8" or 10" arbor press..used simply to break the bead free
30 gallon barrell with some radiator hose split and stuck on top (drill a few holes in the steel barrell and zip tie the raditor hose to the top- never scratch any rim)
10" aluminum tire irons (3)
plastic rim guards (3)
all in for above is maybe tops ($200)
and any of the static balancers available on the market ($80ish)
wheel weights
while I have a pnuematic tire machine and electronic balancer (about $2700)
I use the hand method for every sportbike and most sport touring bike tires and many of the "standards" 16" - 19" work super well, 15" tires are a bit of a PITA.............................. which is well over 200 tire changes a year and I have done it this way for about 4000-4500 tire changes on the same pieces of equipment. With the only thing ever replaced in all those years and tires changed being those plastic rim guards maybe 2 times in 37 years....
I use the pnuematic machine maybe 30 times a year and really only on the touring tires that simply aren't very flexible...... then of course I can also do auto tires on it and have.
nothing at all doing it all by hand.......... 1/3 the investment of a no mar and get it done as fast or faster and takes up far less room!
A buddy has the machine you show and it is worth every $. Once you have it you will end up changing tires for everyone in your riding group. Charge them $20 a pop and pay the machine off with few problems while supporting your own habit.
For space savings he put inserts into his garage floor and then can unscrew the mounting bolts and put the machine aside when not in use.
While I know you know your sh!t, I find the 17" radials tough with tire irons. I change all my dirt bike and bias ply street tires with irons and agree they work fine for that, but prefer the machine in OP for the radials.
RJ, could you let me know where that is? I need tires on this bike, mismatching is driving me nuts. And I'm noticing a little headshake from the front.
If using tire irons is really that simple I'll give it a shot. I'm ordering a static tire balancer, rim protectors and some motion pro irons that also act as a bead breaker. If I'm not happy with the results I'll order a no-mar machine.
If using tire irons is really that simple I'll give it a shot. I'm ordering a static tire balancer, rim protectors and some motion pro irons that also act as a bead breaker. If I'm not happy with the results I'll order a no-mar machine.
It depends on the tire in my experience. On my supermoto the first set of tires (Pirelli) I put on it went on super easy. The Bridgestones I put on earlier this year were a pain in the balls.
If I ever get super serious about track days, I'm going to at least buy a tire changing head (thing that holds the wheel).
fyi.........the video in post 14 and those rim protectors suck ass--------- no way no how would I ever try and do it that way, nor would I use that balancer- get one with bearings and two sides!!
I have some super small cheapo ones that never fly off and let the tire iron touch the rim and the 3 tire iron method is far easier than what he shows......... and a barrell is way better than being on the ground.......... the barrell holds the wheel stationary just like a real machine with jaws that clamp .. and makes everything way easier!!!
something like these for rim protectors...........throw the ropes away
these are my everyday tire irons for 90% of the tires.........although I do have some of the 15" curved ones too that don't see much use, but do see use....
Our Dunlop guy at the track charges $20 whether you buy from him or not so I just take a new one up (Dunlop Q3's from Revzilla) and change the rear out every 4 or 5 days on track (front is less frequent). I "recycle" the used track tires on to my street bike (well the center has plenty of tread) at a local shop for more than $20 but less than $100.
However, I remembered that there was a tire changer that used the receiver hitch on your truck to give it stability and found this (Cycle Hill Motorcycle Tire Changer), which ultimately takes us back to the No Mar you first asked about, just with a different mounting approach.
Learn to take off your own wheels, you can just bring the wheels to the shop and typically it will only cost you about $20 to $25 per wheel for a change.
I got my tire spoons a balancer and a stand. Just waiting on the stand that should be here by Monday. Oh, and also picked up a 5 gal air tank from harbor freight. :bigthumb:
I already had a bead breaker and I think the stand will make it much easier to avoid damaging the brake discs.
@jd41, I was very close to getting a No-Mar one but after trying it out at a friend's house and both of us struggling for like 20 minutes to get a damn tire changed I decided it wasn't worth the hassle. Shops can be pretty expensive which is why I also stopped doing that. I now only use the tire vendors at the track to get my tires changed. They charge around $15-20 per wheel, or if I'm buying tires from them mounting is free. This year I probably spent no more than $100 on tire mounting and balancing and I've gone through 2-3 fronts and like 5 rears, some of which I also had to flip. I'd rather just drop them off, not deal with the hassle of doing it manually myself, and then they're ready for pick up in about 15 minutes or less if there's no line.
I'm struggling with a set right now with a NoMar. I don't do this enough to get proficient. After having tires changed at the track this year. I agree local tire vendor is the best thing going for convenience and cost.
It's hard for me to understand the troubles you guys are having changing tires.
I built this tire machine off a Coats 220 base. I can mount/flip then balance a tire in a couple minutes easily.
It has saved me hundreds if not thousands of dollars.
Find a technique that works and perfect it. Lay the tires out in the sun or put a warmer on them for a bit will help. Also use a lube like hair spray or Windex.
It was just a big PITA when we did it with my buddy's No-Mar. Taking it off was fine, but getting the new one on was a bitch! Some tires are worse than others too depending on size and carcass stiffness. For some reason it seems like the 110 tires on a 3" rim are some of the worst, not sure why though.
I scratched the rim a bit. The plastic protectors that came with my tools weren't very good. I ordered some motion pro rim shields. It really wasn't that difficult to install the tire. I need to pick up an air compressor as I couldn't get the beads to seat with my air tank.
Really strange because with plenty of lube I can seat the bead with hand pump since I don't have a compressor. Pretty good workout but it works. What sort of lube do you use? Cheapest bar of soap grated and mixed with water into shaving paste like substance worked best for me.
I'm stealing this, rim protection has always been a problem for my clumsy self with street tires and tire irons.
Occasionally have had one be stubborn but lube and more pressure has always done it. Is it not sealing at all or is it sealing against the bump towards the center of the wheel and not popping out against the bead seating area?
If you have enough flow capacity sometimes taking the core out of the valve stem will help get enough air in fast enough to seat everything.
I couldn't get them to seat even with the valve core out and at 125psi with my compressor. Since my budget was 200$ dollars (2 local tire changes) and I want to make this as easy as possible I picked up one of these bad boys
And now you're starting to see some of the issues with it and why it can be a pain without the right equipment. Which is why I'll gladly have the tire guys do it. Takes them like 5 minutes to do one and I don't have to stress and sweat about it.
I'm glad it works for you. I would happily take it to a shop if they had decent pricing on it but I'm confident that I'll get it to slip in with a couple of blows.
One of these days I will twist @Backmarker's arm enough to buy a real tire machine. Took me and our mutual friend about 2 years to get him to sell his gas truck for his now current diesel truck for towing duties.
Admittedly, his setup is portable and usable at the track, mine is at home only so once we're out at the track, you're stuck at the mercy of the tire guy.
I received a defective unit so I'm contacting the manufacturer for a return or replacement. It looked like it had been used and thread was rusting on the threads and some rust drips around it. The threads also didn't fully seal and had some air leaks.
Overall changing the tire was not that difficult, other than the bead not seating. I'm a little uncertain if my balancer worked correctly, seemed to be a bit crooked, but I did my best to make it level.
Might get this balancer for next time if my wheels are off balance: Aerostich Cantilever Wheel Balancer
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