Changing your own tires

5492 Views 85 Replies 24 Participants Last post by The_real_hati, 21 h ago

Audi403

Discussion Starter · 4 mo ago (Edited)

I'm getting sick of paying shops to do this. I found this tool today, and I'm intrigued. Has anyone used this model?

rabaconda.com

Street Bike Tyre Changer

The Rabaconda Street Bike Tire Changer is designed for both cast and forged as well as for wire-spoked wheels, offering extra rim protection. It’s adaptable to wheel sizes between 12-21", has great ergonomics at low weight, and is perfect for both single and double-sided swingarms.

rabaconda.com

They have a short video showing how it works. I also found a video of a guy on YouTube who used a much more basic Rabaconda tool to do the tires on his R1200RT, this one looks to be much improved.

Otherwise, which tool are you using? Anyone doing it old school with tire spoons? I've also debated trying this...

Reactions: 1

21 - 40 of 86 Posts

60Aviator

· #21 · 3 mo ago

Audi403 said:
Yeah, bolted to the floor would be nice, but I don't have room in my garage to bolt anything down. I considered bolting one to the floor in my basement, but I like the portability of having it unbolted. I believe some of the No Mar units can attach to a truck hitch. I'm considering this as well, but leaning towards trying this Rabaconda. I've watched lots of videos and it seems to work very well. The only people I saw struggle were guys who weren't following the instructions properly.

A tire warmer would be awesome for changing tires. I can't commit to spending that much money though. Leaving it out in the sun isn't always an option here, I'd like to be able to change the tires in spring/fall as well. I have some space heaters and a heat gun. Setting the tire up in front of an oscillating space heater should do the trick!

One of the best things I bought for changing tires was a used motorcycle tire warmer on Ebay! No more waiting for sunshine or inside my truck for heating.

Reactions: 4

Audi403

Discussion Starter · #22 · 3 mo ago

60Aviator said:
One of the best things I bought for changing tires was a used motorcycle tire warmer on Ebay! No more waiting for sunshine or inside my truck for heating.

Great idea!

alegerlotz

· #23 · 3 mo ago

deserttan said:
I have the NoMar and I cannot anchor to the floor. My shop has hot water in the floor for heat. Would love a suggestion on how to have something attach to it so it would be stable? I purchased the hitch attachment but it’s to low.

An option in this case is bolt the system to a peice of plywood and then put a lot of weight on it so that the plywood can't move. The example I've seen had someone put one of the wheels of their pickup truck on the plywood. Definitely much more solid than the trailer hitch attachment method.

If I ever do use my No-mar, this is the option I'll use. I would still have the issue of making sure I get a good balance on the tires. I don't know how well the static balancers work in terms of how the bike rides after the wheels are mounted...

Audi403

Discussion Starter · #24 · 3 mo ago

alegerlotz said:
An option in this case is bolt the system to a peice of plywood and then put a lot of weight on it so that the plywood can't move. The example I've seen had someone put one of the wheels of their pickup truck on the plywood. Definitely much more solid than the trailer hitch attachment method.

If I ever do use my No-mar, this is the option I'll use. I would still have the issue of making sure I get a good balance on the tires. I don't know how well the static balancers work in terms of how the bike rides after the wheels are mounted...

World Superbike and Moto GP racers use static balancers. Good enough for them, good enough for me.

Reactions: 5

deserttan

· #25 · 3 mo ago

alegerlotz said:
An option in this case is bolt the system to a peice of plywood and then put a lot of weight on it so that the plywood can't move. The example I've seen had someone put one of the wheels of their pickup truck on the plywood. Definitely much more solid than the trailer hitch attachment method.

If I ever do use my No-mar, this is the option I'll use. I would still have the issue of making sure I get a good balance on the tires. I don't know how well the static balancers work in terms of how the bike rides after the wheels are mounted...

Thank you, Unless someone suggests something better I am going to try the plywood with carriage bolts. I have been told static balancing is more accurate than spin balancing it just takes longer.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Reactions: 2

beech

· #26 · 3 mo ago

I used to make and sell these until Mark Parns and other cheap Asian balance machines showed up. You can get a good one on Amazon for less that $50.

Gas Engineering Machine Wood Cylinder

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Reactions: 2

Mellow

· #27 · 3 mo ago

deserttan said:
Thank you, Unless someone suggests something better I am going to try the plywood with carriage bolts. I have been told static balancing is more accurate than spin balancing it just takes longer.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

It doesn't take long.. you don't spin the wheel and wait for it to stop... you simply turn it 1/4 turn and see if it slowly moves one direction or the other, then it only takes a few more 1/4 turns to see where it moves towards the heavy spot. I can balance a wheel in a few seconds, it's that easy and after a while you even start guessing on how much weight to add and get good at it.

