zip ties and tyres

[chiz]

Hello all
Is it true that if you tighten a bunch of zip ties around a tyre you can get it onto the rim and then cut the ties and pull them out.
Thanks Chiz

[FJscott]

Hello all
Is it true that if you tighten a bunch of zip ties around a tyre you can get it onto the rim and then cut the ties and pull them out.
Thanks Chiz

Yep

[movenon]

   A little baby shampoo also helps it has some nice slick crap in it.  Harbor Freight has the 24 inch ties for around 2.00.
George

[jscgdunn]

My next thing to figure out to do myself;  I just spent $100 to get two tires mounted today....seems outrageous.

Jeff

[FJmonkey]

I have done 3 sets myself and helped Mike (Skymasterers) do his last set. The $40 tire balance stand from HF works well, don't for get to pick up tire weights while you are in there.

[Pat Conlon]

I have done 3 sets myself and helped Mike (Skymasterers) do his last set. The $40 tire balance stand from HF works well, don't for get to pick up tire weights while you are in there.

No so fast my simian hombre, tell us what you learned about taking the old tire off?

Any tips you care to share? 

Seriously....I thought that a Saws-All would be a marvelous idea....?

[yamaha fj rider]

Most of the time I have been able to break the bead loose by putting on moto boots and steeping on the edge of the tire. If that dose not work then use a bottle jack on the tire pressing against car or truck to break the bead. With the old style bumper jack (think 70s) we have been able to break down atv tires in the field. Hope this helps.
Important tire must be deflated first. 

Kurt

[FJmonkey]

No so fast my simian hombre, tell us what you learned about taking the old tire off?

Any tips you care to share? 

Seriously....I thought that a Saws-All would be a marvelous idea....?

To break the bead I put two 2x4x20 on the ground near my trucks trailer hitch. The wheel rests on the 2x4s to keep it off the ground. Then I take another 2x4 about 5 feet long (the lever) and a shorter 2x4 about 12 to 15 inches long (The bead breaker). The short 2x4 is angle cut at about 45 degrees, this end goes at the bead. The 5 footer goes under the bottom of the hitch and over the flat end of the bead breaker. Then with downward pressure the leverage forces the bead to break loose. Work all around the tire, flip and do it again.

Now to get that pesky worn out tire off the wheel. I first used a reciprocating saw (a Saws-All like tool).  That was a pain to do solo. Then I remembered another tool I had not even opened, a high frequency multi-tool.

Like this:


I used the smooth blade attachment and cut through the side wall like it was butter. Once both side walls are cut through the bulk of the carcase falls off. Then with your (gloved) hands you can pull the two bead portions off. I turn in the old tire(s) at my local household waste collection facility (about once a year).

I figure I am saving about $40 to $50 each set by doing my own mount and balance.

[fintip]

Wouldn't you not recommend doing that again? Getting the beaded remains out was a huge pain, no? Would it have been easier to cut the tire and half, giving you more to grip?

[FJmonkey]

Wouldn't you not recommend doing that again? Getting the beaded remains out was a huge pain, no? Would it have been easier to cut the tire and half, giving you more to grip?

Cutting with a saw blade with teeth made the job harder. With the bead off the rim the tire wants to follow the blade (up and down), no cutting. The ultra-sonic tool with a blade, was smooth and quick. Do not attempt to cut through radial tires in the tread area if you value your blade. Once the beads were just rings they came off easy.

[fintip]

Radial tires should be easier than cross-ply, as they are intentionally thinner by design (no overlapping plys). But yeah, good point, any motorcycle tire will be very, very thick in the center... And metal? Yeah, blanked on that last post, purely theoretical thinking.

[FJmonkey]

Radial tires should be easier than cross-ply, as they are intentionally thinner by design (no overlapping plys). But yeah, good point, any motorcycle tire will be very, very thick in the center... And metal? Yeah, blanked on that last post, purely theoretical thinking.

For most with worn tires, the center is the thinnest.... But the side wall is fiber and cuts easy with the right tool. Maybe I will test cut the tread when I put my new rear on in the next month, over 8K and my Conti Motion is used up. Many happy miles on that tire....

[fintip]

I could be wrong, but I feel pretty sure that most motorcycle tires have so many layers in the middle that even when the tread is bald, it's still far thicker than the sidewall. The mechanic I worked for once mentioned something that put that idea in my head, can't remember exactly what, but something about tires being way thicker than most people realize.

[Capn Ron]

I figure I am saving about $40 to $50 each set by doing my own mount and balance.

Although I don't use the zip tie method, I am now mounting and balancing all my own tires.  In addition to the $20-$25 per tire saved, I see many benefits:

• I get to fiddle with my OWN tires and get the confidence knowing that it was done right
• I can balance the wheel alone to find and mark the true heavy spot
• I KNOW the dot on the tire is lined up with this spot for the minimal amount of added weights to balance
• I can do my own balancing.  The first two dealer balanced examples I checked were WAY off (needed five 1/4 oz weights, they used TWO)
• I get to properly clean the wheel while the tire is off...found all sorts of crud in there from mountings over the years
• I don't have to drive to the dealer, drop them off...drive home...wait...drive back to the dealer...drive home, just to pay dealer prices
• I can change tire types just because I feel like it.  The convenience means that I might mount up the Metzelers for a mega trip...or put the Pirellis back on for the mountain roads around the house.

Cap'n Ron. . .

[FJmonkey]

I could be wrong, but I feel pretty sure that most motorcycle tires have so many layers in the middle that even when the tread is bald, it's still far thicker than the sidewall. The mechanic I worked for once mentioned something that put that idea in my head, can't remember exactly what, but something about tires being way thicker than most people realize.

Having a few self changed sets in my tool belt, I can say a well worn rear has the thinnest part in the middle. The side wall seems to get very little wear, the tread, a bit more... I endeavor to wear off the sides even more than I do now. I paid for the entire F$%# tire, I want to use it all up before I am done with it.