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Tires are a major expense for motorcycle owners, particularly owners of high performance machinery. One way to reduce the high cost of tire replacement is to do the work yourself. It’s also usually the only way to deal with a flat tire on a Sunday when you really need the bike to go to work on Monday. Read along to learn if you would enjoy mastering the technique. If not, you’ll at least appreciate why the shops charge what they do.

Unless your machine has a centerstand, you will need some way to support the motorcycle with one or both tires removed. On my FZR I use a swingarm stand and a Kwic-Lift front-end stand. Purpose-built stands are the safest way to lift your bike if you do not have a centerstand, and make many kinds of maintenance easier to manage, but in a pinch, a little creativity and a floor jack will work. Just remember that if you topple your plastic-wrapped wonder, the repair bill will cost more than the two sets of proper stands.

You will also need a method of "breaking" the tire beads. All tires use stiff bundles of wire inside their beads to lock the tire into the rim. Tubeless tire beads are naturally very tight, and if you haven’t changed one before you’ll find that no amount of foot stomping, or levering with your tire irons, will do the job of breaking their grip on the rim. Although there are special tools on the market, I find that a large vise works just fine as a bead breaker.

Once the bead is broken, to remove the tire from the rim you’ll need preferably three tire irons and three hard plastic rim protectors to prevent scratching the rim. If you’re looking to purchase tire irons, the extra-long heavily curved irons provide much more leverage than simple straight types. To inflate the tire, you will need access to an air compressor. A valve stem core wrench, a squirt bottle of soapy water and a tire pressure gauge will complete your changing tools.

To precisely balance the wheel, I use a static balancer and stick-on weights from Spec II (adhesive weights are usually available from any automotive shop). You will also need denatured alcohol and mineral spirits to prepare the rim for the stick-on weights and colored duct tape to cover them (required by race sanctioning bodies).

The first step is to remove the wheels, and pull the rear sprocket from the cush-drive. On dirt bikes or others without cush-drives, plan on keeping the sprocket side down when working the tire off the rim or you’re sure to notch your knuckles on the teeth. Using the valve stem wrench, remove the valve stem core to allow all the air to escape and provide a vent while working with the tire. Be careful not to lose the valve or contaminate it with dirt.

The next step, breaking the bead, simply means pushing the tire bead over the step on the inside of the rim so that it can be pushed into the smaller diameter "drop center" of the rim. The drop center is what allows the needed slack to remove the tire. When using a vise to accomplish this task, very little force is required. However, some of these brands are tighter than others. If the vise doesn’t loosen the bead, STOP and determine what is going wrong. Cover the jaws of the vise with an old towel to prevent scratching the rim. Place the wheel into the vise so that the jaws of the vise are just below the sides of the rim and the tire (too low and the bead will not pop off). Slowly tighten the vise while watching the tire. The tire will usually pop from the rim on just one side. When this occurs, simply use your palm to push the rest of that side off the rim.

In the next step, care must be taken not to damage the rim in the vise. Place the side of the rim from which the bead has been broken toward the back of the padded vise so that the vise is pressing against the rim. In front, place the wheel so the front jaw is pushing on the tire just below the rim. Don’t catch both side of the rim in the vise and tighten, or you will destroy you rim.

Again, the tire bead will be pushed off the bead of the rim. When this occurs, use your palm to press the rest of the tire from the rim bead. Now you are ready to remove the tire from the rim.

It can be very useful to have a sturdy trashcan or 25-gal. oil drum that can support the wheels just inside the rim area, as a work stand. Towels or a rubber hose, slit and wrapped over the edge, will provide protection for your rims. In any case, be careful to support your wheels so that no undue pressure is applied to brake discs. The latest thin, large diameter discs are particularly easy to bend, and these often get bent during tire changes, even at motorcycle shops. A pulsating brake action will be the result.

Alternately, lay the wheel on the garage floor using a pad or blanket to protect it from the concrete. Lubricate the beads and rim edges with your soap solution. Auto parts stores sell special mounting soaps if you want to be a perfectionist, but diluted dishwashing liquid also works fine. Place the rim protectors on the lip of the rim a couple of inches apart and insert the tire irons at about 10, 12, and 2 o’clock.

