Changed my first set of tires

Got it done.

Took my time and found out it is alot of labor. Next time I will spring for the mojolever or nomar bar.

Used the Harbor Freight machine with mojoblocks. I figure the HFT setup pays for itself the first time I use it. Because they don't sell the base anymore I mounted it to my workbench which was fine but no base = no bar. I used 3 15" tire irons instead. I won't do it that way again.

A job like this is easier to accomplish over the course of a few days and since it has rained here for 5 straight days this week was the perfect time to get to it.

Day 1: Remove both wheels
Day 2: Remove both tires from wheels (not bad at all)
Day 3: Install both tires (kicked my arse, laborious!!)
Day 4: Install wheels back on bike.

I went for Pilot Road 2's after hearing so many people are happy with them.

Anyone have suggestions for breaking them in? It's gonna be sunny tomorrow, finally :thumbup:

what no picturs??? my suggestion for breaking them is is to head north to either the berkshirs or the adirondacks... Taconic State Parkway is really a nice ride... rt 22 (once you get past patterson is good... your kinda close to the catskills.. those are some great roads too...

Yeah those roads are great maybe will head up that way on Sunday. What I mean by break in is people have said how slippery brand new tires can be. Should I be scrubbing them down or roughing them up somehow? Seems like normal conservative riding should be enough for 100 miles?

Here are a few photos. I took off BT020's with 9078 miles. The rear tire was a little squared but not bad and had lots of tread left. The front tire was getting scalloped and was down past the beginning of the wear bars. Not for nothing these 020's don't grip well in the cold and these were original equipment on my '06 manufactured sometime in late '05. I'd say it's time for new tires!!

Photos this time

FB400 said:

Yeah those roads are great maybe will head up that way on Sunday. What I mean by break in is people have said how slippery brand new tires can be. Should I be scrubbing them down or roughing them up somehow? Seems like normal conservative riding should be enough for 100 miles?

Here are a few photos. I took off BT020's with 9078 miles. The rear tire was a little squared but not bad and had lots of tread left. The front tire was getting scalloped and was down past the beginning of the wear bars. Not for nothing these 020's don't grip well in the cold and these were original equipment on my '06 manufactured sometime in late '05. I'd say it's time for new tires!!

Click to expand...

totally.. those tires looked like they were about ready to be changed.. as for real break in suggestions.. just take it easy.. dont try to drag a knee right off the bat.. yea.. if you ride conservatively, but how do i put it.. you can lean, just dont try to over do it.. there was a great article in sport rider (i think) about how to properly break in tires and it basically said the same thing.. just go easy the first 100.. dont be afraid to lean :thumbup:

Congrats!
There's nothing like fresh rubber. You know the kind I mean.....

Any thoughts on why installing was more difficult than removing?

Did you use any lube when removing or installing?

Was there a difference between the front and rear in difficulty to change?

Did you balance? If not, did you just leave the wheel weights alone?

Sorry for all the questions, but please advise if you can. I have changed my rear tire, and I found I needed the help of my better half which made it much easier, but I only used tire irons.

Happy riding.
DJ

djstrong said:

Any thoughts on why installing was more difficult than removing?

Did you use any lube when removing or installing?

Was there a difference between the front and rear in difficulty to change?

Did you balance? If not, did you just leave the wheel weights alone?

Sorry for all the questions, but please advise if you can. I have changed my rear tire, and I found I needed the help of my better half which made it much easier, but I only used tire irons.

Happy riding.
DJ

Click to expand...

1. I used Windex. I saw some dude on youtube using it so I thought I would give it a shot. I like it because it evaporates and doesn't leave behind any greasy residue. Also when using dynabeads you have to be careful not to leave tire lube inside the tire or the beads won't work.

2. Front came off easier but was hard to install.

3. Rear was a little tougher to get off and was equally as tough as the front to install

4. I've heard good things about dynabeads (for balancing) so I thought I would give them a try

Indeed an extra set of hands would have made the job easier. I took about 1 hour each for front and rear to install. I just worked my way along the bead an inch or 2 at a time always keeping one iron in and using the other to work my way around. Also, could not have done this without using 2 C clamps to keep the bead from walking.

Hi FB400, Thanks for the quick reply.

I also used Windex, but only applied a little by hand and lightly coated the whole edge by hand. I still had to apply a little more when installing as it seemed to evaporate and certain edges needed justa little extra lube.

The only problem I had was making sure the tire bead dropped into the smallest part of the rim when installing or removing.

As far as balancing, I looked into the Dynabeads, but decided not to use them. Although some people do like them, I was just not comfortable with it. I decided not to balance which I have done before on my old street bikes, and did not have a problem. I will eventually buy a balancer to do it myself, but did not yet want to spend the $$. I have ridden at freeway speeds, and I did not feel any balance issue after the install. I could not find the yellow alignment dot on my PP2 rear.

Happry riding.
DJ