Anyone Mount Their Own Tyres?

Nope, but my brother is thinking of purchasing the Max2H. The tire balancer has an option for the cones for triumph single-sided swingarms. It’s not cheap either, but I don’t think you want to cheap out with the speeds rims and risk damaging them.
https://max2h.com/en/tire-changer-evo-2-balancer

 

I bought the balancer and the cones for about £35 each off eBay. I think they are JMC.

 

No I dont see the need for changing your own tyres these days. The tyre shop I use changes and balances them for free if you buy their tyres and they get all the brands. Another tyre shop charges 35 dollars to change tyres. With my Bonny the beautiful chromed wire wheels are a bit too soft and you scratch and ding them up changing them by hand with tyre levers. I do nearly all my own maintenance but the tyres without a tyre changer is just too difficult.

Red 26 Qld Australia.

 

I've been contemplating getting a tyre changing machine and a balancer as I have so many bikes that need Avons to be fitted that it would be cost effective very quickly for me ........ especially given that the equipment is relatively inexpensive here.

On that matter, I'm wondering if anyone on the forum has any experience of either of these :-

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-TC965-Motorcycle-Mini-Changer/dp/B001SFMLSK

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dirty-Pro-...YK7PNK28TGT&psc=1&refRID=9564V8JHZYK7PNK28TGT

From the pictures these look pretty well identical - so..o..o, my question - is the Sealey worth the extra, bearing in mind that it will be "home and amateur" use only, or are they both out of a factory in China? I'm pretty sure the Sealey WILL be Chinese manufactured - as will the Dirty Pro - but will it be to a spec. or just another clone?

The same question applies to the raft of balance machines that are out there, many looking identical save for the price tag.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ryde-Motorcycle-Wheel-Balancer-Stand/dp/B00DRFXW0U

Any information/advice/end user experience would be very welcome.

BTW Nixter, I'm also an 'expat' Scouser ....... but in Devon!

 

This is something I’ve looked into but what stopped me was the price of buying tyres online etc in fact sometimes tyres suppliers were more expensive than what I can have them fitted for to loose wheels,So before you dive in and buy all the gear I would see how cheap you can buy tyres and compare to shop fitted to loose wheels.

 

I would do the same if tyres were that cheap here in the uk infact I would look out for a second hand tyre machines like tyre fitters have, last year I paid £195 for S21s fitting to loose wheels and I’ve been looking now to buy them online and the cheapest we’re £198, keep us posted how you go.

 

Wow! You’re very fortunate where you live. It doesn’t appear to be the same in most other countries unfortunately. Around here the going rate is $50-$80 per tire, and that’s if you take the wheels off your bike and bring them in. The shops here here don’t have much of a selection of tires either. The Triumph dealer where I bought my bike put the tires I bought online on for $50 total. Got a bit of a deal there. The front tire didn’t require balancing, so that probably helped. If my brother buys the Max2H kit I’ll definitely be using it for sure. I’m hoping to get carbon fibre wheels one day and would want to do those myself.

 

Go back and have a look at the Max2H tire changer that I posted above. Notice it that it has an arm that comes off the centre that rotates around with a big plastic piece that mounts to the wheel as to not scratch or gouge up your rim when removing and mounting the tire. The ones you posted here will destroy your wheel. Don’t even think of using those pieces of junk unless you don’t care about your wheels.

 

Ah, I wasn't entirely clear - I definitely wouldn't use the bar supplied with the machine but would be buying one of these :-

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BULLDOG-...647244?hash=item2f3996cd8c:g:zKsAAOSwxPddlquG

and a LOT of tyre soap!

This lever was designed specifically for motorcyle alloys!

 

I would want to see that in action befor purchasing. As long as you are very careful it “probably” would work, but would require a lot of muscling that bar. Even the Max2H requires a fair bit of effort and it’s attached to the machine. The Max2H mounting head is all nylon with no exposed metal anywhere, that one looks like if thing’s didn’t go as planned, it could result in a damaged rim. I think you get what you pay for. Down the road I would like carbon fibre wheels, and I wouldn’t trust that thing with those. Let us know what you end up purchasing, and how it goes. Good luck.

