another tire thread

[dadsafrantic]

look at this.  only 18k  how hard is it to change your own tires?  i am getting cheaper all the time and don't want to pay cycle gear $30.

[Paulcet]

$30 is not bad.  But you can get a pair of tire irons for less than $20 if you look hard.  Then search youtube for "diy tire change".

I did my own 150 rear tire, and my arms and legs hurt for a couple of days (I'm a wimp) but next time will go faster and now I think I know what I'm doing.

[Danny500]

Only 18k on those tires??? Were they broken in properly? Holy crap! I've never seen dry-rot on the tread itself unless it's a cheap-ass moped tire. Normally it's the sidewalls that get it because they never become as hot as the tread. Sheesh.

If it's just that one spot, was the bike parked for a long time on cement or wet ground? For future reference, be sure to heat-cycle your tires when you first install them... do the whole 100 mile break in in 1 day if you can, scrub the hell out of them and then park it for 24-48 hours to give the rubber molecules time to regroup and condense. It makes the compound more evenly adjusted across the tread. This will also prolong the life of the tire by a few thousand miles.

If you DO park it for a LONG time (month or so) on cold cement or (heaven forbid) gravel/dirt/grass be sure to roll the bike a few inches every week or so to prevent flat spots in the tread or; as you've experienced, dry-rot.

OH, and go to americanmototire.com for cheap road-riders like you have. 

[gsJack]

I changed my own mc tires for years but gave it up about 10 years ago at age 65 or so when I thought I was gonna croak one hot August day changing the last one I did.  Just need one long curved lip tire iron and a large screwdriver.  I used an old Escort as a bead breaker, put tire/wheel under the side of car with the jack on the tire and jacked it up a bit until it popped.  Reinflated tire at gas station.

[Roadstergal]

We got a tire changer for free because it was missing the bit that actually changes the tire, but it does still have the beadbreaker and still holds the tire in place while I use the spoons to change it, so it's worth the space.  Before then, I would change tires by hand using a C-clamp to break the bead.  It's a PITA, and there are tricks to it - using lots of lube, pushing down on the opposite side of the tire to get it in the drop to make levering the other side off easier, using lots of lube, using the rotor to hold one spoon while you lever up another bite, using lots of lube, etc.  If you've never done it before, it's good to change tires with someone who has so you get the hang of the sequence.

[joshr08]

18000 miles on a motorcycle tire is really good isnt it or am i wrong?

[5thAve]

18k on a front tire seems pretty good to me.

Heat cycling seems unnecessary for normal road use.

Don't know about DIY mounting, but having watched others (that knew what they were doing) I agree that it can be frustrating if you are trying it 1st time without someone else's experience to help you along.

REMEMBER NEW TIRES ARE SLIPPERY until you wear off the lubricant used to get 'em out of the mold at the factory.  Caution is advised at first, and also the first time you are leaned over on each side (if that's on a different day than your 1st straight-ahead ride).

[LucPro]

$30 is not bad.  But you can get a pair of tire irons for less than $20 if you look hard.  Then search youtube for "diy tire change".

I did my own 150 rear tire, and my arms and legs hurt for a couple of days (I'm a wimp) but next time will go faster and now I think I know what I'm doing.

Did you have to do anything special to get the 150 rear tire on there???  I currently have a 130 and would like to go up to a 140/150 but I am afraid the rear support that hold the brake is to close to the tire and will hit...

N e advise?

[dadsafrantic]

Only 18k on those tires??? Were they broken in properly? Holy crap! I've never seen dry-rot on the tread itself unless it's a cheap-ass moped tire. Normally it's the sidewalls that get it because they never become as hot as the tread. Sheesh.

If it's just that one spot, was the bike parked for a long time on cement or wet ground? For future reference, be sure to heat-cycle your tires when you first install them... do the whole 100 mile break in in 1 day if you can, scrub the hell out of them and then park it for 24-48 hours to give the rubber molecules time to regroup and condense. It makes the compound more evenly adjusted across the tread. This will also prolong the life of the tire by a few thousand miles.

If you DO park it for a LONG time (month or so) on cold cement or (heaven forbid) gravel/dirt/grass be sure to roll the bike a few inches every week or so to prevent flat spots in the tread or; as you've experienced, dry-rot.


OH, and go to americanmototire.com for cheap road-riders like you have. 

actually i road thyem evey day just about since they went on 10 or so months ago.  i have never heard of breaking in a tire.  what do you do?  also that is not exactly dry rot.  it is not crumbly at all.  still quite firm.  the oem's did the same thing.

[Paulcet]

$30 is not bad.  But you can get a pair of tire irons for less than $20 if you look hard.  Then search youtube for "diy tire change".

I did my own 150 rear tire, and my arms and legs hurt for a couple of days (I'm a wimp) but next time will go faster and now I think I know what I'm doing.

Did you have to do anything special to get the 150 rear tire on there???  I currently have a 130 and would like to go up to a 140/150 but I am afraid the rear support that hold the brake is to close to the tire and will hit...

N e advise?

My GS is far from stock, and Dgyver did all the work.  So I didn't do anything special.  But from what I have read on the forum you may not have to do anything to the brake arm for a 140.  A 150 will probably hit it.  A single whack with a hammer should do it.  Ping Danny500 for his description.

[Pigeonroost]

I changed my own mc tires for years but gave it up about 10 years ago at age 65 or so when I thought I was gonna croak one hot August day changing the last one I did.  Just need one long curved lip tire iron and a large screwdriver.  I used an old Escort as a bead breaker, put tire/wheel under the side of car with the jack on the tire and jacked it up a bit until it popped.  Reinflated tire at gas station.

But Jack?!?!?