Pulling one tire iron at a time, carefully pry the tire over the lip of the rim. After a third of the tire has been pulled over the lip of the rim, the rest can be done by hand.

If you are fairly strong and the tire is soft enough, the other side of the bead can sometimes be removed without tools. (Remember, the more you use the tools, the greater the risk of damaging the finish of your wheel.) The proper method is to grasp one of the spokes in a mag wheel and pull the tire over the lip of the rim and down. I can get most tires off in this manner. If not, I use a tire iron to pry the tire over the lip then pull off and down.

It is important to keep both sides of the tire bead in the drop center of the rim during all removal and installation attempts. If the tire becomes impossible to remove or install without using great force, it is most likely because part of the tire is caught on the bead of the rim. Use to much muscle and you can kink or break the wires inside the tire bead—rendering the new tire worthless. And don’t expect your excuses to get a new tire back at the shop where you bought it.

After the tire has been removed, take advantage of your access to the rim to clean and wax it. Mineral spirits will remove the goo left from the old wheel weights without damage to the finish. Pay attention to the rims’ bead seating areas. Clean any old rubber or slop from tire "balancing" fluids. The rims’ bead areas must be clean for the tire to seat and run properly.

The first step to install the tire is to determine its direction of rotation, usually marked as an arrow on the side of the tire, and ensure that it goes on the rim the correct way. Tires that can be mounted on either front or rear wheels are mounted in the opposite direction of rear rotation when fitted to a front wheel, so pay attention to the lettering under the arrows. Prior to dismounting, I actually draw little arrows on the rim with a felt tip pen showing the direction of rotation. This may seem silly, but I have never mounted a tire backwards.

Most tire manufacturers have small dots or circles on the side of the tire. These indicate the lightest spot on the tire and should be aligned with the stem to reduce the amount of lead needed for balance.

Soap up the lip of the rim and the bead area of the tire. Place the rim on your blanket or pad and feed the bottom of the tire over the lip of the rim and work into the drop center section. Work your hands up the tire pressing the tire on the rim. After about half of the tire is on the rim it will become difficult to continue. A firm downward thrust at this point will usually pop the first side of the tire over the rim.

Now comes the most difficult part and typically requires both hands and at least one knee. Place the rim protectors at 10, 12, and 2 o’clock. Begin pushing the tire on with your hands at 6 o’clock. Work your hands in opposite directions until you get as far as possible without using tools. With the tire irons, take small bites working the tire on the rim. This step takes a bit of practice and patience. I pry a bit of the tire on and hold that iron with my knee. While holding the last iron with my knee I remove the unloaded iron and place it about 2"-3" inside the tire iron being held with my knee. Repeat the process until the tire is completely on. Be careful not to push a rim protector into the tire or you will need to start all over again.

Getting the new tire to seat on the rim bead is the next step. First, replace the valve stem core and soap up the area between the tire and the rim. Safety glasses are a good idea because when the tire bead seats, soapy water will be expelled at high speed.

Caution: Do not, under any circumstances, get your finger between the rim and the bead while inflating. The tire may pop at any time.

Find the maximum safe pressure on the side of the tire—usually not over 40 psi. Do not exceed this pressure to seat an uncooperative tire. If the tire proves difficult, use more soapy water, profanity, and/or bouncing. Do not over-inflate! Most of the time the tire will simply pop on the bead and you’re done. If the tire does not seat, try more lubricant, deflating and inflating, and bouncing.

Sometimes the bead edges of the tire will not adequately seal against the rim, making inflation almost impossible. If this seems to be the case, remove the valve core and try again. Sometimes the additional air volume the empty stem allows will be enough to make the difference.

