Taking off the tires

My apologies. Those mountain roads around Shreveport must be part of the cause for undue tire wear.

 

op2: :fencing:

 

I agree:

http://www.penaltytime.com/images/198.jpg

 

First, let me thank you for keeping me entertained for the afternoon...lol

You've never heard of Arkansas or SW Missiouri? Some of the best roads in the country with little to no traffic and few cops. A weekend up there is usually in the 1200 mile ride range. I can leave here Friday after work and stay in Eureka Springs, ride all day Saturday and make my way back through the good roads on Sunday. It only takes a couple of those mixed in with normal commuting, weekend rides before tires are done.

But seeing you live here and know SO much about how I ride, I suppose it's my dynamically unbalanced tires that is the cause for such premature tire wear.:crazy:

Or in LA, you have 126/124/513/346/177 all of which are well within a daily romp. I call it tire profile management. I am not in the tire conservation crowd. My job is to wear them out.

 

Noob question here. My bike doesn't have a centerstand unfortunately. Is there a way to get the wheels in the air without having to buy stands for it?

 

Noob!?

Zilla owns 7 motorcycles and he's a noob at tire changes?
Something is wrong with this picture.
I see a cinderblock in your future.:biggrin:

 

Rear swing arm stand and floor jack under the headers for the front.

 

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

:crazy::crazy::crazyut a cut 2by4 under each peg mount..

 

Removing the wheels first is generally step #1 if one is changing tires. I have see it done without removing the wheels but the procedure falls into the "don't try this at home" category.

If the question is just about getting both wheels in the air and not about changing tires, there are some really bitchin ramp plans at evelknevel.com.

 

Noob to VFR's. And it's the 2nd bike i've had that has tubeless tires.
I was more concerned with getting it up in the air to get the wheels off.

 

Considered the jack, but I was worried about screwing up the headers. I don't want to create more work for myself.

 

Another way I heard about was filling the tires with helium. Make sure somebody doesn't sell you hydrogen by mistake or the whole thing may go up in the air.

Got a bike mself without a centerstand. An SR500. Got a Beemer that has centerstand that steadys the bike but does not raise either wheel off the ground. This is an after market stand called a Reynolds Rideoff Stand. Understand that getting the front wheel off a VFR requires more work and raising the front end higher than the centerstand allows. A floorjack will work using wood as a buffer even if you have to bolt some 1X6 and 2X4 together. A good insurance policy IMO is to use straps too or make damn sure nobody is around the bike whilst it's up in the air.

Best deal is to just spring for a centerstand for the VFR if possible.

The headerpipes depending on the year can be different.

 

Having removed and changed THOUSANDS (I'm not exaggerating) of wheels and tires of all types over the years I've been a tech I have a few opinions and tips to share.

I agree with 1luckydude on balancing...gravity doesn't lie. I have access to both a dynamic spin balancer and a wheelstand and both will get you the same results on motorcycle wheels. I prefer and trust the results I get with a wheelstand over the 'spin' balancer. And yes, that's how the pro tire techs do it at the track. I also find and mark the heavy spot on the rim without the tire to match the 'light spot' mark on the tire (if it has one, not all do)...Honda sometimes marks this spot with a yellow dot on the rim...often it's NOT the traditional assumption of the valve stem. Saves on wheel weights and unsprung weight. BTW...wheel balancing should be done on both wheels, but the front wheel is CRUCIAL compared to the rear.

Symptoms of a wheel balance problem are commonly noticed as wheel bounce...especially at certain speeds...not necessarily higher ones. I've come across it most around 50MPH, but of course it can vary based on model.

I use a Coats pneumatic tire changer and it works well with some exceptions (ATV tires comes to mind) but I agree most tires can be easily swapped with tire irons without damage to rims WITH the proper technique. However many shops charge very little to just swap out a couple 'loose mount' tires and for most people this is a better option.
BTW the hardest wheel/tire combo to change I've ever come across is the rear wheel on a GL1800...hands down.

On very difficult assemblys I use what's called a 'drop center' tool. This is simply a thick plastic wedge made to fit on rim and help hold the bead down without a second person when getting that final tire bead to fit over the rim. A good tire lube is very helpful also.

For installing wheels back on the motorcycle there's a couple things I rarely see mentioned. One is always wipe off and regrease the wheel bearing dust seals. The other is front wheel alignment. On many Honda's one side of the fork lower is able to slide back and forth on the thick part of the front wheel axle a few millimeters. So...the fork lower should be aligned so the gap in the brake caliper on that side is centered over the brake rotor. The corresponding clamping bolts in the fork lower should be last in the tightening sequence. If you don't check this...it's possible on some models that the brake rotor will rub on the aluminum brake caliper 'gap'.

 

Opinions are good. It separates us regular folks from the mini-Moseses who just came down off the mountain with some rules painted on some slabs of rock, that we all should obey or we are going to be sent to spend eternity sweeping the parking lot at some Harley Dealership.

 

Got the rear changed today. I used a couple of tie downs and a couple hooks that were in the rafters of my carport. Went pretty easy. Once I got it in the air and the wheel off, I put my jack under the bike to take a little pressure off of the straps.

A guy I know made up a tire changer out of an old lathe chuck. A BIG lathe chuck. Worked slicker than hell. Balanced it for me too. Have to get the front one off and out to him. He and his Dad own a machine shop, so they had all kinds of neat stuff made up.

 

Nothing like a little inventiveness and determination.

 

NO! Don't come here to ride! The roads are flat and straight and full of huge bike swallowing potholes when there's any asphalt at all. The locals are inbred, unwashed, uneducated, and hostile. The police have a vendetta against anyone not riding a harley and will write you all kinds of undeserved tickets, and just might throw your yankee adz in jail so you can play house with the local inmates. Don't come here! :nono:

 

Damn, look at all this great advice here, you guys have really stepped up to the plate Good job.. nothing here to add other than keep up the good work. I must say owning a VFR makes rear tire replacement a snap,, SSSA FTW!! even once you get the the front figured out it's not all that bad. like someone said takes all of 10 minutes. less if I'm not looking for the floor jack.

 

Too late,:biggrin: he's already there supporting the tire industry with vigor.