 

Hello SteveRS, so it would seem we are blessed in the respect. I have thought about buying my own changing machine. The hand operated machines are really quite cheap now for around 130-200 Aust here but the problem for me is I have a 17inch rear wheel and the hand operated machines I could find went up to 16inch or from 18inch up. I rang the local triumph dealer near where I live and I was expecting they would be expensive, most original parts dealers are. $20 dollars fitted and balanced but thats on a loose wheel off the bike and $35 with the wheel on the bike. I ride down to the coast to get tyres, its a good ride and you can book in and get it done the same day and no extra cost and last time I was there they replaced the rear wheel brake pads at no cost for fitting while the wheel was off. I do all my own maintenance but changing wheels without a tyre changing machine is just unbelievably hard. The last Time I did that I broke some of the wires in the edge of the tyre and ruined it and could not use it. Ya dont think that pissed me off much, *&^&(*% angry at myself mostly but the cat came slinking around and it copped a spray as well.

 

If I could get them put on for that, and a quality job being a dealer, then I would as well.

 

Yes, I change and balanced my own tires but I ride a Rocket III Touring. Where I live, the shops charge at least $150 to change and balance a tire. And, if I remember correctly, that's what you pay only if you buy the tires from them and they charge rip-off prices for the tire. (I'm in the U.S.) Also, I've read horror stories about shops messing up wheels when doing the job.

I use a Marc Pines balancer, which is considered to be about the most precise balancer available. There's no need to get the type with the stands. I just set the balancer on a couple jack stands. And contrary to what some think, the balancer does not have to be perfectly level although I do level mine. After all, the heavy side of the wheel will settle at the bottom even if the balancer isn't perfectly level. In any case, this isn't an issue because you can level any setup you use but there is absolutely no reason to get fanatic about level. I wrote up my entire procedure on another Triumph forum. I use standard stick-on weights, not beads. Apparently that's what you intend to use since you don't need a balancer when you use beads. I've never used beads and, despite positive reviews of how they work, most experts that I talked to agree that regular stick-on weights is the way to go.

BTW, I don't have a changing machine. I do it all by hand. The hardest part of the procedure is breaking the bead when removing the tire. I'm thinking of getting some type of bead breaker the next time I change the tires but there are ways to do it with no special tools at all. There are plenty of YouTube videos showing various ways of breaking the bead. Also, when installing the tire, some use Zip ties but I didn't have much luck with that method so I just did it the old fashioned way.

There is no reason to be worried about doing this job yourself. In fact, I never cease to be amazed at how so many people these days can't seem to do the work themself. There's even people who even have their oil changed by someone else! In my opinion, if someone can't do basic work on their bike, they shouldn't even own one. Then again, I'm old school and I've always done all my own work on my bikes, cars, SUVs, trucks and just about everything else. I save a TON of money but that's not the main point. It's knowing that the job was done right that really matters.

Marc Pines sells cones of various sizes. I'm not sure what the requirements are for your bike but I bet he has a set that would work. Just check it out here:

http://www.marcparnes.com/Buyers_Guide.htm

 

A local shop spooned a tire on my brothers rear wheel and scratched the hell out of it. They denied scratching it when confronted. The same shop has done my wheels with a tire machine with no issues. So I guess you just never know what’s going to happen when you let someone else do the work. I wouldn’t feel comfortable spooning tires by hand, nor would I want anyone else spooning tires on my wheels. I want my wheels to remain free of damage from tire changes. The Triumph dealer here takes photos of the wheels before and after the tire change and say they stand behind their work, and will repair or replace a damaged wheel if it were ever to happen. Makes me feel more comfortable taking my wheels to them. I’d still rather do the work myself though.