Motorcycle tire changer

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Never seen or touched one but my pal has a Harbor Freight car tire mounting rig.

It has saved us scads of money. Mount your tire and go get it balanced.

Are bike tires balanced?
 
Originally Posted By: gman2304


http://www.webbikeworld.com/r4/cycle-hill-motorcycle-tire-changer/


I bought a used Cycle Hill motorcycle tire changer today. Has anyone here had any experience with one of these? I'm hoping to save some money by mounting my own tires. Between my 2 bikes and my sons bike, I feel it will pay for itself in just a few tire changes.


I bought one new in 2009 and have changed 160 tires (tubed and tubeless) since then ......... a wonderful tool to own/use for timely and money saving tire changes. I bought all of the cones for the wheel balance tool + several extra accessories at the time. The local tire chain store takes the old tires for $3.00 to recycle.

It is more fun (or less work) to change tires on the Cycle Hill unit rather than on the concrete garage floor.
 
I have one. Bought the balancer at the same time. I've changed several tires over the years. I have the system that attaches to the trailer hitch on my truck. I didn't have an area in my garage to bolt it to the floor where it wouldn't be in my way.
 
I used the HF car tire changer (w/o motorcycle attachment which could only make it easier) for a rear tire on my virago. Between it and a bunch of 2x4s strategically placed to lift the drum off the ground I didn't nick anything. Most important part was the bead breaker.

A static balance is all you need. You can generally run some pipe/ conduit through the center/ bearings and prop the ends of the pipe on a couple jack stands.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
I used the HF car tire changer (w/o motorcycle attachment which could only make it easier) for a rear tire on my virago. Between it and a bunch of 2x4s strategically placed to lift the drum off the ground I didn't nick anything. Most important part was the bead breaker.

A static balance is all you need. You can generally run some pipe/ conduit through the center/ bearings and prop the ends of the pipe on a couple jack stands.


How does it work for car tires? did you have a place to bolt it down?
 
Originally Posted By: Kira
Never seen or touched one but my pal has a Harbor Freight car tire mounting rig.

It has saved us scads of money. Mount your tire and go get it balanced.

Are bike tires balanced?


Harbor freight tire changers are junk. Leave something that could kill you or other drivers on the road so easily to the professionals. You can usually haggle Discount down to like $50 for an install if you really are that poor.
 
Lots of Motorcyclists change their own tires, most often for convenience. Or because they are tired of careless hacks damaging their wheels. I know several that use this: No-Mar Tire Changer

Apparently they also sell the Cycle Hill Tire changer.

As for balancing, if you're riding on the road the wheel/tire assembly should be checked, and balanced if necessary. Frequently I'll have a wheel/tire assembly that requires no balance weight.
 
The local cycle shops in my area are a total rip-off on tire mounting and balancing. If you bring just the wheel and tire in they want $50 a wheel. That's $150~$200 per hour since it only takes 15~20 to do a tire change and balance.

Since I just got a set of new tires, I'm going to see if I can get a shop to just mount the tire (maybe for $25 each) and I'll go buy a cheap static tire balancer from Harbor Freight for $35 and balance them myself.
 
Zee,

Google "Zip Tie Tire Change" then go get yourself some heavy duty cable ties and a gallon of RuGlyde. I've done my last 14 tires that way. It takes way longer to put the ties on the tire than to push it on the wheel. Use a small screw driver to unlock and remove the ties and you can use them over and over again.
 
'The local cycle shops in my area are a total rip-off on tire mounting and balancing. If you bring just the wheel and tire in they want $50 a wheel. That's $150~$200 per hour since it only takes 15~20 to do a tire change and balance.'



^ This....!^ Harley dealer wanted $100 and Yamaha dealer wanted $75 per tire to mount and balance...if I take the wheels and tires to them. I'm going to order the tires from J&P cycles or Amazon for a lot less money than the dealers want as well, with free shipping. From the reviews I've read, the tires have all been 'fresh' with a mfg date within a few months.
 
Place near me mounts a tire for nothing if you buy it from them.
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Originally Posted By: SlipperyPete
Zee,

Google "Zip Tie Tire Change" then go get yourself some heavy duty cable ties and a gallon of RuGlyde. I've done my last 14 tires that way. It takes way longer to put the ties on the tire than to push it on the wheel. Use a small screw driver to unlock and remove the ties and you can use them over and over again.


Interesting method ... thanks for that tip. Other issue is breaking the bead on a wide stiff tire (200/50-17) on a 6" wheel. Guess I could try a cheap bead breaker from Harbor Freight. Then I need some decent tire irons and some good bead protectors. I don't want to chew up my wheels, and that's why maybe paying a shop with a good tire changing machine might be less risk of damaging the wheels - if they guy knows how to use the machine properly.

