'22 R1250RT Front Tire Access For Tire Removal

[efiedler]

I am about to replace the front tire on my '22 R1250RT and the first step I performed was removal of the front (painted) tip of the front fender. I had hoped this would give me enough room to remove and roll the front tire away from the front of the bike once I jacked the bike up ever so slightly. Instead it seems that the remaining part of the front fender (see attached) extends a bit much and would require me to jack the bike up a good 6 inches to free it. I'm afraid by jacking the bike up that much it may cause the bike to tip over. So, I unfastened the two screws on the remaining fender part wiggled it but it was not cooperating. Asking for advice. Do I need to remove the remaining part of the front fender to remove the front tire? Don't want to break the fender.

 

[strataj]

I have the same bike 22R1250RT and change my own tires. You only need to remove the painted part of the fender and the brake calipers. Your calipers look attached. Yes you need to lift the front end up I do this with either weighting the rear of the bike with a 50# feed bag or scissor jack. What is the black handle attached?

 

[Boxflyer]

You should refer to your Riders Manual for many Maintenance procedures. It contains specific steps as well as Torque settings needed to properly perform normal maintenance on your bike.
If you are a visual learner, here is a video I made showing the process of removing and reinstalling the Tires/Rims on my 2016RT, but the process is the same...just some variations in the shape and size of the inner fender.
Front Wheel Change on 2016RT

 

[efiedler]

I have the same bike 22R1250RT and change my own tires. You only need to remove the painted part of the fender and the brake calipers. Your calipers look attached. Yes you need to lift the front end up I do this with either weighting the rear of the bike with a 50# feed bag or scissor jack. What is the black handle attached?

Oh, that's just an added lock to deter the local thieves.

 

[efiedler]

You should refer to your Riders Manual for many Maintenance procedures. It contains specific steps as well as Torque settings needed to properly perform normal maintenance on your bike.
If you are a visual learner, here is a video I made showing the process of removing and reinstalling the Tires/Rims on my 2016RT, but the process is the same...just some variations in the shape and size of the inner fender.
Front Wheel Change on 2016RT

Nice video. Noticed you have a large slot to roll the front tire out. My '22 doesn't have a slot so this forces me to lift the front end of the bike higher to gain clearance to get the tire out from the bike. The rest is the same as yours.
With just a floor jack and a small piece of wood to place between the jack and the pan I'll see if I can get enough lift. Others mentioned using some weighted object on the tail end to assist. I'll give it try this weekend and see.
Thanks for the help!

 

[mneblett]

I just did this day before yesterday on my '23 RT. I used the jack-and-block-of-wood approach under the engine, but it was fairly sketchy -- I had to lift the front of the bike so much that the center stand legs were barely supporting the bike. In hindsight, I should have gone to the effort of digging out my J&S motorcycle jack from its storage location to more securely lift the entire bike.

Bottom line, if you do use a jack under the engine, keep a *very* close watch on the ground contact of the centerstand feet with every stroke on the jack, as it is easy to put the bike in the precarious position of having one centerstand foot off the ground (you're unlikely to so precisely position the jack under the crankcase so perfectly that both feet lift off simultaneously).

 

[efiedler]

Well, like you I tried the jack and piece of wood method under the pan and like you found it to be very unstable as I needed to jack the bike up high enough to allow the tire to roll free of the inner fender...why did BMW not slot this out like the older models? With the slot a couple of cranks on the handle and problem solved.
So I did what was suggested and had a buddy of mine put weight on the tail of the bike, first I added a little height to assist by first placing the center stand on blocks of wood. Then my buddy tipped it back and I had plenty of vertical height up front to free the front tire. Of course I then had to shore up the front once the tire was removed.
Don't see how a lone rider can change a tire out on the road. Unless I'm an idiot, thumbs down to the BMW engineers for this.

 

[efiedler]

Job completed! Doing this myself saved me some cash and maybe just as importantly I learned more about my motorcycle doing the work myself. This is one big reason why I signed on to BMW MOA. I want to thank all who contributed.

 

[WWeldin]

You could always use a decent sized metal rod or pipe through the axle holes; set them on jack stands to support the front end whilst the tire is being changed out.

Good work, by the way!

 

[r0ckrat]

Well, like you I tried the jack and piece of wood method under the pan and like you found it to be very unstable as I needed to jack the bike up high enough to allow the tire to roll free of the inner fender...why did BMW not slot this out like the older models? With the slot a couple of cranks on the handle and problem solved.
So I did what was suggested and had a buddy of mine put weight on the tail of the bike, first I added a little height to assist by first placing the center stand on blocks of wood. Then my buddy tipped it back and I had plenty of vertical height up front to free the front tire. Of course I then had to shore up the front once the tire was removed.
Don't see how a lone rider can change a tire out on the road. Unless I'm an idiot, thumbs down to the BMW engineers for this.

I have a chunk of 2x4 cut to length to wedge under the front of the engine cover... I could cut it thinner, I guess.

Huh - thought I'd posted this earlier...