So you want to install your own tires.

$80.00 bucs for both items at harbor freight. tire changer and motorcycle attachment.

will have to add a modification before next install. used it 1 time so far, only issues are wheel locks need a lip to hold rim, not hard to use at all.. the DS tire was a lil hard to get over rim but a lil soap worked well.

TIP before inflating use sand paper to sand smooth inside of rim as you will probably scar it up some.


beats spending 50 bucs for an install and the shop.

I have had one for years, used it on all kinds of tire from wings to tractor front tire's, Ruglyde is my " soap " I put mine inside the shop near the work bench. It helps to have extra mounting irons, long ones work real well. My main mod was to use a heavier center bar " rebar " works better than the provided bar. I cut wooded wedges to hold the tire bead up towards the center of the rim when prying the other side over the rim edge.

A friend of mine modified his HF tire changer by welding a piece of square tubing the bottom. The tubing fits into the towing socket on the back of his truck. Works great and you can easily slip it on or off the truck. Very solid mount.
Rim Savers are a good investment, they do a good job protecting the rim, especially if you're using tire irons to mount/dismount a tire.
http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/29625/i/motion-pro-rim-protectors

Lacking rim protectors at the time I made mine from the more ridged handles of 1 gallon milk bottles they worked so well I never used anything else since. Everything I seem to need at once requires a 50 mile round trip to purchase so DIY becomes second nature.

a few mods i will use next time

When the wife replaces the throw rugs I claim them for shop use and the changer is one place they get real well used, prevents scuffing for one and a lot easier on old knees for the other.

If you don't have a tire machine and you can get the bead broken, a sawzall can get a motorcycle tire off pretty quickly.  Just need to be careful to get the tire away from the rim especially at the bead when using the sawzall and you may need to use to snips to the the last part of the bead away, the rest of the tire cuts easily.  You will still need some tire irons and rim protectors to get tire on with plenty of tire lubrication or soapy solution. I've seen a method on You Tube to remove and install a moto tire using wire ties to compress the tire beads, never tried it, but I suppose it could work. I've done 2 sets with a bead breaker, sawzall, rim protectors and tire irons, no dedicated tire machine. Takes a bit of elbow grease and work and I know a dedicated machine would make it easy. We have a high end machine at work but it won't work on motorcycle/scooter tires. I've heard mixed reviews on the Harbor Freight/clones, so I never went that route when I learned I could do them without.

I changed a tire on my Goldwing by placing a board over the tire just about touching the rim in front of a tire on my truck. Just ease the vehicle up on the board and that will break the bead. While the rig is still on the board you can stomp on any part of the tire that didn't come off the rim. If need be, flip it over and repeat.
Tires on a SW are a lot easier to change that the front tire on a Goldwing. Dunlop E3 bias ply tires have very stiff sidewalls.

Tire irons work. Warming tire and wheel in sun helps. Tire Irons can still scar rims regardless of protectors.

Maybe easiest and maybe cheapest----remove wheel, bring to local dealer, buy tire from him, let them mount new tire on you rim.

john grinsel wrote:

Tire irons work.   Warming tire and wheel in sun helps.  Tire Irons can still scar rims regardless of protectors.

Maybe  easiest and maybe cheapest----remove wheel, bring to local dealer, buy tire from him, let them mount new tire on you rim.

That is my intent once I get both wheels lifted safely off the ground. It's hurting to much to get down there any more, this maybe my last hurrah other than a yearly oil change

Working on my scooter, even just airing up the tires has become a lot easier with my HF bike lift. I'm the youngest of the three scooterists here who ride together and the lift as been a boon to all three of us.

john grinsel wrote:

Tire irons work.   Warming tire and wheel in sun helps.  Tire Irons can still scar rims regardless of protectors.

Maybe  easiest and maybe cheapest----remove wheel, bring to local dealer, buy tire from him, let them mount new tire on you rim.

local bike shop here charges an hour (95) to change a tire if they pull the wheel
they charge the same if you bring them the loose wheel
THIS is the reason so many people are willing to bust their butts (and knuckles) doing it themselves, shops like that
my local tire shop will install a tire on my CAR, not just my wheel, balanced, for $15, whether I bought it from them or not

With this cottage industry of home tyre changing, how come bigbird still can't sell that wheel balancing gadget he advertised 3 months ago, or are you all waiting till he's desperate and the price drops to a sensible level?

