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Propforwards tyre / tire changing class

Have you ever wanted to change your own tires, but heard that it is too daunting a task? Well it really isn’t. I have

started changing my own tires simply because it costs so much to have a shop do it, and because I am changing a

LOT of tires. Not only that, but I wanted to be able to change an inner tube should I be on a long trip somewhere, and

I now have the skills to do that at the side of the road. My thanks go to one Neduro of the adventure riders for his

hints and tips.

So I thought it might be good to post some tips on how to do it, in case anyone wants to try it. I encourage you to

give it a go – it’s not hard, and for some reason immensely satisfying.

Here are a few key things to remember:

1. You are not stronger than the tire bead, and you don’t want to be. A bent / distorted / broken tire bead means your

tire isn’t going to seat properly. So – if you find yourself really grunting and straining during the process – STOP and

immediately evaluate what you are doing. This process comes down to technique – once you have it established it

simply DOES NOT take any stretching or straining.

2. With point 1 in mind – a major key in this process is keeping the tire bead seated RIGHT DOWN in the dish of the

wheel all the time, in the position opposite to where you are levering.

3. I find that a 3 tire lever approach works best.

4. Tools: I use a motion pro tire lever, and 2 general tire spoons purchased from northern tool as it happens. You will

also need an air pump or compressor, talcum powder, Windex is handy but not essential, and a valve stem core

removing tool. Rim protectors can be good too, although I have found that if you have the technique down – ie

eliminate straining and huffing and puffing, you don’t need them. Good insurance on alloy wheels though.

5. When levering, go round the wheel in small “bites”, ie move around the wheel small amounts at a time. This makes

the process MUCH easier and faster overall.

The tools:

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So, let’s begin. For this thread I am using the rear wheel of a Bonneville.

Old tire vs. new tire

It is quite possible to leave the sprocket in place, and I do. Simply use the new / old tyre as a fixture for holding the

wheel.

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Remove the valve core.

Also at this point you can remove the nut holding the valve stem to the wheel.

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The first step is to break the bead. There are many techniques for this, but I learned this, as I say, from an adventure

rider by the name of Neduro. It really works well.

Insert three tire levers close together under the rim. I put my two tire spoons outside of the motion pro lever.

The trick is to push DOWN on the outside two levers, and UP on the middle one. This levering action pushes the tire

off the rim.

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Repeat this in several places around the rim, and you will easily “break the bead” as it is known – which simply means

unsealing the tire from the rim. Once it starts to go it will easily push off all the way round.

Repeat this process on the other side of the tire.

Once both beads are broken, get the bead of the tire at the point furthest away from the valve RIGHT DOWN into the

dish of the wheel.

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You can now insert a tire lever and lever the tire over the lip of the wheel close to the valve stem. Always start

levering the tire close to the valve stem, as it is not easy to get the bead into the wheel dish at the stem position.

Continue to move around the wheel, a little at a time:

I usually move about a quarter of the way around the wheel from the valve stem, and then start levering on the tire

on the other side of the valve stem, such that when you lever the last part of the tire off the rim, you are directly

opposite the valve stem.

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When levering the tire, you want to get the lever just under the bead:

And slowly ease the bead over the rim:

Do not stick the iron too far under the tire bead, as you do not want to pinch the inner tube.

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Soon you will have the tire all the way off the rim:

At which point you can pull the inner tube out. Push the valve stem through the hole in the wheel, and gently pull the

inner tube out between the tire and wheel:

Put the inner tube somewhere where it won’t get dirt or grit on it.

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Now you can finish getting the tire off. Insert a lever from the outside of the tire:

And start levering gradually around the wheel. Once you are about a third of the way round the tire, you can actually

push the tire off by hand.

Now is an excellent time to clean your wheel.

So, assuming that you checked your new tire for blemishes, cuts, cracks and so on before you even began removing

your wheel from your bike, you can proceed to installation.

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Make sure there is no grit or stones or other crap inside the tire.

Squirt some talc into the tire:

And swoosh it all around to leave a light coating all over the inside of the tire. This will help the inner tube slip and

slide in place.

Now place the tire on the wheel. Make sure that the orientation is correct. There should be an arrow molded into the

sidewall. When the wheel is on the bike, and the arrow is at the top of the wheel, the arrow should point forwards:

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Also, there is usually a dot on the tire. This is a balancing dot, and generally you position the dot right next to the

valve stem, although this has never resulted in a balanced wheel for me.

Now, start sliding the bead of the tire over the rim. The first third to a half will slide over by pushing the bead down by

hand,

then you have to finish off by using levers:

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Once the first bead is over the rim, it is time to replace the valve core in the valve stem, and put a little bit of air into

the inner tube. You do not need much, just enough so that it “kinks” when resting on your finger:

This bit of air will help to prevent you pinching the tube when levering the tyre on.

