Rear Tire How To Change a 300 or others

Now this isn't meant to be a tell all of tire changing and it is certainly not for everyone but I just thought some of you might like to do this task yourselves,
as I do because everytime a shop does it they F somethin up some how, and I just wanted to give a little insight on
making it easier. While you don't see much blue painters tape in my photos I would highly recommend taping the crap
out of everything. Tools are all the time gettin away and when they do "Dents and scratches will occur" if you don't use
"Painters Tape". Use painters tape because the adhesive is lighter and does not leave a residue behind especially if you
can't complete the task same day and you have to leave it on for a few days.
Just a side note, Avon has a $25 rebate on right now for their Cobra and the older Venom Tires. The cheapest price I could
find was at www.tirecave.com. I got a front MH90/21 and a rear 300 for 374 with free shipping which with the rebate is only 325.
TireCave had my tires to me in one day but I think its because they came out of a warehouse in Los Angeles CA and I live
in San Diego CA.

When your tire looks like this its time for a new one

So support the bike and the rear tire appropriately

Of course you will need a reasonable work area to change the tire

Now you can spend your money on the edge guards but I think a five gallon bucket produces much better guards

Basic tools needed, and you will need (3) tire irons

When you get the rear axle out it is a good time to mark the center to make tire alignment easier when you reassemble.
A micrometer and a steel center punch will work

A long stem straight punch makes it a little easier to get the axle out


Be careful about your spacers, pay attention to which one goes where and now is a good time to give them a good polishing

Dont' forget to remove your caliper

Now gently slide your tire forward and down and slide the belt off and pull your tire out

Now, using an air valve core remover, remove the valve core. Be careful if your not careful the core will shoot out on you
and you might not be able to find it. Not a problem if you have spare cores buttt.....

Now the fun starts
The first thing you want to do is get yourself a 4 x 4 wood post and three screws. Preferably drywall screws.
Cut one end of the 4 x 4 at a 22-1/2 degree angle, it doesn't have to be exact but I found it works very well at that angle

Insert the screws about a 1/2" in on one side. Screw them straight in do not angle them

Now take your small bottle jack, the smaller the better, drill a couple holes in the base and screw it to the
opposite end of the 4x that you put the screws into. Pay attention to the direction you face the pump of the
jack in relation to the angled end of the 4 x as you want the pump facing you so you can easily reach the lever

Now lets setup the bead breaking base, line it up under a rafter in your garage or other solid surface you have access to.
It could even be the bumper of your lifted four X just cut everything to fit
Put 4 short 2 x 6 wood blocks on the floor to support the rim and to keep you from mdamaging your pulley or for you narrow
tire guys your brake disk rotor and cover with a blanket


Now insert the post against the tire as shown below, use one of the slick protectors you made earlier as shown,
and lay a blanket over the wheel

Now I am tall so it is easy for me to reach the bottle jack you may need a short ladder. So begin pumping
up the jack and Wah Lah the beed is broken. Now flip the tire and repeat.


Now lets get busy getting that tire off
Put the tire up on your work place

Now I am sure there will be others here who have different ideas about the solution you use
to spray down the tire in order to ease getting it off and on but I can only give you my personal
experience. I use a citrus based cleaner solution water down a bit. I like this stuff the best because
it is slicker than any other stuff I have used, including WD40, when the solution drys it is sticky so it
adds a bit of extra grab at the tire edge to help prevent minute air leaks that occur occasionally with
these rims, especially if you don't prep the rim's bead properly and as an additional bonus it does a
great job of cleaning the rim whene you rinse it all off after the install.

Okay so you have sprayed the tire edge and inner rim lip really well with your citrus solution.
Take your first tire protector and stick it between the tire and rim and insert your tire iron so the
bent tip hooks the edge of the tire. If you will note I am using the curved end of the iron with the
bent tip facing the tire. Now pull the iron out towards you. Watch the protectors and keep them in place.
This portion of the process is way easier with a helper

Now repeat the above process with your 2nd iron and continue this process until
you have enough of the tire off to finish pulling it off by hand

Now flip the tire over and repeat the process from the opposite side to remove the tire completley from the rim

Now is a good time to inspect those bearings and replace if neccessary

We want to spend a little time now prepping the inner bead so you get a nice tight seal when you install the new tire.
Using a wire wheel on your cordless go all the way around the inside of the rim at the bead and the edge of the wheel
and give it a good thorough cleaning. If you have any nicks or gouges in the aluminum at the inner edge of the outer
portion of the wheel then now is a great time to file and sand those out so they don't cause any micro air leaks.
Now is also a great time to polish the wheel assembly.
Now lets put the new tire on the rim
Look closely at the side wall of your new tire. THEY ARE DIRECTIONAL, and there will be a little arrow telling you
which direction the tire must rotate. Don't screw this up or you will put your new tire and yourself at RISK.
The first edge of the tire is easy it will go on by hand if your not a girly man, or handicapped, you might need one
tire iron to get the last inch or so

Now is a good time to install your Dyna Beads but you must be careful through the rest of the tire install to
avoid pouring them out. You will note I marked my bottle to make it easier to establish the amount I am putting in.

Now getting the other side of the tire on. This is a bit tricky but just take your time and BE CAREFUL

Get the first 20 inches or so of the tire edge pushed down overr the rim.
Now take a large wood clamp, preferably a plastic clamp to help avoid damage to your wheels, and place it in
he middle of that 20 inches or so you just pushed on and tighten it down. You only need to tighten it enough
so that the tire will slide into the deep portion of the rim. You need that little extra to get this tight puppy on the rim.

