And by change your own tires I mean dismount the old tire and mount a new one on the rim and not fixing a flat. I've been changing my own motorcycle tires for years. You think cagers pay too much for tire mounting/balancing! I ride a heavy sport-tourer and changing those tires are no walk in the park. I've got a Mojolever, a Harbor Freight motorcycle tire changing attachment that mounts to a HF tire changing tool but no HF portable tire changer, yet...

Is it even possible to change a tire ourselves with a HB portable tire changer? If I'm going to use a set of Centamatic's I won't need a balancing. Waiting at the tire shop for a dismount/mount and dropping about $60 wouldn't be missed.

 

I've done quite a few myself. Go to your local tractor supply company and get yourself some tire spoons. They are back in the back of the store near the tires and semi equipment. Get yourself some soapy water and take your time.

 

I can't imagine changing a heavy duty LT tire with just tire spoons. Even using a tire machine will give you a workout. And I wouldn't attempt it with alloy wheels.

MikeyB

 

change mine all the time. Tire machine and balancer at work. Change a lot of implement tire too.

 

It is a major workout. I wouldn't attempt it if funds hadn't limited me to doing that at the time.

 

I do my own,these 16" tires almost fall on by thereselves

 

Watch how they change a tire on an 18-wheeler when they have a blowout on the highway. A pair of spoons, soapy water, and a tank full of air to give them a puff to seat the tire on the rim.

 

I worked at a tire shop where we did both passenger, semi and tractor tires. You could dismount and mount a set of drives (8) on a semi faster than a a set of 4 on a passenger vehicle with the tire machine. That was using a set of spoons or a big fork-like contraption.

 

When I was a kid on the farm I drove a tractor over the tire to break the bead then do the rest with tire irons. It was about 35 yrs before I got lazy and had them mounted by a tire shop. Craig

 

They always use spoons on the big tires AFAIK. They change them out on the road without even taking the rim off the rig if it is an outside tire. I do my own with spoons most of the time. Usually the hardest part is breaking the bead. I use my high lift under the winch bumper on the PW and it has never failed me yet.

 

That fork like contraption, I've heard called the "golden bar", If the bead is broke I don't think its 30 seconds and the tire is off.
Used to change every tire on the place ourselves, but that has become one of the maintenance things I like to farm out now.

 

I've done more than a few, once you break the bead, they fall right off with the spoons. They are much easier the rear motorcycle tires that hug the rim so tight.

 

I watched a guy change loader tires on a 624 John Deere, amazingly fast.It took him about a half hour a tire, and you can't pick them up if it's on its side. Pretty much did it with hand tools. If he could do it alone I could bear 4 16" ers. Earned his money that day.

 

You have not changed a tire till you've changed a motorcycle ice tire. It has 2 streetbike tires INSIDE the dirt bike tire and then 550, 2.5 inch ice screws that hold it all together. There are grown men who have cried trying to put these tires on. The first one, took 4 guys, 6 hours to put on. I can now do a set myself in about 45 minutes.

 

We've used the high lift jack and tire spoons for as long as I can remember. I used to put tires on in a shop too, but I can change them with spoons and a jack to break the bead pretty quick.