Apply some talc to the tube, and then insert between the wheel and tyre:

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Obviously make sure the valve stem is located at the hole in the wheel.

There is a tool you can get which screws into the valve stem, for pulling it through the wheel, but I have not found

that necessary. Simply lift up one side of the tire with a lever:

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And this will give you enough room on the other side to reach in and move the stem to the hole:

Once the stem has poked through the hole, put the nut back on a bit to stop it popping back into the wheel:

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Now I give the tire beads a quick spray with Windex. Not absolutely important, but this helps lube the beads and let

them slip in place when you air up the tire later on.

Now it is time to lever the last bead over the rim.

Get the bead of the tire opposite the valve stem RIGHT DOWN into the dish of the wheel.

Now you can easily lever the tire over the rim at the valve stem position.

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Gradually work your way around the wheel. Insert one lever, then a second close to it, and lever the tire over the rim.

Then you can put a third in, and lever again. Now you can take the first lever out, and move it next to the third one,

and so on:

I usually move about a quarter of the way round the wheel on one side of the stem, and then a quarter of the way

round on the other side of the stem.

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At this point you will find you are using a tire lever each side of the wheel to hold and stop the tire bead popping back

off, so kneel on the tire either side of the valve stem, which will hold the tire bead down in the dish of the wheel at the

stem position. You have your wheel up on top of the old tire to prevent damage to brake disc or sprocket, right?

So continue the process of gradually levering around the tire, moving about an inch at a time, and the process will go

quickly. You may end up with this:

A quick thump from the heel of your hand gets that over the rim.

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And hey presto, tire is on.

Give both beads of the tire a quick little squirt of Windex all around, and slowly air up the tire. You will have to over

inflate the tire, and the beads will seat with a pop. Go as slowly as you can, as this will allow the inner tube to untwist

and get happy.

I sometimes find once the tire is seated that the valve stem isn’t straight:

I simply pull the valve core all the way out, which releases the air pressure, and allows the inner tube to relax into

position. This also allows any remaining twist to work itself out. Then reinsert the valve core, tighten the stem nut to

secure the inner tube (just nip it up, it doesn’t need to be super tight) and then inflate the tire to recommended

pressure.

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It is now time to balance the wheel.

Remove any old balance weights from the wheel rim.

I find that placing the wheel on its spindle on axle stands works perfectly well as a balancing fixture. Just make sure

that the spindle is level, and clamp it securely:

Also make sure it spins freely and does not rub on the axle stands.

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Now, let the wheel settle. It will naturally rotate, and the heaviest point of the wheel will move to the bottom. Mark

that point with a marker pen (permanent is OK, Windex or WD40 will have those marks back off in an instant when

you are done):

Today it just happens to be at the valve stem, so marking would not have been essential this time.

Wheel weights can be obtained from Dennis Kirk, they come in strips like this:

So that you can break them up into whatever weight you need.

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Tape some weight onto the wheel rim opposite your mark.

Now rotate the wheel such that the weight and mark are horizontal:

Let go of the wheel. If it stays put, you have a balanced wheel. If it rotates, you will need to either add more weight

(if the mark moves down) or take some off (if the mark moves up). Keep playing with that, until the wheel will stays

put wherever you rotate it to.

Note that you should not end up with weights at more than one position around the rim, you should only need to add

weight in one place on the circumference – if you have more than one you have not balanced the wheel correctly. I do

often distribute the wheel weights on both sides of the rim though.

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Now mark the position of your wheel weights. I put a mark at either end of the strip:

Then remove the weights, clean the wheel rim between the marks so that there is no oil or grease – a wipe with a

shop towel and some Windex will achieve this – then peel the backing off the wheel weights, and stick them in place.

Double check the balance – and you are ready to install the wheel!

This is an excellent opportunity for cleaning the wheel and the forks / swing arm of course.

So there you are – it is not that difficult. Take your time, be patient. The whole process from start to finish, of

removing the wheel, changing the tire, balancing and reinstalling the wheel takes one hour once you have done it a

couple of times.

It could take longer depending on how much cleaning you do, of course.

I hope this provides some help for people, I find that this technique works really well. I am sure people have other

hints and tips for this job, and look forward to hearing those. I have this technique down where I know I could do this

and change an inner tube at the side of the road. In that case you would not need to balance the wheel or take the

tire completely off, of course.

Once your wheel is in, go and scrub it in on nice dry rides. Take it easy! The new tire has mould compounds on it that

are slippery!