If I could get the tires changed with no wheel damage I'd be all for getting the cheap tire balancer from Harbor Freight and doing my own static balancing job which looks pretty easy to do
 
The HF tire changer works fine as long as you don't plan on going into business with it. I've changed MC tires, trailer tires and one car tire. If you don't know how to use it or your afraid to try, take it somewhere and pay your dues. It's not rocket science. Two tire changes and it paid for itself.,,,,
 
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Place near me mounts a tire for nothing if you buy it from them.
thumbsup2.gif



Yep.

I have the tools to change and balance a tire, but I rarely do so. I'm fortunate to have friends in the local Motorcycle business, that I buy tires from them at prices comparable to the best online prices I've seen, and they will change the tire and balance the new assembly at no additional cost beyond the price of the tire itself.

That's if I bring the wheel/tire assembly in. If they had to remove and install the wheels on the bike, they would charge for that.
 
Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
Originally Posted By: SlipperyPete
Zee,

Google "Zip Tie Tire Change" then go get yourself some heavy duty cable ties and a gallon of RuGlyde. I've done my last 14 tires that way. It takes way longer to put the ties on the tire than to push it on the wheel. Use a small screw driver to unlock and remove the ties and you can use them over and over again.


Interesting method ... thanks for that tip. Other issue is breaking the bead on a wide stiff tire (200/50-17) on a 6" wheel. Guess I could try a cheap bead breaker from Harbor Freight. Then I need some decent tire irons and some good bead protectors. I don't want to chew up my wheels, and that's why maybe paying a shop with a good tire changing machine might be less risk of damaging the wheels - if they guy knows how to use the machine properly.

If I could get the tires changed with no wheel damage I'd be all for getting the cheap tire balancer from Harbor Freight and doing my own static balancing job which looks pretty easy to do


I bought the HF automotive bead breaker for $35 and it works great. I put two 2x4's across the bead breaker and put the edges of the wheel on top of those to avoid bending the brake discs. The one they had for MC tires just looked too small. I remove the old tire with irons and rim protectors. I bought a balancer from Amazon. It consists of a rod and two cones and I set it up on a pair of jackstands. The key to using zip ties is to use good lube. It was nearly impossible to push any tire except Michelins on a rim using soapy water or windex, but any tire pushes on easily since I started using RuGlyde. Everything required to change tires this way cost less than having one set of tires mounted at the dealership. No damage to the wheels either.
 
UPS delivered the Dunlop American Elite front tire this morning and I got a chance to use the Cycle Hill tire changer today. The bead breaker mechanism works really well. I had both beads broken in about a minute. Getting the 3 rim guides adjusted to just the right pressure to keep the wheel from spinning was a little more challenging as I adjusted them in small increments so as not to damage the spoked wheel. The supplied lubricant worked great and I got the first half of the tire mounted without even using the bar, by just pushing it over the edge of the wheel with my hands. Since this spoked wheel requires a tube, I was extra careful with mounting the stiff new tire but the nylon tips with lube on the wheel and bead of the new tire, allowed the tire to go on very easy. My nephew dropped by to help but I already had the tire mounted when he got here. I took a 30 mile ride after and it seems to be doing fine.
A couple more tire changes and I should be in the black with what the dealers and Indy shops charge around here. I got the tire from motorcycle superstore for $109 w free shipping. $50 cheaper than the Harley dealer and that's not including the charge to mount it, and the date code on the tire was March of 2016. Happy with the tire changer so far. Now if I charge friends and family $20 each to mount their tires here, I should be in the black much sooner. LOL!
 
Originally Posted By: gman2304
UPS delivered the Dunlop American Elite front tire this morning and I got a chance to use the Cycle Hill tire changer today. The bead breaker mechanism works really well. I had both beads broken in about a minute. Getting the 3 rim guides adjusted to just the right pressure to keep the wheel from spinning was a little more challenging as I adjusted them in small increments so as not to damage the spoked wheel. The supplied lubricant worked great and I got the first half of the tire mounted without even using the bar, by just pushing it over the edge of the wheel with my hands. Since this spoked wheel requires a tube, I was extra careful with mounting the stiff new tire but the nylon tips with lube on the wheel and bead of the new tire, allowed the tire to go on very easy. My nephew dropped by to help but I already had the tire mounted when he got here. I took a 30 mile ride after and it seems to be doing fine.
A couple more tire changes and I should be in the black with what the dealers and Indy shops charge around here. I got the tire from motorcycle superstore for $109 w free shipping. $50 cheaper than the Harley dealer and that's not including the charge to mount it, and the date code on the tire was March of 2016. Happy with the tire changer so far. Now if I charge friends and family $20 each to mount their tires here, I should be in the black much sooner. LOL!


Cool, I'm glad that it's working out for you.

I've got a No-mar Pro that I picked up used about 7-8 years ago and I am definitely way ahead financially versus having the dealer mount my tires. I'm just not sure about your $20 pricing though, especially with spoked rims that have inner tubes. I have become pretty efficient over the years at changing tubeless tires on cast wheels but tubes can still get the best of me sometimes.

Here's a pic taken while changing the rear tire on my GS....
tire%20change%20007-L.jpg
 
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