If you can do it with a MoJo lever and an inexpensive tire stand with anti-mar pads (Preston Drake sells a set of poly ones or NoMar Tire Tool sells round tough poly rim spools that will work) the job is easy.  I have not used them, but all the rave for MC tire balance now a days seems to be the dynabeads, thus that would eliminate the static balancer expense.  Then again, a tire change in hot August sweltering weather might cost ya more in beer expenses than a commercial change.

prs

[kml.krk]

I understand that it's possible to install the tires 'in house', but what about the balancing?? Do you have to balance motorcycle tires?    if yes how much it usually costs?

[5thAve]

Dyna-beads look promising for a simple solution to DIY balancing.  I have not used them and I don't know how much they cost, or where to get them.  Anyone with experience please chime in.  Are they worth the price? Or just stick with plain ol' stick-on lead weights and the mark 1 eyeball?

[fred]

I understand that it's possible to install the tires 'in house', but what about the balancing?? Do you have to balance motorcycle tires?    if yes how much it usually costs?

Search the forum, I remember someone posting about home balancing. Basically they created a little jig to suspend the wheel by its axle so it could spin freely. They then just let the heavy part of the wheel settle to the bottom, marked it, then rotated the wheel a bit to see if was really biased toward the marked point. Once you know where the heavy side is, you can just add weight opposite it and repeat until the wheel is neutral, ie. it will just stay at any position you rotate it to. I hope this explanation isn't too vague and unreadable... Do a search, the post had pictures and I found it not that long ago (maybe 3 or 4 months..).

[gsJack]

I changed my own mc tires for years but gave it up about 10 years ago at age 65 or so when I thought I was gonna croak one hot August day changing the last one I did.  Just need one long curved lip tire iron and a large screwdriver.  I used an old Escort as a bead breaker, put tire/wheel under the side of car with the jack on the tire and jacked it up a bit until it popped.  Reinflated tire at gas station.

But Jack?!?!?

If you can do it with a MoJo lever and an inexpensive tire stand with anti-mar pads (Preston Drake sells a set of poly ones or NoMar Tire Tool sells round tough poly rim spools that will work) the job is easy.  I have not used them, but all the rave for MC tire balance now a days seems to be the dynabeads, thus that would eliminate the static balancer expense.  Then again, a tire change in hot August sweltering weather might cost ya more in beer expenses than a commercial change.

prs

I think that was the problem prs, couldn't handle the heat due to lack of beer, I quit drinking 30 years ago.   

[gsJack]

I understand that it's possible to install the tires 'in house', but what about the balancing?? Do you have to balance motorcycle tires?    if yes how much it usually costs?

I mounted almost all of the tires I used on my four 400-750cc Hondas I had before the GSs for 14 years and 230k miles.  That's a lot of tires and I never balanced a one of them and never had a problem with them.  Most good quality tires take very little lead to balance.  Most of the weights are added to rebalance the wheel again.  I left the weights on that came on them and just changed the tires.

I bought my first GS500 ten years ago this month and have pulled the wheels and carried them in for mounting and balancing the new tires since then.  I rarely ever went over 70-75 mph on those old Hondas but I have on the GSs and the GS tires have been balanced.  I wouldn't try any of those balancing beads or liquids myself, I'd try them without the balancing first if it wasn't convenient to get them balanced.  The place I get tires now mounts and balances for $25 per wheel and that includes new valve stems and old tire disposal.  It's worth it to me.

Just got a new early spring 2009 catalog from my tire place and the tires are same price as last year and a fair amount less than AMT is now with its recent price increases.  Hope I don't have to order online again.

[dohabee]

I understand that it's possible to install the tires 'in house', but what about the balancing?? Do you have to balance motorcycle tires?    if yes how much it usually costs?

Search the forum, I remember someone posting about home balancing. Basically they created a little jig to suspend the wheel by its axle so it could spin freely. They then just let the heavy part of the wheel settle to the bottom, marked it, then rotated the wheel a bit to see if was really biased toward the marked point. Once you know where the heavy side is, you can just add weight opposite it and repeat until the wheel is neutral, ie. it will just stay at any position you rotate it to. I hope this explanation isn't too vague and unreadable... Do a search, the post had pictures and I found it not that long ago (maybe 3 or 4 months..).

I recently changed and balanced my tires at home using that method.

I used 2 chairs facing eachother and let the wheel hang between them with the axle sitting on top of the seats of the chairs.

I got some free stick on weights from a discount tire by asking one of the guys in the shop.

I was able to tell a difference in balance when I removed the valve stem cap, so I think it is prety accurate.

[kml.krk]

I understand that it's possible to install the tires 'in house', but what about the balancing?? Do you have to balance motorcycle tires?    if yes how much it usually costs?

I mounted almost all of the tires I used on my four 400-750cc Hondas I had before the GSs for 14 years and 230k miles.  That's a lot of tires and I never balanced a one of them and never had a problem with them.  Most good quality tires take very little lead to balance.  Most of the weights are added to rebalance the wheel again.  I left the weights on that came on them and just changed the tires.

I bought my first GS500 ten years ago this month and have pulled the wheels and carried them in for mounting and balancing the new tires since then.  I rarely ever went over 70-75 mph on those old Hondas but I have on the GSs and the GS tires have been balanced.  I wouldn't try any of those balancing beads or liquids myself, I'd try them without the balancing first if it wasn't convenient to get them balanced.  The place I get tires now mounts and balances for $25 per wheel and that includes new valve stems and old tire disposal.  It's worth it to me.

Just got a new early spring 2009 catalog from my tire place and the tires are same price as last year and a fair amount less than AMT is now with its recent price increases.  Hope I don't have to order online again.

Great news!!
Thank you very much Jack.