installing tire with no tools

[ajgerdes]

Well guys i just put on my new tire on my rim using no tools just some dawn dish soap! took me about 10 minutes to get it on but it wasn't as bad as i figured it would be.

 

[dallasb]

How did you get the old tire off the rim?

 

[ajgerdes]

there was my trick haha, it was a brand new hero blue wheel i got off ebay a while back. I would never had tried it if there was a tire on it already.

 

[upthemaiden]

The first time I tried to replace my tires took forever. It got a lot better the last time but still took a while. Hopefully the next time it'll be even shorter.

I usually cheat and just cut the old tire off. It's a lot easier than fighting with it.

 

[ajgerdes]

what do you use to cut the old tire off? I would be worried about hitting the rim cutting it off

 

[dallasb]

Well luckily my neighbor has a full fledged motorcycle shop. And I can literally push my bike there from where I live. I just hate the point that a machine could tear into my rim and make it look like crap.

 

[upthemaiden]

I usually use some heavy duty metal shears. I cut the long way around the center of the tire to separate it into 2 pieces. You can usually get those off easier. If not I cut sideways and fight with the bead until I get through it.

I forgot to order some rim guards before I did it last time, I'll make sure to have a pair next time to make things easier. Luckily my rims are just silver so I didn't have any paint to worry about.

 

[ajgerdes]

I just hate the point that a machine could tear into my rim and make it look like crap.

everytime i have my tires changed im worried about that also. I work on cars and trucks and sometimes things like that happen, especially with low profile tires that have really stiff sidewalls.

 

[bfletcher]

My question is, how did you get the rim off the bike with no tools? I gotta get me some of this dawn dish soap.

 

[dallasb]

Not trying to be an ass bfletcher but if you read a few posts up he says that he bought a rim off of ebay. [smirk]

 

[XBChuck9]

So, I'm on my first bike and she needs some new tires. I just bought a set and I'm pretty sure I can get them off and back on, but do they need to be balanced like car tires do?

 

[dallasb]

Yes they will need to be balanced. You can use dyna beads to balance the tire if you don't want to use weights. I've never personally used them but plan on trying it with my next set.

 

[upthemaiden]

Aside from dish soap, which I've heard can cause problems to the rubber on your tires over time, I just picked up a gallon of rubber lubricant from Napa. I put it in a spray bottle and just spray some on whatever part of the tire I'm working off.

I don't know how true it is that dish soap can be bad for your tires, but I've heard something about it eating away at it because of the petroleum and something else and something else because dish soap is meant to cut through grease/oil. I know you can rinse it off, but some will still be stuck on the tire inside the rim where you can't reach it.

Balancing tires is super easy. The first time I just used a $4 metal rod from home depot, but recently I picked up a balancing stand from HF when it was on sale for $40 which makes things pretty easy. Just spin the wheel a couple times and stick the weight on the spot that always stops at the top. Once a different spot stops at the top each time you're done.

 

[Alfatango1]

I don't know how true it is that dish soap can be bad for your tires

Since dish soap is designed to cut grease, which is petroleum, you are correct in assuming it can eat away at your tire. Just like you should never use it on your cars paint.

Now having said that, not too sure how long it would take and if it would eat your rubber before you wore out your tire. Climate would have an affect too I'm sure.

 

[hodakaharold]

A friend of mine uses zip ties to mount their tires instead of irons/spoons,

He just used 6 zip ties that are spaced equally around the tire squeezing the beads together.

Then he would lube and push it on the rim as you would normally do the first bead then remove the ties. He mounted my front tire on my XB12S that way, very slick way of doing it.

It takes about 6 seconds to get the tire on the rim.

No more busted knuckles.

 

[levi]

He just used 6 zip ties that are spaced equally around the tire squeezing the beads together.

Bloody ******* brilliant! I WILL be trying that when the time comes.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[dallasb]

Wow never thought about using zip ties. With all this info I may just try tackling a tire change on my own. How does he get the tire off the rim?

 

[upthemaiden]

Dallas, there's a million videos on youtube of guys doing their own motorcycle tires on youtube with nothing but some 2x4s and tire levers. They make it look super easy too, so make sure you save yourself a day or two to get it done because it can be a little stressful until you figure out exactly what you're doing. Smooth sailing once you get the hang of it though.

 

[ajgerdes]

wow my local hd shop is a joke, they want 30 dollars just to balance my tire! WTF i already did the hard part. Went to the Honda shop and they want 15. I think im just going to try those dyna-beads

 

[XBChuck9]

So two more questions that I havent seen anywhere. How do I lift the bike in order to get the wheels off? And what size/type wrench will I need to get the wheel off?