Mounting tires at home

[[email protected]]

I've thought about trying to mount my own MC tires for awhile. I've looked at the No-Mar equipment and mojolever but both mount tools are over $100.

I bought an ATV almost 2 years ago and decided it was time to upgrade the tires. I belong to another forum and the guys posted up some great deals on tires and wheels. I decided to buy a set and make a homemade mounting bar and see what happens.

I bought a cutting board at Walmart for $1.06 and some stainless screws at Lowes for $2.40. The rest of the materials were sourced from the scrap pile at work.

My first attempt was a failure. When I tried to work the tool around the rim, it was biting into the bead instead of leading the bead onto the tool. I cut the original piece of plate off the top of tool, cut the bars on a compound angle and welded a new plate in place and curved it a bit, then shaped it with a flap wheel. My second attempt was a success. The tool now guides the tire onto the rim with ease.

I was able to mount my tires with no scratches on the rim though, I'm not sure if I will use the tool on my prized Vmax rims. I'm not too particular about the quad since I bounce it off of boulders.

I built a stand too. It is specific to the Polaris bolt pattern. It works OK but after using it, I see some downfalls. First thing is that it should be mounted to the floor or, on a full sheet of plywood. Right now, it's difficult to keep it from moving around. Another flaw is that I have the rim down tight to the top of the stand. This isn't a problem with 9" tires on a 7" rim but, when trying to put 11" tires on a 7" rim, it causes a problem with keeping the bead opposite of tool in the recess of the rim. Its very hard to push down on the tire hard enough to keep the bead where it needs to be when the tire is 4" taller than the work area.

This was just a test to see if I could do it. I'm glad to report that it worked well! I won't say it was easy. It was definitely a workout but if I make a couple changes I think it would work much better. I typically learn things the hard way.

 

[tothemax93]

You addressed it, but my thoughts went right to mounting it down. Good job, saved a few bucks.

 

[caseyjones955]

I have been doing a little reading on this also. Harbor Freight sells the tools on the cheap but I have read that most of the guys that get those have not been pleased. There are some homemade options that have panned out well for guys, especially as far as balancing goes. I have been interested in this for quite a while.

An investment would make sense considering how M&B starts out at around $25 each and can go up significantly from there depending on where you go.

You dont need to balance ATV tires, do you?

 

[[email protected]]

I have been doing a little reading on this also. Harbor Freight sells the tools on the cheap but I have read that most of the guys that get those have not been pleased. There are some homemade options that have panned out well for guys, especially as far as balancing goes. I have been interested in this for quite a while.

An investment would make sense considering how M&B starts out at around $25 each and can go up significantly from there depending on where you go.

You dont need to balance ATV tires, do you?

ATV tire mounting prices vary quite a bit around here. The close shops are high in price. If I want to drive a bit, I can get it done around $30 to mount all 4. For the most part, I just wanted to see if I could do it. I was tired of finishing drywall (which I still need to work on) so decided it was time to play in the garage a bit. My time would probably be better spent cleaning and organizing as you can see. Home improvements have wrecked my work area.

Regarding balancing, some guys do. Most don't. The stock ones were not. If I notice an issue I can put in some tire beads.

 

[[email protected]]

I made myself a bead breaker on Friday. I tried it out today and it was a MF'r to break the beads on my old atv tires.

Once I broke the beads I tried the demount end of my bar. It worked slick as can be. Took seconds to get the tire off. I tried mounting the old tire and I was able to do it by hand! I was pretty surprised at the difference in effort. I guess a 2 ply vs 8 ply has something to do with it.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Fire-medic]

Did you change the contour/shape of the mounting lever end from your first post? Looks like it gets the job done.

 

[[email protected]]

No. First post was focused on mounting. This post was demount.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[leecifer]

If you tried to do the vmax tires you could use a static balancer. Some guys swear by them.

 

[[email protected]]

If you tried to do the vmax tires you could use a static balancer. Some guys swear by them.

I've considered that. Long ago I bought some bearings to build a balancer but never built it since I didn't build anything to change tires.

The last few tires I had a shop install were balanced with dynabeads. They seem to work pretty good.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[sdt354]

I started doing my own tires a few years ago. I got tired of paying a shop to mark my wheels up and line the bead with weights. I use the HF bead breaker and balancer, and they work ok. Though I like the one Mike made better. I've seen them made from 2 by 4's that worked too. Motion-Pro tire irons, you need at least three, and a hand full of rim protectors. Split garden hose works well too for wheel protection too. I used the tie-wrap method to install, popular on U-Tube, last season and it worked well. I position my tire on the wheel to get the best static balance I can, then use Dyna Beads. The result is a nice smooth ride and good tire wear. It's worth the extra time a Shop will seldom if ever put in. And, most shops will say"you don't need to go through all that" which is another reason I do it myself.

Last time I put the dyna beads in, I dumped the package in the tire instead of through the valve stem. If you use 90 degree stems it's a P.I.A. to put the beads in one at a time.
Steve-o

 

[leecifer]

I was going to start changing mine also but i found a local shop near my work that will instal and balance my new tires and get rid of the old ones for $35.00. Can't beat that in my area.

 

[Redbone]

Luckily, my community has a tire collection program twice a year (spring/ fall) for free. Probably should look at investing in the tire changing equipment for bike and cages.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dannymax]

This is a cheap no-mar knock off by Wicko Industries....once I got the crappy factory welds beefed up it worked great. The bench top balancer worked extremely well also, think that was a $49 eBay purchase.

As Mike mentioned, bead breaking is a good bit tougher than you would think.....I made basically what he welded up out of 2 x 4's, pinned the thing to the wall studs and sat on the end of the lever to create down force....it worked just fine, altho you need some 2 x 4 frame work to keep the rotors off the floor.

I changed many Gen I tires, one set of Gen II's and a set of BMW K1300 tires....the last two were Taconic Parkway road tested around 140 mph and were rock steady!

Regarding Dyna beads....I noticed that the beads wore the inside surface of the tires smooth.....no idea if that would be a problem or not....just an observation.

 

[sdt354]

This is a cheap no-mar knock off by Wicko Industries....once I got the crappy factory welds beefed up it worked great. The bench top balancer worked extremely well also, think that was a $49 eBay purchase.

As Mike mentioned, bead breaking is a good bit tougher than you would think.....I made basically what he welded up out of 2 x 4's, pinned the thing to the wall studs and sat on the end of the lever to create down force....it worked just fine, altho you need some 2 x 4 frame work to keep the rotors off the floor.

I changed many Gen I tires, one set of Gen II's and a set of BMW K1300 tires....the last two were Taconic Parkway road tested around 140 mph and were rock steady!

Regarding Dyna beads....I noticed that the beads wore the inside surface of the tires smooth.....no idea if that would be a problem or not....just an observation.

I noticed the same wear inside the tire. Also some black rubber beads from wear. I didn't seem to be excessive though. I like the smooth ride from Dyna Beads. I've used them for a few years now.

 

[dannymax]

I noticed the same wear inside the tire. Also some black rubber beads from wear. I didn't seem to be excessive though. I like the smooth ride from Dyna Beads. I've used them for a few years now.

Yeah, lots of little black rubber beads....don't see them as a problem tho.