Author |
Message |
Djkaplan
| Posted on Tuesday, April 05, 2005 - 12:29 pm: |
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I've always changed my own dirtbike tires but I always get my street tires put on by a shop. I'm thinking at $20-40 a shot, a tire changer might pay for itself pretty quickly. I've never had a tire changer. What's a good one out there and who do I get it from? And give me all the advice on using one you can!!! |
Buelliedan
| Posted on Tuesday, April 05, 2005 - 12:35 pm: |
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I use the hand changer from Harbor Freight. Paid like $80 and it has definately paid for itself. |
Wyckedflesh
| Posted on Tuesday, April 05, 2005 - 12:37 pm: |
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thread 1 tire changer thread 2 gotta love the search function |
99x1
| Posted on Tuesday, April 05, 2005 - 03:05 pm: |
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I use a WorkMate to change tires. Put the tire/rim in vertically with the front movable side just below the rim and the back wooden fixed piece touching the rim. Crank in the front until the bead breaks (leave it set for a while if it doesn't break.). Break the bead both sides, then open the jaws wide so the brake disc can fit between the jaws to get the tire off laid down on the top. Use lots of soap/water mix, and if you can't leave the new tire sit in the sun, put it in a box with a small heater to get it warm.
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2000m2
| Posted on Wednesday, April 06, 2005 - 06:22 pm: |
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How do you go about balancing? |
Al_lighton
| Posted on Thursday, April 07, 2005 - 01:24 am: |
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I use the Harbor Freight wheel stand, and built one of these to balance them. Works well. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/4062/20411.html#POST160265 Al |
99x1
| Posted on Thursday, April 07, 2005 - 08:23 am: |
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"How do you go about balancing?" I don't, and haven't had any problems - Michelins don't have balance marks (and seem to be very close), and although the Bridgestone BT014s I just put on have a yellow mark (placed opposite the valve stem) on them , there is no noticeable effect. |
Lake_bueller
| Posted on Thursday, April 07, 2005 - 09:17 am: |
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I bought a static balancer on ebay last week. Installed and balanced my first tire with it yesterday. The Michelin front tire needed 2 weights exactly opposite the valve stem to balance. The Harbor Freight installer and the static balancer both worked great. I'm into the whole deal for under $150. In the long run, it will easily pay for itself in tire changes (3 bikes with 4 sets of rims {1 set for track day tires}). |
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