By Bayouboy 01/2005 (updated 04/2005)

AndyW - a great FAQ by Mark, very detailed and informative...make sure you read the 'disclaimer' at the foot of the page! To compliment this FAQ I will be adding a page giving advice on puncture repair as soon as I get the time. (07May2005)

Part1 - Tyre (tire) removal    Part2 - Fitting new tyres (tires)

After you get the wheel off the bike the first step in removing the tire is letting all the air out. I use a tire valve core tool (1) which costs a few bucks and can be found at most car parts stores. You simply stick the end on the valve and unscrew the core.

After the valve core (2) has been removed you need to break the tire bead away from the wheel rim. There are several ways you can do this, all of them involve pushing the tire away from the wheel rim with lots of force. Shop presses, bench vices or running over the tire with your brother-in-law’s van can all be used successfully. I use the “Tire Pliers” from Extreme Outback Products (3) - $60. It’s designed well, has very sturdy construction, will work with the front and back SV1K stock wheel/tire sizes, and is simple to use. You can learn more about them HERE:

You fit it through the inside of the rim as shown and just crank down on the nut forcing the jaws closed which push the tire bead away from the wheel rim (photos 4 & 5 below). Very simple. This step is a little time consuming as you have to break the bead every few inches around the circumference. In some locations it will only break from one side.
When that happens one possible solution is to put a rim protector on the side that has the broken bead and use the Tire Pliers to break the other bead. By positioning one jaw of the Tire Pliers on the protected rim and the other on the tire as normal (photo 6) the other bead is easily broken. However this approach will not work on the SV's front wheel if the brake rotors are mounted due to insufficient clearance for the tire pliers. In that case I use an 8-inch C-clamp to break the bead. This size C -clamp is big enough to reach around the outside of the tire. The last time this happened, I positioned the movable end of the clamp against a piece of wood that was resting against the wheel rim on the side with the broken bead. The fixed end goes on the tire bead. Then the stubborn bead is broken from the rim by closing the clamp.

Once the tire bead is broken completely on both sides you are ready to begin the removal process. The first thing you will need is a 'work station' for the wheel. I use a 16 inch car wheel that is deep enough so that you can leave the brake rotors in place when you do the tire mounting. This way the rotors are protected from being damaged - it's important not to support the wheel by the rotors which can fairly easily be warped.
Using a 5/8 inch threaded rod I bolted the wheel to a sturdy end table. I also used a piece of latex tubing to cover the top of the wheel rim to protect the motorcycle wheel from scratching. I found the car wheel at a junk yard for $20. The latex tubing and hardware cost less than $10 at the local home improvement store. Mount the motorcycle wheel on the car wheel and secure tightly by tightening the top nut as shown below.

Next we’ll need some tire mounting/dismounting tools. Tire irons (tyre levers), I purchased two 14 inch (c) - $20, two 11 inch (d) - $16 and two 8 inch (e) - $12. A couple of bead stops (b) - $16 from J.C. Whitney & Co. You can check them out HERE

I only use the two 14 inch and one of the 11 inch tire irons. I ordered everything before I got started with this so I wasn’t really sure what I would need. I only use the bead stops for mounting the new tire, don’t need it to get the old tire off which is a significantly easier task. I also got a couple of wheel rim protectors (a) - $14 from a local MC repair shop who ordered them through Parts Unlimited: You can check them out HERE

To start the removal process first lubricate the tire bead and wheel rim with soapy water. Then twist up a towel and insert it between the tire bead and wheel rim over about half of the wheel circumference. Then place the two rim protectors about 3 inches apart opposite the towel and with the tire irons lever up the tire bead over the wheel rim (photo 8) – (NB: the weight is there to hold the levers in place so I could take the photo).

The reason the towel is used is to keep the tire bead in the middle of the wheel where the diameter is less than at the edge. This is a critical step. You could probably get the old tire off without doing this but when mounting the new tire this step absolutely needs to be done or you will be f*@#ed royal. Then its simply a matter of working the tire irons around the circumference always moving the rim protectors first so as not to scratch the wheel. In a few minutes the first side bead is off. The other side comes off even easier but essentially the same technique is used. Of course now no towel is needed for the second side. Pretty soon the tire is completely off the wheel.

While you have the wheel off the bike and the tire off the wheel, it's probably a good time to inspect the lip on the wheel that the bead sits on. (Where the green arrows are pointing to.) Check this area for old rubber, dirt, scrapes, etc., and make sure to clean/repair it -- otherwise the tire might not hold air. You should probably err on the safe side and give the bead ridges a once-over with a Scotch-Brite (tm) pad to clean them up a bit.

Here are a few other items that I also use for either mounting or balancing the tire and wheel. I got the static wheel balancer from Rod Neff ($180 - I guess great minds do think alike, right Les). You can check out his website at Rod Neff Wheel Balancer. The things I really like about Rod’s wheel balancer is that it’s fully adjustable so it can accommodate weird axle designs and who knows what I’ll be riding in the future. It also has nice low friction roller bearings. I can easily balance a wheel to with in +/-2 grams which is better than what they do at the dealers.

I also picked up some sticky backed lead weights ($13 for 72 7g weights – Parts Unlimited), tire mounting lube/sealer ($5 – Chapparel). Also need some two sided tape ($3 – local home improvement store) for when you stick the balancing weights in the wrong place and need to remount them somewhere else, and some spare valve cores (local auto store - $5) for when you loose the originals .

**Disclaimer!**
Properly installed tires are an absolute necessity on a motorcycle. Your bike's tires can make the difference between life and death. Just because I chose to do the work myself does not mean you should. If you have any doubt about your ability to change your tires properly, get a professional to do the job for you. In the discussion above I describe the method I use to change my tires. I make no claims that this is the best way or the only way, it is simply the way I do it. I cannot accept any liability for the outcome of any error or omission in these guidance notes nor your misinterpretation of them.

Bayouboy May2005

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