Tire removal

Jmoto

Jmoto

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I just got a cheap Harbor Freight bead breaker for my other bike, which has aluminum spoked wheels. Worked like a charm. Can I spoon on (with the assistance of bead breaker) the mag wheels on the FZ1? Been doing dirt bike tires for yrs, I deff know what I am doing there, but a, worried about the mag wheel not being strong enough for tire spoons. Or is a tire changing machine preferred….just tired of paying for someone to mount new tires.

Thanks,
Joe
 
The last time I had tires shod by my local guy, his machine was down and he broke out a set of spoons. At first I cringed and told him to forget about it but he assured me that they would be fine. I will say that it was super hard for him to mount that rear onto the rim. After that experience, I've decided to only have the machines install my tires. Spoons just took a world of time and I was afraid of damaging my wheels.
 
I have used a set of Motion Pro tire irons and cheap plastic rim protectors with zero problems on all my bikes... as long as the rim protectors stay in place.
 
Gen 2s use Magnesium? I would have thought they were aluminum

For me it's all about down time from riding.

Having an extra set of wheels is key to not loosing any time on the road if you're using a service to change them. I'm at a stage in life where I have to ask myself "What is my time worth".

How long does it take to mount/balance two tires by hand?

Doing them yourself resolves some of my staying on the road concern.

Sounds like you have more experience than most. Certainly No-Mar and similar were used by a few on FZ1OA. I go thru about 3 tire changes a year at $50 a set. I could easily afford a real motorized machine, but I don't have anywhere to keep it. My tire changing guy says the T32 Stones are a b1tch to mount compared to the softer PRs. I suspect that's more true for hand mounting.

I'm guessing there are dozens of tire changing videos on youtube.
 
Getting the new tire warmed up (sun, hair dryer, heat gun) and using Windex to lube makes a HUGE difference in lowering the difficulty level... for me, anyway.
 
Eff-Zed-1 said:
Used to also, but both shops that used to charge $25 for off the bike, now are at $60 and $70. Back to spoons on the tailgate.
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Yeah i just payed 58 to get the 23's mounted. Dont have spoons, never will. Ive spent enough of my life jerking around doing things the hard/cheap way. Leaning over to manually change some tires does not compute to this gimp. It would have pre back injury though.
 
Since were talking about changing tires I'll just remind everyone that BJs takes anyones used tires. I think it's $2.50 per bike tire for members and a little more for non members.

I'm waiting for my tire change guy to raise prices. It's a very popular independent HD repair/mod shop. He doesn't take the old ones, hence the comment above.
 
Jmoto said:
Thank you all for your replies. I am concerned with the wheel bending or cracking while using tire spoons. I will do a trial run at it.
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I have put some serious pressure on my tire irons with no ill effect to the rim. It's getting that last bit over the lip and there were one or two times I'd swear there was NO WAY it was going to slide up and over. It did. 😅

Granted, I've only been doing it for the last 6 years or so (10-12 tire changes total) but the only problem has been when one of the rim shields slips and I leave nick or light gouge.

I work from my floor, placing the wheel on a foam gym mat and a 2x4 under either side to keep the hub off the ground. I put on my armored jeans to cushion my knees, do some stretching for my lower back because it is a workout, get my Mechanic's Favorite Curses ready, and start a'sweatin'!

Best of luck to ya!
 
Doc Samson said:
I have put some serious pressure on my tire irons with no ill effect to the rim. It's getting that last bit over the lip and there were one or two times I'd swear there was NO WAY it was going to slide up and over. It did. 😅

Granted, I've only been doing it for the last 6 years or so (10-12 tire changes total) but the only problem has been when one of the rim shields slips and I leave nick or light gouge.

I work from my floor, placing the wheel on a foam gym mat and a 2x4 under either side to keep the hub off the ground. I put on my armored jeans to cushion my knees, do some stretching for my lower back because it is a workout, get my Mechanic's Favorite Curses ready, and start a'sweatin'!

Best of luck to ya!
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Hell yeah!
 
About 20 years ago, I wasn't into the bending over or spooning tires sitting on the ground, but I did it anyway. Then again, I only had a dirt bike then. My father-in-law gave me a sheet of laminated MDF and I made a solid work table for my garage / shop. The table is solid and you can stand on it and jump up and down... no flex, and a great place to do tire work. In 2005, I bought my first FZ1 (2005, bought new). The local dealer did the first tire change. They scratched the heck out of my rims, put a whopping 25 psi in the tires, and they weren't balanced properly. I wasn't pleased.

I had a well equipped hobby wood shop, so I built my own tire changing station. Yep, I still spoon with the motion pro spoons, but I can do it all on the table. The arm on the bead breaker is 4 ft long, so I have lots of leverage for bead breaking. The little stand in the photo I just built using the miter saw and screws, and then wrapped the "ring" with a little foam and duct tape. The stand holds the wheel up by the spokes vs having the brake rotors on the table surface. The all-thread allows me to secure the wheel to the table. I do have to be really careful setting the wheel over the all-thread... but it has worked well for me for years. Spooning is hard enough... you don't need to chase the thing around while spooning!

The stand shown is the one I made for the Gen I. The front brake disk for the Gen II (bought new in 2012) is larger, so I had to make a new stand for it (lower angles and more pieces in the "ring").

After over 100K miles on the FZ1s, I've spooned on every tire since the bad experience on the Gen I. As for the rim savers. I don't like them. They are thick enough to make spooning a bit harder, and they tended to fall off. Now I use the sides cut out of laundry detergent jugs and slide them in to protect the rim finish. I static balance all of my tires as well.

Oh... for tire lube... Lemon Pledge is the bomb!

Bead Breaker and Stand in Place:

172.JPG

Top view of the stand:

178.JPG
 
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