Reactions: 5

beech

· #28 · 3 mo ago

The most time spent is removing the adhesive from previous weights. It is easy to get to less that a 5 gram weight.

Reactions: 2

darrell

· #29 · 3 mo ago

beech said:
The most time spent is removing the adhesive from previous weights. It is easy to get to less that a 5 gram weight.

I balanced the rim first and once that is completed then mount the tire, check the balance and put the light spot of the tire to the heavy part of the rim and often no weights were needed or as stated by beech maybe 5 grams.

Audi403

Discussion Starter · #30 · 3 mo ago

What are you guys using for hub adapters to balance the rear wheel? I'm wondering if this could throw off the balance by having to use an adapter...

Rainman48

· #31 · 3 mo ago

Audi403 said:
What are you guys using for hub adapters to balance the rear wheel? I'm wondering if this could throw off the balance by having to use an adapter...

In my case a set of low weight plastic cones from NoMar that hold the hub tight on a threaded rod. Since they are low weight and in the center, they don't upset the balancing at all.

Mellow

· #32 · 3 mo ago (Edited)

Rainman48 said:
In my case a set of low weight plastic cones from NoMar that hold the hub tight on a threaded rod. Since they are low weight and in the center, they don't upset the balancing at all.

I got tired of those things and purchased some adapters from Marc Parnes.

Tool Nickel Auto part Gas Composite material

BMW Motorcycle Wheel Balancer

BMW motorcycle wheel balancer products by Marc Parnes - learn how to balance your own motorcycle wheels, complete parts list and prices included.

www.marcparnes.com

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Reactions: 1

AHD43

· #33 · 3 mo ago

Mellow ^^^^^ is doing it right. Follow him. As far as alternatives to bolting to the floor, I don't know. I guess somehow rig the NoMar hitch plate to the height that works for you.

6speedTi

· #34 · 3 mo ago

deserttan said:
Thank you, Unless someone suggests something better I am going to try the plywood with carriage bolts. I have been told static balancing is more accurate than spin balancing it just takes longer.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I found that on a static balancer if you leave the old weights on and the tire is positioned with the yellow dot at the valve stem area it balances easier. Some tires don't have a yellow dot but a different color instead.

judgedelta

· #35 · 3 mo ago

You might consider some trailer rubber mats from Tractor Supply under the plywood. Get a little denatured alcohol to clean your wheels before sticking the weights on.

Reactions: 1

AHD43

· #36 · 3 mo ago

I haven't seen dots on tires for a long time. I use Michelin Pilot Road tires and they have a barcode imbedded in the bead that I consider the heavy.

PhantomBlade

· #37 · 3 mo ago

Audi403 said:
I'm paying $102.61 (~76USD) for them to replace the front and rear tires. This includes balancing and shop supplies. This is with me bringing in the wheels loose, already off the bike.

You can buy a good balancing stand to do if at home for under a couple hundred bucks.

Which model did you buy? You're happy with it? Does it require a hub adpater for our wheels? Do they sell one, or did you build one?

Rabaconda sells the adapter to fit our wheels. Thank you for the details though. That's a nice machine you have. I think for what I need, it's going to be a bit too expensive and take up more space than I really have available.

I bought the Classic HD and bought the adapter for balancing single sided swing arm rims. I am extremely happy with this unit so far. Consumables are a minimum and price of ownership is minimal.

Audi403

Discussion Starter · #38 · 3 mo ago

Thanks for all the replies. The shipping for the No Mar to Canada is $225, the Rabaconda is only $100. I also prefer to not have to mount it to the floor. I'm going to order one and see how it goes. I think I'm going to be happy with it.

MBevans

· #39 · 3 mo ago

For balancing I still use a cheapie from Harbor Freight balancing stand, which is one of the “good” ones with a straight shaft. Long ago I found sticky quality Lead weights for my balancing sold on eBay as too many places wanna sell you steel weights, which I’m Not a fan of.

‘For the RT and GS I use beech’s excellent rear wheel adaptor, quality tool for balancing 👍

labjr55

· #40 · 3 mo ago

PhantomBlade said:
I bought the Nomar system and it paid for itself in the first year since I work on bikes on the side. The system you are looking at should do the job as well.

I also bought a NoMar,great choice!

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