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Changing tires by hand

K

keelerb

Guest
I bit the bullet and am in the process of changing the tires on my 84 R100RT by hand. Saving money not a bad thing, and I want the confidence in a roadside situation of knowing I can get the tire on and off to fix a flat.

Have now done the front and am waiting for a balancing stand I ordered to arrive so I can balance and remount.

Getting the old tire off was a beeottch. Hardest part of the job.

Getting new tire and tube on was not that hard. But I have found that the little "ring" around the tire that you use to make sure the bead is settled in evenly just WILL NOT line up evenly on one side. Most of it (all of one side and most of the other) is perfectly evenly lined up, but one portion of one side (maybe 1/8 of the circumference) is below the edge of the wheel. Have tried time and again (deflating, bouncing the wheel and tire, pulling the sidewall "up", etc." but it comes out this way each time.

Has anybody run into this? How concerned should I be? Any fixes?

Thanks - Brian
 
Did you use anything to lube the bead to help it seat. I have use ivroy soap. You can go to NAPA and get rueglide it is use for tire installation. It can take sometime more than normal tire pressures to seat beads.

Don
 
keelerb said:
I bit the bullet and am in the process of changing the tires on my 84 R100RT by hand. Saving money not a bad thing, and I want the confidence in a roadside situation of knowing I can get the tire on and off to fix a flat.

Have now done the front and am waiting for a balancing stand I ordered to arrive so I can balance and remount.

Getting the old tire off was a beeottch. Hardest part of the job.

Getting new tire and tube on was not that hard. But I have found that the little "ring" around the tire that you use to make sure the bead is settled in evenly just WILL NOT line up evenly on one side. Most of it (all of one side and most of the other) is perfectly evenly lined up, but one portion of one side (maybe 1/8 of the circumference) is below the edge of the wheel. Have tried time and again (deflating, bouncing the wheel and tire, pulling the sidewall "up", etc." but it comes out this way each time.

Has anybody run into this? How concerned should I be? Any fixes?

Thanks - Brian
Click to expand...

It means that the tire is not mounted symetrically on the wheel. It won't balance correctly, and is likely to provide a thump or at least vibration if you ride on it.

Something is preventing the tire from slipping fully onto the wheel at one spot, at least. I would break the bead on that side and carefully examine the wheel and tire in the offending area. You are likely to find a buildup of rubber, a nick in the metal, or some other obstruction. Clean up anything you find and use a good rubber lubricant. That is likely to cure it.
 
Like our esteemed Paul states.. use the lube...

By ALL MEANS.... keep your fingers and other "vital/sensitive/important" bodily parts away from the bead until it is properly seated....or it will become part of your bike.:deal
 
Thanks all. Yes, I am using lube (dishsoap and water) - I had a job mounting car tires years (decades, actually) ago.

I will keep trying! Danged thing ain't gonna defeat me!

Appreciate the advice - Brian
 
I just got the Ru-Glyde from NAPA and a squirt bottle to put it in. Less than $20 for multiple lifetimes supply. It made getting the tire on super easy and I had no issues with the line, first time around. Other than getting the tire off (took me forever and a day and lots of sweat, too), the other issue I has was seating the bead. I ended up having to put a ratchet strap around the perimeter of the tire to hold it to the rim so it would hold air. Once the bead started seating and it was starting to hold air, but BEFORE the bead was fully seated, I removed the ratchet strap and continued to inflate until the beads were seated.
 
My tires have tubes. Getting them to hold air isn't a problem. ;-)
 
keelerb said:
My tires have tubes. Getting them to hold air isn't a problem. ;-)
Click to expand...


Errr, I disagree, I've had the occasional tube note hold air, normally at the side of the highway in a rain storm!

Funny story, a few years ago I went to the new BMW dealer to have them put tires on my R90/6. Everything was going well until I informed the service consultant that I wanted new Metzler tubes installed as well.

I was politely informed that BMW now uses tubeless tires, so my bike wouldn't need tubes!:doh

regards, Rod.
 
It's all good advice so far. Let's see if I can add any value. I changed a lot of tires in my garage.

First, the rim (the part that ends up inside the tire) must be cleaned to an absolutely spotless condition, as in 'you could eat off'n it'.

Second, water & dishsoap works for auto tires because it is available and cheap, but should not be used for motorcycle tires. BTDT. Dishsoap leaves a residue after drying that actually prevents the tire bead from adhering properly to the rim. The Ru-Glyde from NAPA stores (or other tire mounting liquid/gel) should be used. The right stuff evaporates fully leaving no residue behind.

