Any of you guys change your own tires??

[tt_four]

That's ridiculous. Most places around here are about $40 per tire with the wheel on the bike, and $20 if you take in just the wheel.

[epoxy.guy]

I changed mine as well while I was taking a motorcycle maintenance course.  If the facility has the equipment for removing the tires and balancing the rest is rather easy.  The nice part of taking the course is that I'm more comfortable removing the tires, changing brake pads.   I've pretty much done anything simple.   Oil changes, filter changes, chain adjustments, etc.    Once you've done it a few times, it takes less time and you become more comfortable making the minor adjustments.

[skudman]

just changed my first set of motorcycle tires ever bout a month ago, was a PITA but it gets faster every time you do it

[TonyKZ1]

Yep, I've been changing mine for a while also, and yes it get easier and quicker each time I do it.
Tony

[tt_four]

haha, that's what I'm counting on. When I did mine it took foorrever. I spent hours trying to get the first tire off. Once I got past that point the rest was easy. I actually ended up just cutting the first one off. I cut straight around the center tread, and once the two sides were seperated they came right off.

I also noticed that the first large amount of time I spent trying my tires weren't actually off the bead, they were just pressed in slightly, which you wouldn't know until you have a tire off once and know what it looks like inside the rim.

Since them I picked up a 24" tire lever from Harbor freight, so I'll be ready for next time. Haha. I know it's overkill but I was looking for a 1 foot lever, and this one was only $5. I thought about cutting it in half, but it's more fun this way.

[romulux]

If you're using a lot of force to get a tire off or on, you're doing it wrong.

You can remove and mount a tire solely with 8" tire irons and it shouldn't be overly hard at any point.

[tt_four]

That's what I used to get mine off and on, were 8 or 9 inch, can't remember which. The main problem I had first was that I thought the tires were off the bead, but they weren't, and I had no idea until I actually cut it and saw how wide that part of the rim was. Also, I have no idea how old the tires were, but they were definitely a minimum of 10 years old, and they were pretty stiff. They were much stiffer than my new tires, and I don't think that helped me out either. I also need to get some rim protectors. I did a bit of damage to the paint, although luckily for me it was a crappy paint job to begin with.