New tires, how do I get it to the shop?

I purchased a new rear tire, the only shop that is any good is 30 minuted away. I need away to get my tire and bike to the shop any ideas? I would prefer to not have my wife follow me in the car with the tire but if I have to I will, I am also considering taking the wheel off.

Just take the wheel off yourself it isnt that hard.

sideshow_downs said:

Just take the wheel off yourself it isnt that hard.

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Either take it off off yourself or just ride it real cautiously.

I drove the wheels there in my car one day, and rode the bike there another day and waited while they changed them. The bike shop said lots of people bungee cord them to the back. That seemed a bit dodgey as they are large and heavy.

I would just take the wheel off mate.Might save a few bucks too coz they won't have to do it :thumbup:

+1 on taking the wheel off and driving it there with the new tire, if you have a car. I did that last week and a tire change cost me half what it would have if I had ridden the bike in.

It also took less time; 45 minutes total bringing in the loose wheel versus a couple of hours bringing the bike in.

Is taking the wheel off easy? Someone posted "it's not too bad" although we do have some mechanical geniuses on the forum, so you must take a comment like that in the context of the poster. I wish I'd paid a bit more close attention to how the shop took the wheel off, but it was fast, and looked like mostly an issue of loosen bolts with allen wrenches. I think they left the bike on the centerstand the whole time, removed one wheel at a time and allowed the bike to rest on the other wheel.

Most shops will charge you less if you bring in the wheel already removed from the bike.

cv_rider said:

Is taking the wheel off easy? Someone posted "it's not too bad" although we do have some mechanical geniuses on the forum, so you must take a comment like that in the context of the poster. I wish I'd paid a bit more close attention to how the shop took the wheel off, but it was fast, and looked like mostly an issue of loosen bolts with allen wrenches. I think they left the bike on the centerstand the whole time, removed one wheel at a time and allowed the bike to rest on the other wheel.

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Since I was having both tires replaced, I needed both wheels off at once. I put the bike on the center stand, which raises the rear tire, then propped up the front by putting a gallon paint can under the exhaust. It fits perfectly! I wish I would have taken pictures. After that, it is just a matter of removing bolts and axles. Like in a car, I loosened both axles before I jacked up the bike; you don't want to apply too much torque while the tires are off the ground.

I believe most of the caliper bolts are 12mm, with one 14mm in the rear. The front axle takes a 19mm allen (can get creative - search "front tire removal"). The rear axle is 32mm. Loosen the axle bolts, get both tires off the ground (in a very stable way!!!), then remove calipers and wheels. Be sure to hang the calipers from something stable with bailing wire or coathangers; you don't want the weight pulling on the rubber lines.

I just remembered... I did take pictures.

In this one, you can see the paint can I used to prop up the front, and also the coathangers I used to hang the calipers. I hung the front calipers from the turn signals, and the rear caliper from the back peg.



Here's a shot from the rear.




Hope this helps.

I was thinking about taking off the wheel myself I guess I will. It does save me 40 bucks. Are there any special tricks to getting the axle off?

2-stroke said:

I was thinking about taking off the wheel myself I guess I will. It does save me 40 bucks. Are there any special tricks to getting the axle off?

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For the front, 19mm allen key/socket (IIRC) and some muscle....:thumbup:

Only doing the rear, do I have to do anything with the brake caliber?

Yes, unbolt it and hang it like Travis did. That should come off easy. Good time to check the pads.