[mike721]

I love it when big boxes with new toys get delivered

I went with Weaver since that's the same brand as my lift which as worked great, had good reviews, and it came with free lift gate delivery. A lucky and unexpected plus was that I ended up with the same delivery driver, a great guy, when he called he said he knew the address and where the garage was and when he showed up he was again more than happy to give me a hand moving another 600 pound crate into my garage then hang around talking bikes for a half hour.

I re-organized my garage to make room, got it all put together and tested, and now I just need to find an old wheel and tire to practice on, it's been about 25 years since I used a tire machine and I barely remember how. I need to get some lube/ bead sealer too.

I'm impressed with the quality of this machine, sure it's imported but it's put together well, weighs a ton, and assembled easily. The instructions were in Chinese English :-( but they had a video on their website which answered all my questions.

 

[Offcenter]

Hey Mike, How did they get a machine weighing a ton into a box that weighed 600 pounds??
LOL!!!
Looks really nice!
I can bring you a wheel and tire if you'd like. LOL!!!

 

[hogcowboy]

Good for you Mike. I wish I foresight and money to have purchase a tire changer when I was much younger. The thing would have saved me a bunch of money by now. And I might have tried a few things that would have made it easier to back out from. Always wanted to experiment with the dark side of things which a changer would have allowed. Good luck Mike

 

[Critter]

Now all of us on the east coast know where to go for a tire change

 

[hogcowboy]

Heck, I'm even considering a trip when I'm about 800 miles short of needing a new tire. Will be contacting the OP for a drop-ship address soon.

 

[mike721]

Yeah, darkside is something I'd like to try too, it's very popular with Vision riders but I just didn't want to deal with the hassles of finding someone to mount the car tire and then if I didn't like it taking it off etc. This was I can try it with minimal hassles if the whim strikes me.

I'm also looking forward to free pre-emptive tire changes, we have 2 half worn tires from last year sitting in the basement that we changed out because we were going on a 6000+ mile trip and didn't want to risk wearing out a tire on the road. Now I can mount those back on and use them up commuting.

Good for you Mike. I wish I foresight and money to have purchase a tire changer when I was much younger. The thing would have saved me a bunch of money by now. And I might have tried a few things that would have made it easier to back out from. Always wanted to experiment with the dark side of things which a changer would have allowed. Good luck Mike

 

[Offcenter]

I'm on my second darkside tire. And I have another brand new one sitting here unmounted.
I'm a believer! (the Monkees said that) LOL!!

 

[mike721]

Second set of tires mounted, balanced and installed yesterday.

These were on Candy's Scout. I had a fight for some reason with the back tire, it was a bear to mount, but the front slipped on so easy it looked like I knew what I was doing.

We went with another set of the Pirelli Night Dragons, she liked them so no reason to change, though the rear tire is now the new Night Dragon GT that is supposed to last longer, and for the front we went with a heavier rated reinforced rating tire since there was some cupping on the original one even though it rode fine. Either way 15K miles from the set was pretty good wear, she did ride the back one just about to a slick though!

She test rode it at 11 last night, smooth as silk up to over 80 mph, which was plenty fast in the pitch dark on a side road, with me on my poor little Honda trying to keep up with that Indian..and I know she wasn't even really on it that hard, that thing is fast when you wind it up.

So that's
2 for the Honda CB400Tii
2 for Candy's Indian Scout

This machine is going to pay for itself quickly

 

[hogcowboy]

You’ll have that thing paid for in no time with miles you guys rack up.

 

[CRracer712]

You'll love it Mike!

I bought the weaver tire changer and balancer a couple years ago. They've been invaluable to me. At the time, I had a set of 4 trailers tires to change, and two vehicles needing a new set. With motorcycles, tractor front tires and other various implement tires I'd need to change or do flat repair on, I figured why not!

I've got a select few good friends that buy their own tires now and I'll mount and balance them for them.

It's one less thing I've got to rely on someone else for.

 

[mike721]

Nice! You bought the balancer too I see, I didn't, I figured I would try just using a static balancer and so far both sets of tires worked out very well for me, I took my time and got them right and they seem to be as smooth as silk.