No sense in having a tire changer without having a wheel balancer as well, and vise-versa

A lot of people use balancing beads.

I'll pass on stuffing balancing beads inside inside my tyres, I'd rather have puncture sealant instead.

I've balanced the tires on my Goldwing 1500 by hand many times over the 175,000 miles I had it. On the GW the front can be balanced right on the bike. Put the bike on the center stand, jack up the front of the engine to lift the front tire off the bike, and remove the speedo cable and calipers. Then put a chalk mark on the sidewall at the bottom and give it a slight spin. Repeat several times and see where the chalk marks are clustering. Stick on a 1/4oz. weight on the opposite side and repeat the process. After a few spins and adding the lead weights the chalk marks will become randomly scattered over the tire. That's it.
The rear wheel has to be supported on each end of its axle and balanced the same way. Reassemble and ride. My bike ran smooth as silk at speeds all the way up to the point the rev limiter cuts in. On my bike it was around 115mph. There never was any indication of uneven wear on the tires which usually lasted about 6000 miles on the front and about 15,000 on the rear

I've used the same method on my second SW with good results. I can't do it on the rear wheel of my 650GT because it has a single sided swing arm.

You can't easily use the method on the GL1800 since it also has a single sided swing arm.

I get balance weights from Les Schwab here in the NW. I offer to buy some but so far none of they will take any money for a handful or so. Auto parts stores have them too, inexpensive.

Art wrote:

john grinsel wrote:

Tire irons work.   Warming tire and wheel in sun helps.  Tire Irons can still scar rims regardless of protectors.

Maybe  easiest and maybe cheapest----remove wheel, bring to local dealer, buy tire from him, let them mount new tire on you rim.

local bike shop here charges an hour (95) to change a tire if they pull the wheel
they charge the same if you bring them the loose wheel
THIS is the reason so many people are willing to bust their butts (and knuckles) doing it themselves, shops like that
my local tire shop will install a tire on my CAR, not just my wheel, balanced, for $15, whether I bought it from them or not

same reason i got the HF changer ... only 1 place in this town of 90k that will change a tire/has the tire changer for a 13" and they charge $50.00 so after spending $400.00 on tire changes over past few years decided to try it myself.

Tires---if you ride 30-40,000 miles a year, which means at least 3 rear/1 front tires Do It your self might pay. Not ride a lot probably cheaper just to use local Honda Dealer, buy tires from him and hope they have done it before. And since SilverWing is now out of production, so many machines do need tires as they are old---tire changing remains necessary.

My fear, strange dealer (on trip) have not removed and replaced rear wheel on maxi-scooter....and resulting in damage, etc on bike. Seen it happen.

My tire tools,including air tank have been acquired over 60plus years of riding---At 77 next birthday, I wonder if getting stiff sidewall 13" off rim I worth it? But then some people go to Gym---riding/working on bike self required some effort, too.

Wish scooters came with spare wheel and tire like they used to.......and easy rear wheel removal.

In the "old days" when we had tubed tyres I used to fit my own tyres. The time and trouble of breaking the seal of the tyre to the rim and the effort of re-seating a new tyre is too much for me.Fortunately I have a local tyre fitter that supplies a new tyre, removes the old one and fits and balances the new tyre at a reasonable price.I just take the whole wheel to them.

razorback wrote:

$80.00 bucs for both items at harbor freight. tire changer and motorcycle attachment.

will have to add a modification before next install. used it 1 time so far, only issues are wheel locks need a lip to hold rim,  not hard to use at all.. the DS tire was a lil hard to get over rim but a lil soap worked well.

TIP  before inflating use sand paper to sand smooth inside of rim as you will probably scar it up some.


beats spending 50 bucs for an install and the shop.  

I have a Harbor Freight that looks just like yours, but the bits that hold the rim are bent to grab the rim. I will get a pic later.
I also poured a cement pad in the back yard. Great minds think alike.