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Changing your own tyres, who's doing it?

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Sporall

Sporall

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Mar 2, 2025
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Location
Portsmouth, UK
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Bike
R1200RT Triumph Thruxton R
I'm thinking of getting the tools to do this, I have two bikes and my tyre shop charge £100 for a ride in tyre change on both wheels
Has anyone got any advice or a recommendation for equipment best suited for this task? I'm more than a little concerned about causing damage to the wheel and most of the review or instruction videos I've seen seem to be using moto-cross wheels or similar where it's already taken a beating, or they just don't care particularly about the wheel.

Thanks.
 
Rabaconda gets the most positive comments on the H-D forum. Best to you.
 
I use a No-Mar tire changer that mounts on the hitch of my truck. Love it. Easy to do. Except for Harley wheels. That are a bitch no matter what you use.
 

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Rider0974 said:
Which tyre shop are you using? I used to use Russ's tyres, &
paid way less than £100 for fitting & balancing.
Click to expand...
It was them actually. There's been a change of ownership and revised prices. If the wheels are out, it's £30 each. I was shocked when I found this out, so much so, the new owner reduced the charge to £60 accepting that she hadn't told me what the charge would be.
 
It's been a few years since I used them as the Kawasaki VN outfit doesn't do
the miles the R18 does. I might have to look for somewhere else if they are
going to charge that much to change tyres. Loose wheels used to be free.
 
I have five bikes, including my R18B. I changed the tires on all of them with a Rabaconda, which has already paid for itself. The R18 tires are easy enough; it just takes a little longer due to the bags.
 
A friend with a Rabaconda helped me change mine. The whole process would have been easy and straightforward, except I have a Classic with tubed tires. The inner tubes make the job a lot harder, but still doable. I highly recommend the Kern-Stabi lift as well.
 
Rider0974 said:
It's been a few years since I used them as the Kawasaki VN outfit doesn't do
the miles the R18 does. I might have to look for somewhere else if they are
going to charge that much to change tyres. Loose wheels used to be free.
Click to expand...
I think it would be worth you giving them a call and checking in case there were some kind of error or particular reason why I was almost charged that. I wouldn't want to have given you duff info.
 
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RWF said:
A friend with a Rabaconda helped me change mine. The whole process would have been easy and straightforward, except I have a Classic with tubed tires. The inner tubes make the job a lot harder, but still doable. I highly recommend the Kern-Stabi lift as well.
Click to expand...
Is this kit good enough not to damage the wheels?
 
Sporall said:
I think it would be worth you giving them a call and checking in case there were some kind of error or particular reason why I was almost charged that. I wouldn't to have given you duff info.
Click to expand...
Russ did the tyres as we were putting a car tyre on the rear
of the outfit, & he wanted to make sure there were no problems
with the tyre we fitted. I shall have a word with my daughter as
she uses them for her bike as well.
 
In all fairness to the tyre shop, Sometimes the rear wheel removal and installing can be time consuming.....removing the mufflers and in some cases the rear fender. You can't expect them to do it for free, and it isn't a 5 minute job.
 
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