Do you change your tires?

[Ironxtreme]

Hey guys I just orderd my Metz Z6's and I was wondering what you guys do when you get new tires? Do you change them yourself or do you take it to the shop? I have been thinking about taking my existing tires off and just taking them to the shop to get the new tires put on.....or would it be better if I just took the whole bike there and have them changed?

Thanks
IX

[BearKat]

The shops around here it is cheaper to taket the tire/rim off and take to them with the new tire. If you can that is a good way to go. That is the main reason I bought a Pitbull Neckstand and Rear Stand.

[ThAzKat]

I take them off the bike and then go to Cycle Gear here in town. They charge me about $16 or so to do them.

[GSX1100FL]

Always take mine off & take them to a shop, cheaper & quicker.

[The CyberPoet]

Depends on how lazy I'm feeling... usually I'll take the wheels off and take them down there, but sometimes if I'm in a rush and lazy, I'll just drop the bike off. It's cheaper to take the wheels off -- and far less likely to have issues afterwards (such as incorrect torque on the axle nuts/bolts).

As for changing them yourself -- unless you have the tools and experience, plus some form of balancing jig, forget it. There's a write up on how to build your own tire mounting/unmounting kit fairly cheap at one of the member's pages (can't recall which one), but it assumes you have a 3'x3' space in your garage to dedicate to it (or a garage in the first place).

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[Ironxtreme]

I know the front tire would be easy....but how hard is it to take the rear tire off?? And could I do this all with a center stand aslong as I take the rear off first and put a support under the front?

Thanks
IX

[Ironxtreme]

Thanks Cyberpost you answerd my question

[stevnmd]

I change my own tires. The tire changer doesn't take up much space at all, as you can take it apart to a small size. I have a static balancer that works great. Changing tires yourself does require some effort, but it's worth it IMHO. I've yet to scratch a wheel, something I cannot say for any shop who's changed tires for me. I've also never ended up with a wheel that's not properly balanced...

You can get a manual tire changer from Harbor Freight. Then, get some tire irons. There are a number of static wheel balancers available, with the best being from Marc Parnes. You can do a Google search for all of the items I mentioned.

Total for parts is $200. That includes the Marc Parnes balancer, the tire changer (including motorcycle wheel piece) from Harbor Freight, and three tire irons.

The cheapest shop near me now charges $65 to mount and balance tires off the bike. I've already paid for my tire changing equipment and then some.

When you get 1800 - 2100 miles out of a set of tires on your street bike, have a track bike that eats tires, too, and then a dual sport with knobbies which don't last very long, changing your own tires is definitely the way to go.

[chriskatana]

I change my own, because there is no shopin my area that willl mount tires not bought at their shop.
I also enjoy the satifaction that I did it myself.

[tzortn]

The shops around here it is cheaper to taket the tire/rim off and take to them with the new tire. If you can that is a good way to go. That is the main reason I bought a Pitbull Neckstand and Rear Stand.

Can you get away with using the center stand to change the tires? I would be interested in doing them myself, but between the tools that Steve mentioned and stands I would be looking at a few hundred bucks. Then I would have the tools to change the tires, but no money for tires.

[stevnmd]

Can you get away with using the center stand to change the tires? I would be interested in doing them myself, but between the tools that Steve mentioned and stands I would be looking at a few hundred bucks. Then I would have the tools to change the tires, but no money for tires.

Eh, you could always prop up the swingarm with a home made stand of some sort and do the same for the bottom of your fork legs.

I can definitely see why most people don't change their own tires. I doubt that I would change my own if I only had one bike and got 8k - 12k miles out of a set of tires...

[Mojoe]

I do my own. as far as balancing, this is my 3rd year running "equal" in mine. That is just a powder that you put in the tire before you seal it on the rim. it balances by disributing itself where needed. the advantage to this is that no balancing machine is needed, plus it adjusts to tire wear, which lead weights can not do. I discussed and suggested this before on KP, but many of the members had thier "doubts" about this. All I can say is that it is fast, cheap, and it balances well enough that I can let my handle bars go at 80-90 mph and it tracks straight as an arrow. I will never go back to weights again.

[chriskatana]

Can you get away with using the center stand to change the tires? I would be interested in doing them myself, but between the tools that Steve mentioned and stands I would be looking at a few hundred bucks. Then I would have the tools to change the tires, but no money for tires.

I do mine without stands at all..

For the center stand method:
Put the bike on the centerstand, then I use a ratchet strap attached to a good overhead support, loop it under the top triple plate, and lift away, it's not necessary to lift far, just enough to get the front tire off the ground. an eye bolt in a ceiling joist of your garage should be sufficient.
I use the open rafters of my garage to lift my bike all the time since I have neither race stands nor a center stand.
check here for a GREAT tutorial on tire changing and the equipment you'll need.

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

[WildKat]

Looks like Im taking mine down to Steve's place for my next tire change

[AlCapone]

here's a short how-to for that Harbor Freight Tire Changer mentioned above. Found that while doing a search. he guy also has pics of the Marc Parnes Wheel Balancer in thesame article.

Dang it, now I have to spend more money. How can I explain this purchase to the wife.

http://mcnamee.tzo.net/motorcycle/tools/hf_tire_changer/harbor_freight_tire_changer.html#ballancer