This sound like another tool for me
What do they charge to mount and balance tires nowdays?
(I'm trying to justify this)

 

I have one. Works just fine if you take your time and are careful. Beats the heck out of spending $5-600. I don't need to change a tire in 21 seconds anyway.

 

A little pricey but certainly a well made system.

 

My only experience changing my own tires cost over $100 as I tore the bead while trying to spoon on the new tire. After that, I swore I'd never do it again. However, the tire was a very low profile tire on a 16" rear rim (BMW R1100RT) - one of those machines might have allowed me to do it. I still would rather have someone with a good changer do it - if I buy the tire from my mechanic (an independent) and bring the wheel off the bike, it costs a measley $10 for mounting and balancing. The local HD shop charges 1/2 hour to RR a front tire and 1 hr to RR a rear tire. Not too cheap in my opinion if you're buying the tire from them too (although they don't rape you too badly for a tire price).

 

Thanks all for the input! I guess I'll just find a good Indy and take the tires in to be done. I really don't need more stuff clutering up the garage anyway.

My tires and changes are free for the next two years. As Wifey wants a bike, I was thinking about doing the tire changes on her's and later mine. Her Vstar wil be a weekend warior, while the Eglide is a daily driver to the tune of 24K a year. So far have had 3 rears and three fronts. The $1400 I paid for the Maintenance Plan has been worth it! But the new plans they are offering are NO where near as generous!


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I use the c-clamp with a couple of foot long pieces of 2x4 against the tire sides to spread the force over a larger area. That would also keep the clamps off the whitewalls.

And as far as pricing for mounting/balancing goes...you may or may not be getting a good deal overall. $50 for mounting & balancing a $150 tire is better than paying $225 for the tire with free labor.

edit: after looking THIS series of pictures over, the HF changer may not be a bad deal. It's obvious that bolting it to a secure base is a necessity.

 

I've been changing tires on bikes since I was 13 on my Hodaka Wombat 125 A ole timer showed me a trick that he learned from a even older rider, It seems that back in the old days the rear of the foot of bumper jacks were a dual purpose tool, they were designed to break the bead of a tire off the rim the design stayed on the jacks to the last of the bumper jacks made. I had a 2x6 with a piece of carpet onit about 15" long that I laid under the rim, then I set the bumper jack on top of the bead as close to the rim as possible (curved part of foot shows it purpose here) then use the bumper of my 69 Charger topop the bead, as it pushes the tire down you can tap the foot under the rim, helps to break the bead better by doing this,flip over and do the other side, it's very easy and works everytime Hope this helps someone it sure has saved me money over the years!

 

Bolting it down is your best bet. The instructions give you options other than bolting to the floor, but highly recommend bolting. I love this thing. I really enjoy doing my own work...it's not always about saving a few bucks for me. I just like doing it. I have a couple friends with Harley's and we do their tire changes too. If you look at the attached pic, you can see the HF tire changer in the background.

[IMG]local://upfiles/29179/B3BFC41D1CE340CC8084DC6561047D36.jpg[/IMG]

 

A friend and I bought one about two years ago, and it has performed well through many tire changes. If you're not in a hurry, wait around, as they often go on sale for 1/2 off. It's on sale now for $30 + $50 for the motorcycle adapter. Beware that you will gain new friends as word gets out that you can change tires. Plan ahead for this contingency or your list of new "friends" will multiply out of control. Since beer is necessary for this procedure, make them bring enough to complete the job at hand.

We now use the tire changer mostly to break the bead and to clamp the wheel while removing the tire with standard tire tools. Using the pole method works, but the pole has no protection for the rim. We started out taping pieces of plastic milk cartons, etc., to the end to prevent damage to the rim, but that became a hassle, as the plastic quickly broke apart. Another idea is to buy a pole with a nylon or other plastic tip that won't mar the alloy wheels, but the one I was looking at costs $80. The link has been lost and I haven't been able to find it.

We settled on using tire tools, which works well enough. Have pieces of plastic (pieces of milk containers, old plastic floor mats, etc.) and/or green dish-cleaner pads to use between the rim and the tire tools and clamps. Otherwise they will scratch the rims. You can also use rim protectors available from Dennis Kirk, etc., which we also have. The HF changer will require either bolting to a floor or a large piece of plywood. You'll also need tire-changing lubricant, which we bought locally but is scarce since few people change their own tires.

You might also consider this if you want to balance your wheels after mounting. This kit has worked very well for us: http://www.marcparnes.com/

Stick-on balancing weights are available from HD (plain lead and black painted), or cheaper at some auto-parts stores. HD even has some chrome-plated varies if that floats your boat. It's a two-man job, although it can be done with one person, and after a few runs you'll catch onto the procedure. Expect to struggle the first few jobs, though. It helps greatly to find someone who's doing this and volunteer to help or observe before doing it the first time. We did this and took photos for later reference. This is also a good URL for reference: http://www.clarity.net/~adam/tire-changing-doc.html

We've saved a ton using this tire changer and buying our tires from mail-order dealers like www.americanmototire.com

Edit: Thanks to a previous poster, here is the link to the nylon-tipped bar: http://home.comcast.net/~prestondrake/mojoweb.htm

 

Link doesn't seem to work.