Mounting tires safely

[headsbikesmopars]

I will try to mount new tires onto my '81 GS1100E. What is the best rim saver I can use. Thanks, Terry.

[marz]

perhaps?

-im just lazy but i have never ever done that..
i just think after all the bicycle wheels ive built and tire changes on them i think a m/c, would be hell..not to mention balancing.

good luck..

[8trackmind]

i think a m/c, would be hell..not to mention balancing.

good luck..

It's easy. 5 gallon plastic bucket, three tire irons, and some creatively cut "Cool Whip" bowls.

Mix a little dish soap, vegetable oil and water. Presto change-o. Tire mounting slime.

If you ask him nicely via Private Message, bwringer may even show you a photo of his low buck tire balancer.

[EDIT] Hey, I found it! There's a photo of it in this thread.

[bwringer]

For rim protectors (to protect the aluminum rim from the steel tire irons) I simply hack up old windshield wiper fluid bottles. A hunka plastic from almost any plastic bottle will work and cost approximately $0.00.

I'd use old milk bottles, but they stink...

Here's the standard intarwebnet text on this subject:

http://www.clarity.net/~adam/tire-changing.html

I'll add a couple of notes where I disagree with the author of the above:

Most homemade bead-breaking mechanisms you will see are dangerous to your wheel and your life. And if you're dead with a broken 2X4 sticking out of your chest, you can't ride your GS any more, so that's no fun. Using a shop press to break beads as shown in the article is just insane, unless you're the sort of person who swats flies by dropping Buicks on them.

I use two large wooden woodworking clamps -- a bit slower, but there's no chance of damaging a wheel or hurting oneself. One side of the clamp goes on the rim, and the other side is cocked slightly to put force on the tire very close to the rim. Two clamps side by side will easily and safely break any bead.

The narrower bias-ply tires used on a GS usually do not give any trouble with seating the beads. The super-wide radials shown in the article might need help from straps and other mechanisms, but 90% of the time, GS tires just go psssshhhht...POP! POP!

Also, go to the nearest Napa store and get real tire mounting lube -- it's maybe $12 - $15 for a lifetime supply of Ru-Glyde. Most homemade substitutes are corrosive and potentially dangerous. I'm sure some concoctions are safe, but seriously -- this is a really, really, incredibly silly and stupid thing to skimp on. The real stuff also works soooooo much better.


Oh, and the only place I could find stick-on tire weights locally was Pep Boys. For my $15, I got a 25 pound box of the damn things, which should hold me for several lifetimes. Motorcycle and custom tire/wheel shops have them, but I couldn't find any who would sell me some (really -- it became a quest). You can also order stick-on wheel weights in small quantities and various colors from Dennis Kirk and others.

[debby]

yeah, soapy water will rust out steel rims and spokes. For you guys with those fancy cast alloy wheels perhaps that's less of a problem, but I imagine you would still have some corrosion issues.

bwringer, I have to ask: was the Starbucks clerk able to translate?
A tall nonfat soy mocha works for me! \\/

Debby

[marz]

yeahh errrrrrr

i think ill just pay somone.. although very clever..and when push comes to shove.a good thing to know..but me naaa ill just give money away..

[DanTheMan]

I've done mine, not too difficult, but then again, I've done car, truck, trailer and bicycle tires as well (at home, as well as in a shop), can't see spending $90 for a stupid wrench monkey (Sorry John), in a shop that could care less to do mine...:-D Changing my rear tire sometime in the next two weeks. BTW, Bwringer, the Wood clamp idea was great, when I read it, it came in handy just at the right time.......:-D:-D

[bwringer]

bwringer, I have to ask: was the Starbucks clerk able to translate?
A tall nonfat soy mocha works for me! \\/

Debby

Yeah, she didn't even blink. She instantly rattled off something or other, I handed over a $10 bill and got a depressingly small amount in change, and then there was some sort of burst of activity and the guy at the other end of the counter handed me what I needed. Man, that place is confusing, especially if your brain is low on caffeine.

I normally concoct my whatever-the-heck-it-is coffee drink at home, but I was running late that morning.

In case I change my sig, here's what we're talking about:
"Look, I don't speak pseudo-Italian, but what I want is simple; 2/3 coffee, 1/3 skim milk, a bit of sugar, served cold over ice in your largest cup. Can you translate all that and make me one?"
my plea to the clerk at Starbucks, 8/17/2007

[Steveb64]

Alternative bead breaker...

One I've used at times over the years - the sidestand of another bike!
Put wheel on ground (on old blanket/rug/newspaper to protect bits), lean other bike over, slide wheel under sidestand, lean bike back, so sidestand foot just clears rim. Push bike over towards sidestand tyre to apply pressure. Rotate tyre and repeat until bead released all the way around! Works for tubeless or tubed tyres.
If you need to protect things like brake discs, use a couple of short (2' - 3') lengths of 4x2 timber under rim (either side) to lift discs clear of floor/ground. remember to make sure that the wood (support) is under the point where you're trying to break the bead each time...
Once bead released, the best home holder for the actual tyre removal is a 60 litre (12 gal. ?) drum, with one end cut out. Drum can then also double as a rubbish bin!
Tyre lube to use - I've used dishwashing liquid for years (Palmolive - dunno if it's available in US). Slippy when wet - but goes sticky when dry, so (IMO) helps stop tyre from spinning on rim...