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Tired of paying the dealer, change your own tires

RetiredJake

Junior Member
Finally got everything together. Completed fab of the bead breaker over the weekend. Ordered new tires from Jake Wilson, got a set for the FXDB for $195 delivered to my door. Ordered on Sunday night, delivered Wednesday noon. Checked date codes, front was week 36, 09, rear was week 40, 09. Good fresh tires. Ordered a balancer from Marc Parnes on Monday night, in the mailbox this afternoon.

Changed the rear tire first, this was my practice run and shakedown of the equipment. The bead breaker needs to have longer legs, it wants to tip over when pushing down on the handle. Also need to modify the lever to allow it to raise further when putting the tire in place. The modified Harbor Freight tire changer worked good, except the Mojo Blocks (to prevent scratching the rims) allowed the wheel to slip, need to line the Mojo Blocks with rubber. Everything else worked pretty good. The No-Mar Mount-Demount Bar worked like a champ removing the old tire and installing the new one, even managed to not pinch the new tube.

Balanced the tire with the new balancer. Pretty painless operation, took me about 20 minutes, expect the next one to go a lot faster.

The bad news is the brake system. When I opened the rear master cylinder to allow pushing the pistons back during wheel removal, I noticed the brake fluid was cloudy. Now I need to flush the system. Guess I will clean the caliper while I'm at it, and replace the pads. The bike is 2 1/2 years old, so I expect the front will be the same when I get to it.

Now that I have an idea what I am doing, I will take pictures and document the front wheel in the next day or two. What I have learned is that this is definately something the average guy can do at home. I have a total of about $270 in the changer, bead breaker, and balancer. Since my dealer will charge me about $400 to replace both tires, I will pay for the equipment on the next change. From there, it is all money saved, and that can be used for gas and motels to go on the next tour. :D
 
I have a Harbor Freight motorcycle tire changer. I took a plastic oil bottle (rectangle), cut it and zip tied it to the wheel holder and the mojo bar...no scratches.

Thorns
 

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Jake, Marc's balancer is really trick. You may already know this but I found that the valve stem point is not always the heavy spot of the wheel (like I was told by tire shops). Check the wheel by itself 1st to find the true heavy spot and line the tire dot to that point. It may reduce the amount of weight required to balance the assembly and makes for a cleaner looking wheel.

Sounds like your on easy street now!:p
 
Thorns, I like your idea for padding the changer, will try that if the rubber does not work. I don't need it for the bar, I gor a No-Mar bar and the tips are nylon (?) on both ends.

Hoople, The hardest part of the balancing for me was getting the old crimp-on weight off. Once I cleared that hurdle, it was easy sailing.

Thanks guys for the info and encouragement.
 
Spent most of today getting the stuff together to flush the brake system on both ends. Bought a vacuum flushing tool from Harbor Freight, it worked great. Pop the cap off the master cylinder, hook up the flusher, pump it a couple of times to establish a vacuum, crack the bleed fitting, shut it before the master cylinder goes empty, repeat as necessary. I ran about 3 or 4 full volumes through each end.
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I had to buy a funnel to add brake fluid to the rear master cylinder since it sits behind the pipes, couldn't figure out any other way to get it in there without spilling a bunch.
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I did take some pictures of the equipment I used. This is the bead breaker, which I made myself. Looked at several designs, took the features I liked, and made this. If you look close, you can see where I have had to move the pivot point a few times. I'll get it right one of these days.
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The changer is a Harbor Freight unit that I modified a little bit. I welded it to some 2" square tubing so I could mount it in the hitch on the truck. I added some bushings for the center rod to reduce the slop, and mounted Mojo Blocks so it would not scratch the rims. Those apparently need to be lined with rubber since the rim slips in them pretty easily right now.
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I like the fact I have new rubber on the back, need to do the front now and then go riding. :D
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Hey, Has any one tried the balancing beads with any success.

I have been using Dyna Beads for about a year and a half, and have had good luck with them. I tend to balance the wheel conventionally, then add the beads to fine tune and cover me if I lose a weight. Maybe overkill, but I'm comfortable with it.
 
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Well, did the front wheel this morning and took some pictures along the way.

After removal of the wheel, remove the valve stem core and put the tire on the bead breaker.
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As you can see, I moved the pivot point after the rear wheel trial. This was an improvement as the angle worked better and I have more leverage.
After bead breaking, the tire is mounted on the changer.

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Take care to make sure the rim is properaly captured in the mounts.
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Add some lube to the tire/rim interface to smooth removal.
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The demount end of the bar has falts on it. This allows easier insertion of the bar. It is the rotated 90 degrees so the lips catch the rim and tire bead.

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Walk the demount bar around the rim twice for each side of the tire and it is off.
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This is a good time to clean the rim. I like to use Turtle Wax Bug & Tar Remover. If cleans like the dickens and contains a wax. Leaves them nice and shiny.

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Now, put the empty rim on the balancer, as Hoople suggested, and find the heavy spot on the rim.
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Put the tire back on the changer and install the tube. Pile it on the wheel out of the way.
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Lube the rim to ease installation. It helps to put a little on the side of the tire also.
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The first side of the tire can usually just be pushed over the rim. This worked on both tires for the Dyna. Put the tube inside the rim, making sure it is fully inside so it won't be pinched. Then use the mount end of the bar to move the second side over the rim.
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Now that the tire is on the rim. remove it from the changer, inflate to seat the beads, drop the pressure and re-inflate to allow the tube to adjust if needed. Then put it back on the balancer and make it right. Once you are done, pop a cold one and sit back and look at your handiwork. :cheers
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What an Awesome set of pictures. That bead breaker you made is incredible. Man, you really DID get tired of paying someone else.!
With a rig like that you could hang a sign outside... Bead Busters by Jake!
 
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