Tire removal help

[ATFIII]

Hey gents,

I am going to be in the market for new tires soon, and figured I would get in touch with Rad's Cycle in Brandon, FL. Since they work on all 3 of my bikes, i figured it was just natural to have them work on my Buell. I finally arrived at Rad's and they tried to put it on a rear lift. As it turns out, they did not have a lift that was wide enough to pick up the rear. I was wondering how you guys have your tires changed, and by whom. Have ordered a rear stand for my own oil changes, but it has yet to arrive. Also, i dont want to take it to HD to be charged an arm and a leg for the new tires to be purchased and installed, if it is even possible to do that there. If i have to i guess i can let the shop use my pitbull stand when it comes in. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[anrkizm95]

i use a rear stand and do all my own tire swaps and balancing.but unless you have done a lot of tires i would not recommend it with buell powder coated rims.

harbor freight tools has everything you need except decent tire irons and rim protectors.
it only takes 30-40 mins per tire including removal from the bike.

 

[Iamarchangel]

Most stands, you just move the spring to the outside of the stand to get the width.

I go through a set a year. The stands have paid for themselves already.

My tire guy, bluestreakracing.ca, doesn't charge extra to mount a purchased tire. He does charge to remove the wheel.

anrkizm is a lot faster than me at getting the wheel off but it's not a difficult job (hint: take the belt off the front sprocket first.)

 

[TooFst]

I've just used ratchet straps to hang it from the rafters and brought in loose wheels for the last three rear tires.. the 1st one I had changed though, wasn't expected... Met my father (he lives in LA, I live in Minnesota) at a local HD when he was in town. He offers to buy me new tires. Cool... They put it on the lift and the mech. scratches his head for a while. We ended up using a floor jack and a jack out of some guys trunk with a few 2x4s and Under each side of the swing arm and strapped to the lift. My bike only had like 4k on it at the time and I was nervous as heck but "when there's a will, there's a way"

 

[ATFIII]

Thanks for the input, guys. I have zero experience with wheel/tire removal, and i dont even have a stand yet. I guess when the time comes i will just let rad use my stand when it comes in. Maybe after i watch rad do the job i will try it myself. Ride safe!

 

[Johnny Corlano]

ATF, get in there and knock it out. It really is easy and there is no better way to learn then by giving it a shot, (believe me when I say it is easy and I wouldn't be saying this about swapping a stator or something) I have "TrackSide" front and rear stands that I got from Cycle Gear. I had to extend the spool lifts on the rear stand all the way out, then smack them with a rubber mallet to slightly spread them out just a little bit more.

Once on the stands, loosen the pinch bolts, remove the axles (both reverse thread) and carefully manipulate the wheels out of the calipers and off the bike. You'll easily save an hours labor which will allow you to buy those more expensive tires you've been eying and while the wheels are off, check and replace your brake pads if needed (another simple job)

Put wheels back on in reverse. The hardest part is putting the front back in the caliper, but with the front wheel off, you can rotate the fork tubes to get the caliper out of your way when putting the wheel in, then rotate it back in to assist in getting the rotor in the caliper. A little anti seize on the threads of the axles, torque them down, tighten pinch bolts, torque them down, and you're done!

Sound easy? it is.

 

[ct1200]

It is easy once you've done it.
Its the fear of the unknown.

Get some stands and get to wrenching.
I had to use a actual tire iron from a car to get the rear axle out.
That sucker was in there good.
And take the front fender completely off, makes the front much easier.

 

[Thehade]

I have the cheapo harbor freight stand and it is just wide enough to fit my xb9. My advice for the rear is to take the brake caliper bracket off first, instead of just removing the caliper. Take both off together as a unit. Maybe everyone knows that already but I figured it out the fist time I changed my rear a couple weeks ago. Also the shop I had mount it couldn't balance it cause it was too wide, so I just left it. No shaking up to 110 so I guess it's okay!

 

[BuddhaBuell]

best thread imho (aside from a how-to video)

http://www.buellxb.com/Buell-XB-Forum/Do-It-Yourself-Buell-Mods/How-To-Tire-Change

[smirk]

 

[ATFIII]

I have an 1125R w/ aftermarket exhaust, so that won't work for me. at least not exactly that way. Thanks for the link though!

 

[Macbuell]

I built a stand out of 2x4's for the rear. For the front I hoist it from a tree branch for a night to get front replaced. Guess I could do that for rear too... anyways- Neighbors must think I am weird.