Third, the reason your tire did not seat is exactly what Paul said - the rim needs to be clean first. When you use the Ru-Glyde, don't be cheap about it. Slop some on the rim area and on both sides on the tire, including way up on the tire well past the beading area. (You can get by with using less - it just depends on how much work you wanna do.) Once the stuff is applied, get with the program and get the bead seated and get some air flowing. Helps if you can either use your knees or have an extra set of hands to get that initial seat going.

Once the tire starts filling, keep watch all the way around on both sides, looking for any spots that don't want to fill out so that the bead is even all the way around. If you find any spots, immediately deflate tire, gob some more Glyde on that spot (tire and rim), and hit it again with air. I have used as much as 60 psi to fully seat the bead on some recalcitrant tires. Any more than 60 psi is too much force, and you need to deflate and examine for cause. Keep looking - you'll find it.

On a very rare occasion, a tire simply won't seat and needs to be replaced. I've never had one, but have seen one - someone else's bad luck.

I made up a 6-sided jig out of 2x4s to support the rim to lay on the garage floor so that the disc brake rotor could lay in there and all the the force while you work is applied 'wood against aluminum rim'.

After you do a few, it ain't so bad at all.

Ride Safely,
BrixkRider
 
Line up the dot on the tire with the valve stem. It is put on the tire to assist with the balance (light part of the tire and the valve stem compensates). I've changed about 10 over the year (Hondas, Kawasaki, BMWs) and have yet to balance a tire or had any inbalance problems.
 
A suggestion - prior to attempting to bead-up a tire, ensure the valve stem is not in the valve body. This permits a higher airflow and faster beading of the tire. Once the tire is beaded up, then reinstall the valve core and inflate to desired pressure. And on tube-type tires, don't tighten the stem nut until after inflation, permitting the air from around the tube to escape.
 
manicmechanic said:
A suggestion - prior to attempting to bead-up a tire, ensure the valve stem is not in the valve body. This permits a higher airflow and faster beading of the tire. Once the tire is beaded up, then reinstall the valve core and inflate to desired pressure.
Click to expand...

Big ditto on this one, it has been known to make a difference!
 
Good advice all, thanks. Solution was indeed a bit more lube (I used a bit of silicone grease on the trouble spot) and having my wife slowly pump up the tire while with a tire spoon I lifted the trouble area a bit. Worked a treat - at one point, ANOTHER spot started to do the same so I moved the spoon action to there and it worked perfectly.
 
what everyone has allready said is good. I've changed many motorcycle, golf cart, and lawn mower tires myself. for lubricant I use WD-40 . as mentioned before the valve core MUST be removed for best results. very important to line the red dot with the valve in the wheel. if tires are stored for a long time on their side without cardboard inserts, they can be very difficult to get the bead to seat. when this happens, I use a rachet strap around the center of the tire to force the beads out. of course it helps if you have a 175 psi air compresser in your shop as I do. every one has given you good advice. good luck...
 
manicmechanic said:
snip

And on tube-type tires, don't tighten the stem nut until after inflation, permitting the air from around the tube to escape.
Click to expand...

Some would also say to leave that nut slightly loose so that you can see that the tube is staying where it is supposed to: i.e. not "rotating" which would cause a high-wear point on the tube where the stem goes through the rim.

Might be picking nits, but so I have heard.....:p
 
Use a wratchet type tie down strap around the parimeter and lots of soapy water, hold your mouth right, bounce it and it will go on. I have never needed to balance my tires yet, smooth as can be!
 
Paint spot is opposite the valve, balancing stand should be tomorrow (if I can catch the UPS guy - he waits for me to go out so he can leave one his darned slips instead of my package) and we'll see if she needs any help on that score.

Can't find any paint spot on the new rear tire though... gotta look again...
 
I think you have to put your tongue out to the left, or is it the right? :p
Anyway I've always done my own and have never had a problem even without balancing them. I guess I've been lucky. Lord knows it is skill.:D
Ohh Yeah I use stuff called tiresnot for lubing my rubber. It's the big rage with all the shifter kart guys I race with and it works really well.
 
keelerb said:
Paint spot is opposite the valve, balancing stand should be tomorrow (if I can catch the UPS guy - he waits for me to go out so he can leave one his darned slips instead of my package) and we'll see if she needs any help on that score.

Can't find any paint spot on the new rear tire though... gotta look again...
Click to expand...
I think the paint spot identifies the light spot of the tire, so it needs to be at the valve stem. At least that is the way my Dunlops are tagged:

http://www.dunlopmotorcycle.com/infocenter_tiretips.asp?id=16#tip

Mine was almost spot-on balance-wise with the paint spot lined up with the valve stem. No weights necessary.

I think the paint spot is usually only on one side of the tire.
 
Yes, that's my understanding too (paint spot is light spot, position opposite valve stem) and that's what I did on the front tire I just mounted. We'll see how it works.

My new rear tire doesn't appear to be marked. But I'll put on the old-man glasses and look again....
 
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