DIY tire changing sites?

The last couple of seasons I've been able to take my race wheels to
the local dealer, and they let me use their pukka tyre changing
machine. Like many things, when you've got the right tools it's
almost a pleasure to do.

 

Champ says...

I do my own when I take my wheels into my mate's place. I enjoy it too.

 

Soap, hmmm - where did I read that washing-up liquid detergents also
contain salts (which may cause corrosion). Anyhow, those concerned about
corrosion may use a few drops of glycerol on the edge of the tyre. It's
also fairly viscous and stays in place.

Leather patches - leftovers from saddle makers, or others in the
upholstry business - are fine to use between the levers and rim to avoid
scratches. Textiles are too soft.

I have no problems with fitting new tyres at home (levers etc.), but
find it difficult to get the newly fitted tyre edges in place onto the
rim flanges. Petrol station air lines are useless, also some car-tyre
shops do not have the required air pressure for the job. It feels stupid
taking the newly fitted tyre/wheel to a dealer and letting him charge
you a fiver to blow it onto place.

Further tips on the latter invited.

 

Mark says...

Butane gas from a small canister (lighter refill bottle). Squirt in the
tyre well and throw a match at it. Works for the Icelanders when they
dislodge tyres on their 4x4s out on the ice packs.

 

Thus spake sweller unto the assembled multitudes:

Second-to-last time I removed a tyre was for a 250 Superdream in the mid
1980s. Had ridden up to my parents in Shropshire and had picked up a slow
puncture just before I arrived (didn't notice till next morning). Went out
and bought a new tube as the old one already had a repair. Partly inflated
the tube before beading in the tyre with a couple of big levers. Just as I
was levering over the last bead I heard a "psssss...." as the new tube got
pinched by the lever. First time I'd said "bollocks!" in front of my dad,
which made him laugh. Repaired the tube this time. I remember being
shit-scared that the Comstar wheel rim would dent with the huge pull needed
on the lever.

*Exactly* the same thing happened when I visited a few months later, but
luckily this time I didn't repuncture it. Sold the S'Dream a couple of
years later and have had tubeless bikes ever since.

I used to use Swarfega as a lubricant when fitting tyres. Worked a treat.

 

Once, I would imagine.

Squirt gas, toss match, run swiftly away ... hear muffled explosion,
accelerate ... listen to ice cracking and 4x4 keeling over and sinking
.... try to outrun cracks in ice. Think of excuse to tell your Dad.

 

Tell me about it, although the TS has tubed tyres.
3 bloody times I patted myself on the back for changing the tube, and each
bloody time the inner tube was nicked on the rim.
Bastard bloody thing.

--
Dan L (Oldbloke)
My bike 1996 Kawasaki ZR1100 Zephyr
M'boy's current bike 1990 Suzuki TS50X (Heavily fortified)
M'boys NEW bike 2003 Honda NSR125R
BOTAFOT #140, DIAABTCOD #26, BOMB#18 (slow)

 

Did you ever see the classic Clarkson documentary on off-roading in
Iceland? In addition to this illuminating (sic) means of reflating a
tyre, they had the nutter who reckoned that if he got his snowmobile up
to a high enough speed, he could ride it across water, skimming like a
stone.

So he fired it up, and started belting across a flat piece of snow
towards a large expanse of still water....

.....and **** me sideways, it worked!

So he tried again, and this time he obviously got the speed slightly too
slow.

Cut to a shot of a snowmobile lying full fathoms five in the crystal
clear Arctic waters.

 

that was something like my reaction.

 

That's true, but a certain amount of pressure is neccesary to get it in
place rapidly. When it comes to taking out the valve - mine[1] seems to
be fitted from the inside of the rim, and with the tyre in place it
would be impossible to get the valve back in place again.

I had my last tyre blown onto place in a car tyre fitting shop this
summer; they had difficulties doing so, and ended up applying generous
amounts of a tyre fitting gel to seal the air inside. To no avail. THey
ended up filling a small (5-10 l) pressurized tank with air, and letting
it into the tyre through the gap between it and the rim. Suddenly it
worked, and in the process everyone watching were covered by surplus
gel. Made us laugh, though. Nice chaps, also.

[1] could not see any obvious ways of screwing out the internals of the
valve currently fitted.

 

I've over the years seen lots of this from northern Norway. Some of the
lapps are really good at it, making newcomers ("I can also do
that"-types) sink like lead ballons

The point is that they have to realize, beforehand, that water is too
loosely packed to allow them to accelerate on it. A bit like diesel
spills on our latitudes.

 

He actually meant the valve *core*, which can be unscrewed with great
ease.
--

Cheers!
Fr Jack
96 Tiger.
FRJACKUKRM AT GMAIL DOT COM

 

It was definitely this year, & Chilli iirc (but I might not). He fell
off on the way back to the pits.

 

Bad form etc but I didn't rc, you were right on the last guess - Haga.

 

Nothing beats natural stupidity. It makes you ask, and get answers; be
it about valves, or cheques.

Conversely, it is often impractical with a doctorate, because then you
are not supposed to ask!

Well, from now on it all makes sense. But I have never seen a valve cap
that logically would fit as a core removAl tool. Possibly not the chaps
in the (car ++) tyre shop either, since they also didn't remove the
valve core. Is this a MC only trick, or are they also "stupid"?

cheers, Fr Jack!

 

There was a thing on (I think) GMM where people were racing snowmobiles on
water. And yeah, mostly it worked...

....and sometimes it didn't.

 

ts says...

There are plenty of valve caps that double as valve core removal tools,
I have a load of them in my garage.

 

These types of valve caps that also function as a Schrader valve core
removal wrench are quite common. Here's a picture of a typical core
remover cap:

http://www.dual-star.com/index2/Equipment/valve_stem_cap2.htm

 

Are you in NO at the moment?

 

No, southern England