I love being self sufficient, it's so nice to be able to mount tires at 10Pm on a Sunday night

 

[CRracer712]

I don't have the balancer adapter for motorcycle, it's 329 for the base kit which includes the clamp, then if I wanted to do anything wider than 180mm(which I would need to for my back wheel 9n my CBR 1000rr), you gotta buy a beefier shaft that's another 229. I'm good with static balancing at that price😁

It sure does work nice for my vehicle tires though, I even balance my trailer tires.

How big of a tire have you mounted and did you have any trouble installing without the bead assist arm?

 

[hogcowboy]

Rub it in why don't ya Mike !!!

If I were just a little younger I'd go for it too.

 

[mike721]

How big of a tire have you mounted and did you have any trouble installing without the bead assist arm?

I'm not sure what the assist arm is for? Holding the bead in the wheel center?

I have mounted 2 skinny tires for the CB400 ( 100/90 19 and 110/90 18, tubed) and 2 normal sizes for the Scout (130/90 16 and 150/80 16)

The rear 150/80 16 gave me a fight, I couldn't get it to stay in the drop center, it kept jumping off the duckhead and jamming up, everything that I could think of went wrong but once I got everything right it went on, so it might just have been my inexperience plus a very stiff tire. The front 130/90 16 went on like a dream but I think I used some lessons that I learned on the other one to make it go so smoothly.

Next up will be a 180/60 16 for my Vision, let's see how that goes.

 

[CRracer712]

Yes, the assist arm is exactly for holding the tire bead in the wheel groove. I don't have one, it can be a bit of a fight on a 190/50-17, if a second set of hands is around, it's easy. I don't have the assist arm either as I didn't want someone seeing it and think I'd mount their 1"profile tires for them.

 

[mike721]

Mounted my 8th and 9th tires over the weekend, this was a set of Night Dragon GTs for my daughter's Scout bobber, she managed to tear up the back tire in only 6,000 miles...too much horsepower and a little bit of youthful exuberance I guess, she has fun on that bike! ..but that's OK, the stock Kenda tires are **** compared to the night dragons anyway. I had another fight with the back tire, same one as Candy uses, for some reason that tire/ rim combo is difficult, the front slipped on like it was homesick. I think the rear rim is narrow for the size of the tire, I think Indian did that to give it a more rounded look but it makes it hard to mount. I might just get that assist arm, I bruised the **** out of my elbow pushing down on the tire to keep it in the drop center and on the duckhead.

I took Missy's bobber out for a ride to 'test it' before she picks it up, from the factory it's lowered an inch and with the controls moved rearward and different bars and seat it fits me much better than Candy's regular Scout, that bike is a blast, and with her 2-1 exhaust and tune it's loud, fast and powerful, I understand how she rips up the tire

This tire machine will have paid for itself with a couple more tire changes, and the convenience factor as well is worth it, I love it!

 

[CRracer712]

Hey Mike, before unloading 4-500 bucks on that assist arm, get a set or two of these from Amazon. ~20 bucks for a pair and they helped me immensely!

Weaver has them on their website, I almost bought one to try, but they want 40-50 bucks just for one. Searched Amazon and spotted these, they are solid!

Amazon.com: Sutekus 2PC Set Tire Changer Tire Bead Clamp Drop Center Tool: Home Improvement

Buy Sutekus 2PC Set Tire Changer Tire Bead Clamp Drop Center Tool: Tire Repair Tools - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

smile.amazon.com

 

[Offcenter]

Ha! I mounted a new front tire for the Goldwing over the weekend here,
the old fashioned way, with tire irons on the floor.
It wasn't easy, but I won the battle! LOL!!!

 

[Offcenter]

Rod, can you post a pic and an explanation of what those are for
and how they work? I'm always up for a tool that makes
things easier.

 

[mike721]

Hey Mike, before unloading 4-500 bucks on that assist arm, get a set or two of these from Amazon. ~20 bucks for a pair and they helped me immensely!
Weaver has them on their website, I almost bought one to try, but they want 40-50 bucks just for one. Searched Amazon and spotted these, they are solid!

Amazon.com: Sutekus 2PC Set Tire Changer Tire Bead Clamp Drop Center Tool: Home Improvement

Buy Sutekus 2PC Set Tire Changer Tire Bead Clamp Drop Center Tool: Tire Repair Tools - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

smile.amazon.com

THANKS, I was looking at those clamps on Weaver's site yesterday in fact but I thought there were expensive for what they did too, but for that price on Amazon.. I just ordered them!