Changing Tires

[gregp]

Now, I am quite proficient at changing the tires out on my (or anybody's) dirt bikes, but I had read a while ago in Dirt Rider magazine about a different procedure for removing the old tire. It involved levering the bead of the tire over the rim on one side, and then flipping the wheel over and levering that tire bead outside of the rim as well, and then pulling the entire wheel and tube out of the tire in smooth easy motion. I have now tried this method several times and I have reached the conclusion that it does not work well with an 18" tire installed with an Ultra Heavy Duty Tube. The tube rubber is so thick that the wheel will not "sink" into the tire far enough to be removed easily. A 19" rear with a thick tube is even tougher, as the sidewalls are not as tall as those on an 18" tire.
So, I will stick to my old method of levering one side of the tire over the rim, pulling out the tube, and then using a long iron and a large mallet to lever the entire tire off the same side.
If you are running a standard "thin" tube, the Dirt Rider method will work great and probably save you a little bit of effort. On the other hand, if you are still running a standard "thin" tube and are sick of getting flats, get a Bridgestone UHD tube and never get a flat again! I have tried the Moose UHD tubes and some others, but the Bridgestone is the thickest!
Happy Trails! - Greg

[SSearchVT]

The secret steps to getting the tires off without using every four letter word you can think of. Lube everything up with a mixture of dish soap and water and use a milk crate or similar to hold the wheel. After you let the air out of the tube and loosen bead locks (a lot) - break both beads loose. When you start levering the bead over the rim - squeeze the opposite side of the tire so the bead slides into the middle of the rim. After about 1/3 of the bead is off - you should be able to pull it off by hand without levers.

Get the tube out - flip the wheel over. Let gravity work for you.

Slide one side of the remaining bead into the middle of the rim (by spoke nipples) and use a lever or mallet to work it over the rim.

The first few tires I did took forever and I chased them around the garage. As soon as I picked up the trick of dropping the bead by the spoke nipples - 10 minutes total - no sweating or swearing.

[gregp]

I stopped using dish soap back in the '80's because it completely delaminated anodized layer from the inside of the rim on my '87 CR250! The rim was actually falling apart from the depth of the corrosion! Apparently, dish soap is a very strong base.
So...NO DISH SOAP for me, I only use WD-40 in liberal amounts.

[TTD]

YouTube - Easy dirt bike tire change instructions

[gregp]

Thanks for the link, Tony, but I have to laugh, just a little, as my parts *never* look or come off that clean. My tires often sit mounted on the rim for a whole year and are just about glued to the wheel. There is more crud on the inside of my wheels than was on the *outside* of that one. That guys shirt would look like a shop rag if he changed the tire on my bike! LOL!
That certainly was not a SHD tube, either! I guess that pro MX guys get their tires changed so often that there is no need.
The most important thing I learned from that video was how nice it is to have the wheel at chest height instead on kneeling on it.