When shops encounter this problem, they will usually have bead expanders (inflatable straps that compress the outer tread center to expand the beads) or tire beaders, (rubber donuts that seal the gap between one loose bead and the rim) to get them out of the jam. One of the most difficult tires that I ever had to install was an Avon Azaro AV36. The beads of the tire were so close together when relaxed that it would not seal against both rim beads and allow the air pressure to force it onto the rim. I wrapped a tie-down strap around it as tight as I could, as a makeshift bead expander. I finally got the tire to seat. When tire are stored in warehouses, the weight of the stacks can sometimes crush the beads together like this. If you are worried that you might get such a tire, propping the beads apart with blocks of wood for awhile can stretch it back out again in preparation for mounting.

It is also very important that the tire be fully and correctly seated on the rim bead. Some technicians will go so far as to carefully cut away any irregular rubber flashing from the mold parting line of the tire bead. A properly seated tire will usually be obvious because manufacturers typically cast a thin raised band of rubber into the tire that shows just above the rim edge. This band should be perfectly evenly spaced all around the tire. Do not attempt to ride on a partially seated tire, it could suddenly deflate and you could crash.

After the tire is fully beaded it is time to adjust the pressure and remove the stickers. Most stickers come off easily, however, Michelin stickers, for some reason, are almost impossible to remove. Do the best you can then remount the wheels and use slow and gradual braking to remove the adhesive and the slippery mold release that coats every new tire. Some people feel that a new tire should be cleaned with contact cleaner. I don’t think this is a good idea, nor do I know of any tire manufacturer that will authorize this procedure. I feel it is better just to take it easy the first few miles or laps. It’s your tires, your choice and your hide.

Remember that any new tire will grow slightly in size the first couple of hundred miles, so double check tire/frame clearance if it was tight, and expect to need to add some air before you’ve gone very far.

Tube tires present a special challenge. Although these tires don’t require a vise to break the beads, their beads are often narrow, so there can be less tire to flex to work over the lip of the rim. An inner tube is easy to pinch between the rim, the tire iron and/or tire. To help prevent pinching, fill the tube with a small amount of air, just enough to give it a round shape, and work the bead over the area near the valve stem last to prevent the valve from interfering with getting the beads into the drop center of the rim.

If you have pinched the tube, it will make a hissing sound when you try to fill the tire. Air trapped between the tube and tire will leak a little around the bead for a short time after the tire seats.

Tip: Rim straps, the wide rubber bands that cover the spoke-nipples, can be replaced by a long strip of duct tape torn to the correct width. This will not only make your job easier, but in the case of a puncture, can actually slow the air leakage enough to allow you to stop upright.

Balancing can be done by hanging the wheel loosely in the bike, minus the drive chain, brake calipers or whatever would create friction, simply spinning the tire to see if it tends to stop in the same position, and counterweighing for balance. A static balancer is even better. It is simply a stand with your axle resting on low friction bearings. The principal of operation is the same—that gravity will pull the heavy point of the tire to the bottom. The only potential for error is if the unbalance force is less than the running friction of the bearings. These things are what the factory tire guys use to mount tires at racetracks.

Spin the tire. After the tire stops spinning, the heavy spot should be at the bottom. Mark it with chalk. Repeat the experiment until you’re satisfied you found the heavy spot. This may take dozens of tries—but your patience will be rewarded with accuracy. Grasp the top of the tire and rotate it 90 degrees. Release the wheel. The wheel should rotate so that the heavy spot falls.

If the wheel does not turn, the wheel is very close to balanced. Very gently push the wheel in the direction that would place the "heavy" spot on the bottom so that it barely moves. If the wheel stops before the "heavy" spot gets to the 6 o’clock position the wheel is balanced.

Most of the time the wheel will need some amount of weight to balance. First, clean the rim in the "light" spot with denatured alcohol, so the adhesive on the weight(s) will stick. Add weights one at a time until the light spot no longer rises. You can add a fraction of a weight by cutting it. The finishing touch is to place a small piece of duct tape too doubly secure the weight to the rim. Colored-matched tape for this purpose is available from any shop that stocks road race supplies.

Changing a tire is a task that any competent shade-tree mechanic can perform. Just leave yourself plenty of time on your first attempt. You’ll work up a sweat, but you’ll be rewarded with the money you saved and a fine sense of accomplishment.