'd recommend getting one. If you want to do the job yerself, it's the best ~$70 you can spend.
He also includes an excellent PDF tutorial link that really helps a noob.....

Those two things, a HF tire changer (no Moto adapter needed), a PartsUnlimited spin balancer, a small air compressor and some Ruglyde (or similar) are all you need. I even re-use the OE wheel weights.
I've done 3 new sets of tires in the past 2+ years w/ the above eq...piece-o-cake....

[taosports]

I use the MoJo bar and it works great. No tire irons are needed or rim protectors. What you do need while using it is a secure way to keep the wheel from turning and a center post so that you can lever the MoJo bar around. Much easier than struggling with 2-3 tire irons and wishing you had 3 arms.