| Author | Message | ||
     Kootenay |
I plan to change my tires myself, after reading through this site. Anyone got any special recommendations? (replacing the stock tires with Diablos, BTW). | ||
| M1combat |
I don't know what they said there... Wrap the rim with duct tape. Use rim savers. Be careful. | ||
| Davefla |
And don't be an idiot like me- THREE irons make it waaay easier than two... now, where'd I leave that slim Craftsman 7/8" open end wrench this time? | ||
| Xring |
I used a 14" car rim that still had the tire mounted and aired up (actually the spare tire off my utility trailer)as a changing station. I duct-taped the rim just in case, but don't think it was needed; the bike rim sat on the trailer tire. Otherwise, I followed the guide you mentioned. Also, I balanced by inserting the axle through the wheel and then running a rope though the middle of the hollow axle. Then suspended the assembly at a comfortable height from the garage rafters. The bearing friction is a little too tight to allow the wheel to turn, but if you gently rotate the axle back and forth, the heavy spot will settle to the bottom. Rotating back and forth breaks the bearing friction. The service manual states that the rims are marked by a blue dot on the light spot. Then the marked spot on the tire is supposed to go 180d from that. That is the advice I followed (the balancing confirmed on my rims that the blue dot was the light spot) and ended up with no weight on the back and 1/2-oz. on the front. Good luck, Bill | ||
| Djkaplan |
It helps if you have a helper that doesn't mind getting cursed at. Don't use your wife/girlfriend or father to help you, btw. I learned the hard way. | ||
| Kootenay |
Thanks a lot for the suggestions, guys! Yeah, I'll use a lot of duct tape, and rim protectors, and I've got three tire irons on order (gaaah those are impossible to find around here!). I just don't feel right taking tires that I bought online to my local shop for mounting, and I don't know that I'd trust them to take the kind of time and care I'm willing to--plus, I'd miss that sense of satisfaction of a job well done... | ||
| Xring |
Every time I change motorcycle or tractor tires I say the same thing...until after I do it. Then I say "Geez, it would have been worth $50 to have somebody else do this". But I always do it myself. You can get by with two tire irons when installing the new tire if you are by yourself. Get on top of it and hold the bead in with your knees. Good luck, Bill |
