Who changes their own tires?

[sixpack577]

I hear ya. That's why after 20 years of changing my own, I want one of these.

Yes sir...my finger has been on the trigger for quiet a while now.
I'll end up buying one before my next tire change(I just put a set on, still zero miles on them)

 

[dadofthree]

I have an old manual tire changer I use to use, pay a guy to mount them now………never balance them. Run good tires, my guy checks them now and again and shakes his head.

 

[LC4CARL]

...that kinda talk will get you banned around here...and people in uniform wanting to meet you on rides(wave and keep going, it's just easier, trust me...)

SixPack is still running his original front tire...

 

[sixpack577]

I have an old manual tire changer I use to use, pay a guy to mount them now………never balance them. Run good tires, my guy checks them now and again and shakes his head.

I have seen several unbalanced tires ride ok, and a few others that shook violently at speed.
Good tires too.
Also
The painted dot, usually yellow, that is painted somewhere on the sidewall, indicates the heaviest part of the tire, and that dot should always be 180°/directly accross from the valve stem.
That helps alot with balancing too.

 

[Kiwi Rider]

I hear ya. That's why after 20 years of changing my own, I want one of these.

Yeah, nice piece of kit for sure . . .
Watch this young lady work the levers, amazing stuff!

 

[mabupa]

I hear ya. That's why after 20 years of changing my own, I want one of these.

I find that thing to be overpriced but is definitely easy to use and a very nice compact design. What I like about the No-Mar is how versatile it is. I’ve done 32in all terrain tires and handful of 20in low profile car tires without much trouble. Is a little bulky but I just put anchors on the garage floor (yeah @sixpack577, I cried a little drilling through the nice epoxy. ) and unbolt it and tuck it in a corner of the garage when not in use.

 

[GIXERHP]

Have a pair of No Mars, and now have upgraded

 

[Dnyce]

Too old to do fronts myself now, too cheap to buy the machine. (Rears just fall on) Used to do it with 2 spoons, the floor and my knees as a youngster bcuz I was broke lol now I take it to the kid (30yr old lol) with a machine in his garage

 

[Bobby914]

Imma tire spoons and garage floor guy, I have the harbor freight but buy the time I usually get it set up I could have had a tire off and another ready to go on. I do really want that rabaconda because harley tires are a pain in the butt!

 

[jellyrug]

I probably change tires once every 3 years, but I hate the way I am doing it.

Don't trust a dealer to work on my bikes, so it means removing the wheels myself.

I purchase the tires online, they get delivered to the house.

Then I have to drive either an hour to the nearest Suzuki dealer, or to CycleGear.

Then I have to sit and wait until they can do it and I have to pay quite a bit to get it done. The balancing is never perfect.

Then drive an hour back home and replace the wheels.

So in short, it is a whole day out of my life, might as well spend the $800 and buy the stuff.

I tried to change the Husky back tire myself once, bike in the picture below. Got the old off, but with the spoons I have, no way I could get the tire back on. I'm either stupid or just don't have the right stuff.

 

[sixpack577]

I probably change tires once every 3 years, but I hate the way I am doing it.

Don't trust a dealer to work on my bikes, so it means removing the wheels myself.

I purchase the tires online, they get delivered to the house.

Then I have to drive either an hour to the nearest Suzuki dealer, or to CycleGear.

Then I have to sit and wait until they can do it and I have to pay quite a bit to get it done. The balancing is never perfect.

Then drive an hour back home and replace the wheels.

So in short, it is a whole day out of my life, might as well spend the $800 and buy the stuff.

I tried to change the Husky back tire myself once, bike in the picture below. Got the old off, but with the spoons I have, no way I could get the tire back on. I'm either stupid or just don't have the right stuff.

View attachment 1667616

You'll be amazed at how well a static balancer works, and your tires will be balanced right.
The one thing I do, is put the weight(s) on with clear tape, and spin it again.
If it's in the right spot, great, if I need to move it a little, no problem.
Once the weight's position is just right, peel the sticker from the weight and apply it.

 

[Tony Nitrous]

Going through my spare wheels to put onto a bike.

I have 2 spare pairs of rims, and both pairs have nice looking tyres with good tyre depth.

Just thought I’d check the dates / age of the tyres.

First pair…. 2014 and 2015.

Maybe I’ll use the second pair?

Second pair…. 2009 and 2011.

Dhooo !

 

[sixpack577]

Going through my spare wheels to put onto a bike.

I have 2 spare pairs of rims, and both pairs have nice looking tyres with good tyre depth.

