Tire changing woes.

Someone send me a virtual dope slap.


Xmas 2006: I get a really nice pair of 14" tire spoons.
B-Day 2007: I get the HF tire changer and motorcycle tire attachment.
Xmas 2007: Wifey gets me a new set of BStone battlax tires.


Fast forward to 3 days ago.

Pull the rear wheel off of the '00.

Tape up the dogs on changer (trying not to scratch the rims any more than
they already are, haven't butchered my cutting board to 'fix' the dogs,
yet).

Break the bead with the tire changer (note to self: Bolt the darn thing to
the garage floor).

Time check: No more time, send babysitter home and herd the 3 kids.

next day: Use the HF mount/demount bar. Duct tape the demount end,
minimize scratching. Shagged bstone is off.
Insert new metal valve stem ($4 at Parts of America)
Time Check: no more time, send babysitter home, herd the kids. (Do we see a
theme here?)

Last night: Herd the kids. Wifey leaves for some 'buy more crap for the
house party'.
Youngest in bed, 2 others playing nicely (rare occurrance). Run to garage.
Through 1st bead on tire (I just LOVE throwing the first bead on :)
Duct tape mount side of bar. Grab C-Clamps. crap. Not quite big enough.
Wedge tire into 2 C-Clamps.
Swing bar. about 30 degrees left to get over the lip. Not budging easily.
Try again.
Grab spoons. Second bead over lip WOOOHOOO.

Grab compressor. Seat bead POP...pop. Hmmmmm....

DOH! Note to self: Take wheel out of dogs before seating bead. Unscrew
moving dog. Whack tire to unseat other 2 dogs.
Reseat beads. Declare victory.

Go inside, wash hands, check kids.

Realize that I didn't line up the dot with the new valve stem.


So, not a tragedy. I can pop the beads and move the tire. Just the
continual checks on the kids while wrenching really doesn't lend itself to
focus.

-travis

'00 VFR, Yellow Submarine.

_______________________________________________
vfr mailing list
vfr@xxxxxx
For subscription and delivery options:
https://lists.cs.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/vfr

Travis, if it makes you feel any better, the dot on tires doesn't always indicate the same thing. Some mfg's use it to mark the heavy area, some use it to mark the light spot.

Oh, and yes. You can break both beads and spin the tire on the rim.

One thing i just started doing when i mount/balance my tires, is balancing the wheel all by itself without the tire. I then leave this weight on the wheel all the time, and the actual tire balancing will take less time in the future, and you will be able to see just how out of balance your tire is.

TORI
'03 VFR

Travis Sawyer wrote:
Someone send me a virtual dope slap.


Xmas 2006: I get a really nice pair of 14" tire spoons.
B-Day 2007: I get the HF tire changer and motorcycle tire attachment.
Xmas 2007: Wifey gets me a new set of BStone battlax tires.


Fast forward to 3 days ago.

Pull the rear wheel off of the '00.

Tape up the dogs on changer (trying not to scratch the rims any more than they already are, haven't butchered my cutting board to 'fix' the dogs, yet).

Break the bead with the tire changer (note to self: Bolt the darn thing to the garage floor).

Time check: No more time, send babysitter home and herd the 3 kids.

next day: Use the HF mount/demount bar. Duct tape the demount end, minimize scratching. Shagged bstone is off.
Insert new metal valve stem ($4 at Parts of America)
Time Check: no more time, send babysitter home, herd the kids. (Do we see a theme here?)

Last night: Herd the kids. Wifey leaves for some 'buy more crap for the house party'.
Youngest in bed, 2 others playing nicely (rare occurrance). Run to garage.
Through 1st bead on tire (I just LOVE throwing the first bead on :)
Duct tape mount side of bar. Grab C-Clamps. crap. Not quite big enough. Wedge tire into 2 C-Clamps.
Swing bar. about 30 degrees left to get over the lip. Not budging easily. Try again.
Grab spoons. Second bead over lip WOOOHOOO.

Grab compressor. Seat bead POP...pop. Hmmmmm....

DOH! Note to self: Take wheel out of dogs before seating bead. Unscrew moving dog. Whack tire to unseat other 2 dogs.
Reseat beads. Declare victory.

Go inside, wash hands, check kids.

Realize that I didn't line up the dot with the new valve stem.


So, not a tragedy. I can pop the beads and move the tire. Just the continual checks on the kids while wrenching really doesn't lend itself to focus.

-travis

'00 VFR, Yellow Submarine.



_______________________________________________
vfr mailing list
vfr@xxxxxx
For subscription and delivery options:
https://lists.cs.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/vfr

_______________________________________________
vfr mailing list
vfr@xxxxxx
For subscription and delivery options:
https://lists.cs.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/vfr

T wrote:

> Travis, if it makes you feel any better, the dot on tires
> doesn't always indicate the same thing. Some mfg's use it to mark the
> heavy area, some use it to mark the light spot.
>
> Oh, and yes. You can break both beads and spin the tire on the rim.
>
> One thing i just started doing when i mount/balance my tires, is
> balancing the wheel all by itself without the tire. I then leave
> this weight on the wheel all the time, and the actual tire balancing
> will take less time in the future, and you will be able to see just
> how out of balance your tire is.
>
> TORI
> '03 VFR
>
> *//*

There is actually a slightly better way to do that.

First off balance your bare wheel. But only temporarily attach those
wheel weights with masking tape (in the normal weight location where it
will remain exposed when a tire is mounted). Once you determine what it
takes, make a permanent mark on the part of the rim where it will be
inside the tire after mounting. Make note of the amount of weight and
location so that next time you'll already know what and where it is.

Now mount the tire loosely on the rim (don't need to fully seat the
beads). A marked dot on the tire usually denotes the lightest spot on
the tire. So position that dot exactly opposite your temporary weights.
Don't remove the weights yet.

With the temporary weights still on, find / confirm the heaviest spot on
the tire. It should be opposite that tire dot, but some tires don't
have dots and some the dots are the heaviest location. Once you know
where the heavy spot on the tire is, rotate the tire on the rim so it
lines up with the temporary weights.

Seat the tire beads, remove the temporary taped on weights and balance
the tire as you normally would now.

By doing the above you will use the minimum possible amount of balance
weight. In many cases you won't need any because you have used the tire
to balance the wheel (and vice versa).

--

-Fred W

'98 Honda VFR800Fi
'05 Yammi FJR1300
'00 Aprilia Pegaso

_______________________________________________
vfr mailing list
vfr@xxxxxx
For subscription and delivery options:
https://lists.cs.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/vfr