Minimalist Tubeless Motorcycle Tire Change Part II

[catseatcheese]

You make it look soooo easy. The sides of my Harley tire were so stiff, it took me 3 hours just to get one side off---then the REAL fun started. Good video, thanks.

[gewizz2]

hes cool

[AmericanReefer]

Very Cool.

[MikSane]

yo!! what about valve stems? should i keep them/ replace them? what?

[cobrachoppergirl]

Light spot... by the valve stem... how do you know where the light spot is...

[thumbwave]

a light colored dot marks the lightest spot. Not all tires are clearly marked. Take a look at your existing tires and see if there is a ink or a paint dot near your valve stems.

[lalala11t6]

one thing you forgot is to use cut up milk jugs to keep from marring your rim.....great vid tho

[thumbwave]

@lalala11t6 Yep. Good mention. Those make better rim protectors than some of the ones they sell. The containers most oil comes in are an even tougher plastic for that task,,, although they take a little more cleaning up initially.

[benfirst]

Not sure why, but this guy reminds me of Maynard.

[possumtrapper]

Thanks a bunch for making these it works on ATV tyres too if you in a forest you can hook a branch under a tree if your too far ahead of that 4X4 with your 2X4. :)

[possumtrapper]

ment 4WD with 2X4

[thumbwave]

I tried to break an ATV tire... you won't see me demonstrating it on video anytime soon... it was a tad more challenging. I suppose it depends, but the one I tried was very difficult.

[possumtrapper]

i was trying to use the atv its self instead of a heavy ute or tree but when all i could do was lift the atv off the ground i used a 6foot 2x4 and the 2X2 block under the bullbar. i was about to give up when it popped off. :) 18PSI to pop it back in

[Budguy68]

Genius man, now i can't wait the next time i have to change my tire,

[JooKed]

All these steps should work for a big fat 190/50 tire right? I have a zx7 that is in desperate need of tires, and I have issues with spending money for things I can do myself. :)

[thumbwave]

Definitely. But check some of the other vids on YouTube about changing tires in the shop. Plenty of sportbike changes and you can also see how other people vary in technique and tools.

[cdilmore]

Once again - you are the absolute COOLEST!

Thank you for the empowerment!

[thumbwave]

Thanks. I'm tempted to redo these sometime, but then again 'less than perfect production' probably represents the way most tire changes go for most in the beginning... ;)

[globulant99]

Does anyone out there know how the heavy/light spot of the tyre is marked?

[thumbwave]

If determined by the manufacturer, the light spot is indicated by a little dot of ink (white, yellow or red sometimes).

[brothaman4578]

Hey, really appreciate this videos man! I'm in college for automotive right now and I'm allowed to use the tire changing machines, but I'd like to learn to do it without them! As I type I'm in the process of putting new bridgstones on my Suzuki 650! Thanks to you I was able to get the old tires off without roughing up the rim much. Thanks again!

[thumbwave]

Good deal. The more you do the more it becomes routine. Good luck with school there!

[asdeaff]

A work mate says he cuts off his old tyres to save trying to lever them off. But this is the same bloke who knackered up the chrome tubes on his forks, replacing the oil seals. I don`t trust bike dealers to be honest. I watched a kid change out a rear tyre on my fazer a few years ago at the local Yamaha dealer and the tyre lever made a sort of buzzing noise as it raced past my left ear......

[thumbwave]

It seems there is more to go wrong cutting a tire off in my mind. Mounting actually requires more attention, so one should welcome the chance to warm up with a good dismount! ;)

[javierr1blue]

Hey dude thanks, it is a good work out with the bicycle pump !!!!

[Magnageek]

That was great, and I appreciate your sharing it! I just bought a pair of Metzelers for my Sportster, and I'm contemplating doing the job myself. Things oftentimes don't go well for me, and I'm wondering if the procedure will work if the old tire is really stubborn coming off.

[thumbwave]

It's not the best idea to go at it this way if your rims are in premium condition. I would practice on a set of rims you don't mind scratching a bit, even if you employ some rim protectors. The first several times you are getting used to how the tire mounts and dismounts you can tend to over use force here and there.

[TimKGrimes]

Excellent procedure. Two things I found: (1) make sure you use LOTS of tire soap-goop (thick soapy mix) all around both sides) to make mounting and sealing the air gaps until the tire beads closed [otherwise, you'll pump forever], (2) your knees can be of some help in the earlier tire removal video. Worked great, but you may need a friend to squeeze and/or roll the tire until it catches a seal while hand-pumping.

[thumbwave]

Thanks for the remarks. It's a fact that not all tire and rim combinations are created equal. One should definitely "test" their combination at home before attempting a field change. In my case I have a hard time keeping the bead from seating prematurely, but that is certainly not the case for some. In addition I've heard from someone who tore their bead -- the lesson: don't attempt this in freezing temperatures! Remember this is an exercise for those with some practical experience already!

[BigAT3]

Fantastic video! I've done a couple tire changes with tube-type tires and I've pretty much got the hang of it, but now that I've got another bike with tubeless rims I wanted to know more. Looks like it is exactly what I thought! Great!

[jccully]

this is an excellent instructional video for any cheap muther (like myself) a 4 star job. Well Done

[thumbwave]

The arrow on the tire is direction of forward rotation. You may need to mark your rotor if the rim isn't marked and you want to easily orient the rim. The lightest spot is usually a white dot, but not always, and some tires don't get marked at all.

[thumbwave]

Yep. It's water based and evaporates quickly. Some folks don't like ammonia near their metal parts, but in Windex there's just a trace amount in the formula for odor. There is also an ammonia-free version.

[wii60own]

when i was tring to get air into my tubeless tire the air just kept escaping, like there wasn't enough air going in to seal it, any tips?

[thumbwave]

One reason it's a good idea to test your skills at home with your tire of choice. If I was going to change to an unknown tire in the field I would probably do it within access of an air compressor. If not, give the tire some bounces (you can see I put some downward pressure on the tire in the video during inflation), then I might try to force the sidewalls out by compressing the circumference of the tire - wrapping a ratcheting strap around it (or a small rope tensioned up "tourniquet" style).

[thumbwave]

One other detail... make sure no part of the bead has started to seat or ride up on the rim before you start inflating. The bead needs to form an even seal on both sides of the rim to capture the air pumped into the valve stem.