Just thought I’d check the dates / age of the tyres.

First pair…. 2014 and 2015.

Maybe I’ll use the second pair?

Second pair…. 2009 and 2011.

Dhooo !

I have an 03' Gsxr1k
It runs good, but it needs lots of small parts, to which I have a big and ever growing pile of parts for.
The tires have plenty of tread too, and were on it when I got it last year...and they are from 2012, lmao
They are Pilot Powers, they weren't very good when they were new either, lol, so they aren't confidence inspiring at 11.
I have a Q3+ with under a thousand miles on it on the shelf, but I'll probably just get a pair of Q5's when I catch a good sale, as I don't need them right now(not riding that bike other than hoonin up the road until I start working on it).

 

[Bumblebee]

A video on old tires and riding....

Where's @RedBull to find these and post them...

 

[Tony Nitrous]

A video on old tires and riding....

Where's @RedBull to find these and post them...

Yeah, I wouldn’t be over fussed and a 5 to 7 year old tyre that had been treated right.

Mine are 10 to 15 years old, fail most of the “best storage” recommendation, and are going onto a heavy 170hp that’s going to get used real hard in the future.

I do have a 2007 200/50-17 on a spare rim that’s sat around in Qld summer heat if anyone thinks that tyres don’t age.

Im not real fussy about how I store mine so I pay the price and make a personal choice of around 10 years, a little less if if using them full on not touring or commuting.

Just personal choice.

 

[Bumblebee]

Yeah, I wouldn’t be over fussed and a 5 to 7 year old tyre that had been treated right.

Mine are 10 to 15 years old, fail most of the “best storage” recommendation, and are going onto a heavy 170hp that’s going to get used real hard in the future.

I do have a 2007 200/50-17 on a spare rim that’s sat around in Qld summer heat if anyone thinks that tyres don’t age.

Im not real fussy about how I store mine so I pay the price and make a personal choice of around 10 years, a little less if if using them full on not touring or commuting.

Just personal choice.

I bought a new car and in a year and a half and 12,000kms the tires were really looking weather checked....

I took it in under warranty and they told me the tires were 2 yrs older than the car and they were really surprised at that...they knew I didn't switch out the tires as they did all the maintenance on the car since I bought it.

The tire warranty covered a percentage of the tire only....but I got my first Michelin tires for that car and they were awesome.

Would I mess around with old (er) tires on a motorcycle? I don't think so...

 

[MonkeyButtRides]

Only on my MX bike and no I ain't as good as Jessica Gardiner and no I ain't gonna make a video on it cause that would be a $hit show.

 

[max74]

I probably change tires once every 3 years, but I hate the way I am doing it.

Don't trust a dealer to work on my bikes, so it means removing the wheels myself.

I purchase the tires online, they get delivered to the house.

Then I have to drive either an hour to the nearest Suzuki dealer, or to CycleGear.

Then I have to sit and wait until they can do it and I have to pay quite a bit to get it done. The balancing is never perfect.

Then drive an hour back home and replace the wheels.

So in short, it is a whole day out of my life, might as well spend the $800 and buy the stuff.

I tried to change the Husky back tire myself once, bike in the picture below. Got the old off, but with the spoons I have, no way I could get the tire back on. I'm either stupid or just don't have the right stuff.

View attachment 1667616

no your not just stuppid, without the propper tools its a pain in the butt. I tried it a few times without any tools....always looks easy on a youtube vid, but even with a jack under my van i couldnt get the tires of the rim.....ended up using a dremmel to cut the bloody thing off once, and putting it on was a piece of cake. Its on my list to buy, some tire tools for both cars and bikes.

 

[Berlin Germany]

Who changes their own tires and balances them?

What equipment do you use, or do you think is the best?

me

with that tool set

! - with 400 € (incl p´n p) 2 or 3 years ago, not really cheap,

but if one does the tire change for others too,
by beeing given a small donation (some 35/40 euros for both tires incl. balancing - it is a job of around 2 hours)

over the years this kind of income repays the cost.

 

[Turbo-Torch]

I have seen several unbalanced tires ride ok, and a few others that shook violently at speed.
Good tires too.
Also
The painted dot, usually yellow, that is painted somewhere on the sidewall, indicates the heaviest part of the tire, and that dot should always be 180°/directly accross from the valve stem.
That helps alot with balancing too.

The yellow dot indicates the lightest part of the tire and should be aligned with the valve stem.
180º and you'll be using a ton of extra lead.