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Bead Breaker

Not me, but I'll be very interested in any feedback from folks who have experience. When we travel I haul around a big C clamp but if these work they would save a lot of space/weight.
 
They may work fine as bead breakers, but they look too wide and short to make good tire irons. Every demo I have seen of them they are capably changing a tubed dual sport tire - easy as pie to bead break. I've never seen a demo on a big tubeless tire. If I carried a set as bead breakers, I'd still carry three MotionPro irons for install duty. The set that goes in my load-out for long distance and isolated destinations is the BestRest BeadBrakR. Whatever you decide to pack, change a challenging tire with it at home before you strike out counting on it to save your bacon on the roadside.
 
I wrote the long version in a column in the ON. I'll repeat the short version here. Memorial Day, riding a few mild sweepers in Missouri Voni got a flat rear tire. I found the leak was between the brass and rubber in the stem. Tubeless tire of course. I had a plug kit. Good luck.

I managed to find an Orscheln Farm Store open for 15 more minutes when I got there. I bought two tire stems, two tire irons, and a big C clamp. Back to her bike, beside the road I broke the bead on one side, and installed a new stem. By this time a nearby farmer got curious. He brought me his air tank to refill the tire.

As we started to ride away she said it was still flat. It wasn't. It was the front tire this time. Same defect, same bike, same spot, same time. Odds??

So I repeated the process using my second new valve stem, and on to home we rode.
 
I have a set of those bead breakers that I just recently added to my tire kit on my F800GS. Have not yet had a chance to test them out though. I plan to do so on my next tire change if I don't have to do so sooner (fingers crossed). I had them ordered before a trip I did in August to the Bee Cee Beemers rally in Nakusp and could have tested them then, but they had not yet arrived before I left.

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They do appear to be well made and sturdy. I expect they would be just fine as levers too as the ones I currently use for roadside repairs are actually shorter in length. I was able to remove the notoriously stiff K-60 just fine with those to swap the tube.
 
I have a set of those bead breakers that I just recently added to my tire kit on my F800GS. Have not yet had a chance to test them out though. I plan to do so on my next tire change if I don't have to do so sooner (fingers crossed). I had them ordered before a trip I did in August to the Bee Cee Beemers rally in Nakusp and could have tested them then, but they had not yet arrived before I left.



They do appear to be well made and sturdy. I expect they would be just fine as levers too as the ones I currently use for roadside repairs are actually shorter in length. I was able to remove the notoriously stiff K-60 just fine with those to swap the tube.

Ed, do you have an opinion as to how well they would work to break the bead on a tubeless tire?
 
Ed, do you have an opinion as to how well they would work to break the bead on a tubeless tire?

I would expect just the same as on my tube type tires on my GS as they have the safety bead on the rim just as tubeless rims do. The only difference mandating the tube is the standard type spoke rims on the F800GS. Once I give them a try, I'll follow up with a comment on the performance. I have to replace tires on both my bikes this winter, so will be able to test them on both the tube type GS wheels and the tubeless GT ones. I have a new set of Excel wheels coming for the GS to accept whatever new tires I choose for it, but will be dismounting the worn out K60s from the original wheels anyway.
 
I guess the key point will be are they worth carrying as opposed to relying on such techniques as using the center stand or using a 2x4 arrangement or just relying on dumb luck. I've never had a flat since I was 16 and riding my brothers CB450 Honda Blackhawk in 1967. Of our six bikes, five have tubless tires and I hope to be able to fix a flat with a plug. If I need to break a bead because of a rare but possible situation as Paul described, or a flat occurs on our single tube bike, I guess I'm using the hope as a method technique. I hope I can break the bead... or I hope there is help to be had. I hope....
 
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I guess the key point will be are they worth carrying as opposed to relying on such techniques as using the center stand or using a 2x4 arrangement or just relying on dumb luck. I've never had a flat since I was 16 and riding my brothers CB450 Honda Blackhawk in 1967. Of our six bikes, five have tubless tires and I hope to be able to fix a flat with a plug. If I need to break a bead because of a rare but possible situation as Paul described, or a flat occurs on our single tube bike, I guess I'm using the hope as a method technique. I hope I can break the bead... or I hope there is help to be had. I hope....

Good points. I tend to carry that stuff when we travel for the summer because, among other reasons, I have, on occasion bought tires and mounted them myself in a campground. I prefer to let a dealer mount them, but when traveling the need for a tire doesn't always match the location of a BMW dealer, and I have had mixed results with other brand dealerships. Sometimes the path of least resistance is to just buy a tire and do it myself.
 
I guess the key point will be are they worth carrying as opposed to relying on such techniques as using the center stand or using a 2x4 arrangement or just relying on dumb luck.
Personally, Since I started riding tubeless tires on my bikes, I no longer carry tire tools on either of my bikes [both RTs]. I carry a Stop~N~Go plug kit, gummy worms and an air pump. I'm fortunate to be able to say that I've only had one deflation when traveling - with tubeless tires. It was in the middle of nowhere, MI - where I picked-up a pretty good size bolt that apparently was flipped upright by my front tire. This was pretty late at night and it was pretty easy to feel the deflation. I got off to the shoulder, located the bolt, pulled it, plugged it and was on my way in about 20 minutes of fumbling around in the dark. That's when I learned carrying only a mini-mag flashlight was not a bright idea.

Many years ago, I had a flat on my R75/5. I used the center stand to break the bead. I had a guy in a pickup truck stop to help and I'll tell you, I sure was grateful. There was no possibility I could have managed breaking the bead myself like that. If I was on a tube tire, I'd probably consider carrying something to break the bead but I think just being able to plug a tire is more reasonable under normal conditions.

And Paul - as of yesterday, it's still working out great for me.....:) Are you and Voni planning on riding over to Dallas?
 
Some use the side stand and the weight of the bike to push the bead off. Hard to do with your own bike without one wheel on it, works best with a buddies bike if you are not solo.

 
There's also the center stand method that was mostly figured out when BMW changed the side stands to a flimsy, thin rod with a foot on it, that automatically retracted when the weight was lifted off the stand. That was something like 1970 or so with the R75.

Basically similar to what is shown using the side stand, tie the center stand to something forward of the pivot point - most used the header crossover back then for the front, the front wheel as shown if it was the back. Once tied off, you rock the bike toward you until you cleared the tire, pull the tire under one of the legs of the stand and then pressed the bikes weight into the tire at the bead. It was a lot of work and sucked to do it but when you need to break a bead on a flat, there wasn't a lot of choice. Once broken, you just used to short tire spoons that came in the tool kit with the bike to get the tube out - and if you were smart, you replaced it with the spare tube you carried.
 
Do you mean use one leg of the center stand on the tire near the bead? So that the bike was balanced on the non-flat tire and one leg of the center stand? Wouldn't you have to lean the bike waayy over to get the tire under the leg? That would definitely be a challenge but as you say...if you really, really need to break a bead...necessity is a mother...
 
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