For this next section I must apologize because my helper had to leave and I was left finishing this part
of the tire install myself so I was unable to get photos of the tire iron work here. Continue pushing the
tire on by hand until you can't go any further. Now install your protector between the tire and the rim
on one side where you could not get anymore of the tire over the rim and insert your iron this time with
the bent tip of the curved end facing the rim. Remember last time it was facing away to get the tire off.
Now push the iron in over the rim. Now repeat this process on the opposite side where you could not get
the tire on any further. Remember to lay your blanket over the wheel before starting so if your iron gets
away from you, and it very well may, you don't cause any damage to the rim. Also make sure that the
clamp side of the tire works its way down into the deep portion of the rim. This is where a helper comes
in really handy. Using your third iron and a protector slowly start working your around the rest of the tire
an INCH at a time. Initially you will be able to use you protectors but the last 4 inches or so you will have
to use bare irons but fear not if you are careful you can do this without causing any damage to your wheels.
I did it so I know you can. Okay I admit I did cause one very minor scratch that took me all of twenty
minutes to sand out with 2400 grit wet paper and buff it back to a mirror finish with Mother's Billet.
I can tell you though that had my helper been there the scratch would not have happened.
And with that last little bit of effort your tire is on

Easiest way to seal the tire so it doesn't leak while setting the bead. Take a ratchet tie strap,
wrap it around the middle of the tire and hook it end to end. Now tighten it down just enough
to prevent air from leaking while you seat the bead.

Install your valve core and inflate the tire to approxiamtely 60 PSI. It may take a little more for
your tire but when you hear a couple of loud pops and both sides of the tire are completely flush
with the rim you ar there. Reduce the tire pressure to 42PSI or whatever your tire requires.
Now take your Citrus cleanier solution and spray the tire at the edge of the rim where the rim
meets the tire and make sure you have no leaks. If your rim is not bent or out of true and you
cleaned it up earlier like I told you you will have a leak free tire installation. Now just hose the
wheel down and your left with a nice clean wheel.

Now reinstall the wheel to the bike in reverse order of removal.
I am not going into installation details because if you are doing this kind of work then
you better have a Service Manual to refer to.
 
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scubaman15

Well-Known Member
Wow Great job !!! Great write up !!!! I'm going through this right now with the 95 Softail and without the tire tools I gave up and took it to a bud who has a small shop in the northern neck , I'm glad I did because just getting the new tire to seat on the rim was a bitch "used straps" having a helper was key !!! I went with Michelin tires just to try them ...really good price and I figured the company makes GREAT auto tires ..I would give them a shot .. AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE TIRE had some good prices and delivered pretty quick ...
 

woodbutcher

Mr. Old Fart member #145
Staff member
great write-up.

one side note, make sure of the direction of the tire or you may be removing it sooner than you want to.
 

Raywood

The Pirate
Staff member
Calendar Participant
Troop Supporter
That was real good. I couldn't get my 250 on mine and almost destroyed the bead of the tire so took it to a shop. Will have to try it again now and use a clamp like you did.

Great write up :2thumbs::2thumbs::2thumbs:
 

CuDaMaN

Member
AWESOME write-up !!!!!!!!!

OOOh.....OOOOh....OOh...OOh...OOOOh..........I have a question.............

Just out of curiosity, since the old tire is trash anyway, could it be cut from one side to the other and removed that way. Maybe using a pair of high quality metal sheers, pneumatic sheers, or even a grinder with a cutting wheel on it....... or a combination of the 3????? Being careful and protective of the wheel of course.....

G
 
OOOh.....OOOOh....OOh...OOh...OOOOh..........I have a question.............

Just out of curiosity, since the old tire is trash anyway, could it be cut from one side to the other and removed that way. Maybe using a pair of high quality metal sheers, pneumatic sheers, or even a grinder with a cutting wheel on it....... or a combination of the 3????? Being careful and protective of the wheel of course.....

G
Sure but honestly why risk a power tool around your polished pretty rim when the tire literally falls off the rim?
 
great write-up.

one side note, make sure of the direction of the tire or you may be removing it sooner than you want to.
Damn it, I knew I missed something, thats why I love this site. You guys keep us on our toes. Fixing that oversite right now.
Thanks WB

FIXED, thanks again WB
 
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nice write up - think I'll give that a miss but nice work
Its not for everyone,

:rant:RANT WARNING: but if you get tired of the bad service from your dealer, local mechanics or whoever or worse you don't have anyone close you can get it to this is an easy replacement. Believe me I would rather just swing in and have my tires popped on by a shop but with some 50 grand invested into this ride most shops and their mechanics just treat it like its a used 1989 Honda. When I really look at it I probably spend more time and money cleaning up their mess than it costs me to do it myself.:rant:RANT END

Now please I know there are some great mechanics out there and I would love nothing more to have one of them living near me in San Diego but I just don't. There are a couple of guys, and a girl if she is still in town, that are exceptional but they work for a shop not themselves and their under time constraints to be profitable so bad stuff happens when you hurry.

Thanks for the props though it is much appreciated
 
That was real good. I couldn't get my 250 on mine and almost destroyed the bead of the tire so took it to a shop. Will have to try it again now and use a clamp like you did.

Great write up :2thumbs::2thumbs::2thumbs:
Damn Ray, I'm hurt, I thought for sure you would like it enough to make it a sticky or maybe merge it with your excelent write up on front tire replacement and we could just have one nice How To thread on tire replacement.

Love it likes its a cheap hooker
 
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