Protyre's website refused to work so I couldn't book the R1200 in for a new set of tyres. Naturally I only think about doing such things in the middle of the night when no one's manning the phones.

Ebay, on the other hand, operates 24 hours so they got my 180 quid (pair of BT023GT; 180/55/17, 120/70/17) rather than Protyre getting 220 quid.

I've got 'all the kit' to change and balance (static) tyres anyway so don't really have much of an excuse not to do it...

But fucking hell. The exhaust's got to come off to change the rear tyre (and I don't think it had been off in an age) and the tyres probably had been on the rims for about 5 years (guessing from the MOT mileages). The front wasn't that difficult but all the fasteners were corroded so they needed cleaning up.

Top tip: Don't think about using levers on tubeless tyres, always use a tyre bar, much easier.

I think that was the hardest 40 quid I've saved in a while. Spent about three fucking hours changing and balancing. Oh, and cleaning.

Now I don't feel like I'm getting an upper body workout when I need to change direction. A slight, unconscious prod of the bars and it's over on its ear, rather than the hefty old push I was giving it with the nice squared off BT023s that I've just taken off.

On Friday, 6 May 2022 at 19:38:40 UTC+1, Stephen Packer wrote:
<snip>

Bad form etc. etc.

But I meant to say that these things are really good for forcing the tyre bead into the well (to give you room to work):
https://tinyurl.com/34tkx4fn

This is what I meant by a tyre bar:
https://tinyurl.com/8rnvhumh
The end with 'cotton reels' is used to put the tyre on, the plain nylon end is used to take them off.

Used with a sealey motorcycle 'walk around' tyre 'machine':
https://tinyurl.com/y4z3zday

And the static balancer was like this:
https://tinyurl.com/3n2mw7bp

But it didn't work with the BMW back wheel since it's got a massive 'hole' in the middle and I couldn't be
bothered to make something on the lathe to hold it so I used a car 'bullseye balancer' like this:
https://tinyurl.com/39tcnps9

Oh, and lots of lube (tyre soap).

I guess one of the compensations for getting older is that the workshop's better equipped than when I
was 20; 400 or whatever quid's worth of kit to save 40 quid. (but I've owned most of it for over ten years
and it's paid for itself).

On 06/05/2022 19:38, Stephen Packer wrote:
> Protyre's website refused to work so I couldn't book the R1200 in for a new set of tyres. Naturally I only think about doing such things in the middle of the night when no one's manning the phones.
>

After doing the Peg tyres back in 2017, before going to Momgolia, I've
decided to never do a tyre again unless stuck at the side of the road.

Somewhere between 2010 and 2017 I seem to have got older and totally
lost the knack. And sweated a shed load.

--
Bruce Porter
"The internet is a huge and diverse community but mainly friendly"
http://ytc1.blogspot.co.uk/
There *is* an alternative! http://www.openoffice.org/

On Friday, 6 May 2022 at 21:00:51 UTC+1, YTC#1 wrote:
> On 06/05/2022 19:38, Stephen Packer wrote:
> > Protyre's website refused to work so I couldn't book the R1200 in for a new set of tyres. Naturally I only think about doing such things in the middle of the night when no one's manning the phones.
> >
> After doing the Peg tyres back in 2017, before going to Momgolia, I've
> decided to never do a tyre again unless stuck at the side of the road.
>
> Somewhere between 2010 and 2017 I seem to have got older and totally
> lost the knack. And sweated a shed load.

I think the biggest single benefit of having decent kit is that you're working
standing up rather than grubbing around on the floor. Looking back, not
having a decent tyre post (which positions the wheel at waist height give or take)
made the job a lot harder than it needs to be.

It is a sweaty job when you're not used to it though, with experience it gets
easier.

On 06/05/2022 20:57, Stephen Packer wrote:
> On Friday, 6 May 2022 at 19:38:40 UTC+1, Stephen Packer wrote:
> <snip>
>
>
> I guess one of the compensations for getting older is that the workshop's better equipped than when I
> was 20; 400 or whatever quid's worth of kit to save 40 quid. (but I've owned most of it for over ten years
> and it's paid for itself).

I'm getting older, and still have the same shit (bikes included) in the
garage.

--
Bruce Porter
"The internet is a huge and diverse community but mainly friendly"
http://ytc1.blogspot.co.uk/
There *is* an alternative! http://www.openoffice.org/

On Fri, 6 May 2022 11:38:38 -0700 (PDT), Stephen Packer
<stephen.packer@gmail.com> wrote:

>Protyre's website refused to work so I couldn't book the R1200 in for a new set of tyres. Naturally I only think about doing such things in the middle of the night when no one's manning the phones.
>
>Ebay, on the other hand, operates 24 hours so they got my 180 quid (pair of BT023GT; 180/55/17, 120/70/17) rather than Protyre getting 220 quid.
>
>I've got 'all the kit' to change and balance (static) tyres anyway so don't really have much of an excuse not to do it...
>
>But fucking hell. The exhaust's got to come off to change the rear tyre (and I don't think it had been off in an age) and the tyres probably had been on the rims for about 5 years (guessing from the MOT mileages). The front wasn't that difficult but all the fasteners were corroded so they needed cleaning up.
>
>Top tip: Don't think about using levers on tubeless tyres, always use a tyre bar, much easier.
>
>I think that was the hardest 40 quid I've saved in a while. Spent about three fucking hours changing and balancing. Oh, and cleaning.
>
>Now I don't feel like I'm getting an upper body workout when I need to change direction. A slight, unconscious prod of the bars and it's over on its ear, rather than the hefty old push I was giving it with the nice squared off BT023s that I've just taken off.

I've just received some new Anakee 3 for the GS. I'll be fitting them
with levers though :)
I'll let you know how long....
--
Mark Roberts

On Fri, 6 May 2022 12:57:36 -0700 (PDT), Stephen Packer
<stephen.packer@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Friday, 6 May 2022 at 19:38:40 UTC+1, Stephen Packer wrote:
><snip>
>
>Bad form etc. etc.
>
>But I meant to say that these things are really good for forcing the tyre bead into the well (to give you room to work):
>https://tinyurl.com/34tkx4fn

I use my mousse changer for that.

>
>This is what I meant by a tyre bar:
>https://tinyurl.com/8rnvhumh
>The end with 'cotton reels' is used to put the tyre on, the plain nylon end is used to take them off.
>
>Used with a sealey motorcycle 'walk around' tyre 'machine':
>https://tinyurl.com/y4z3zday

Too much money!

>
>And the static balancer was like this:
>https://tinyurl.com/3n2mw7bp
>
>But it didn't work with the BMW back wheel since it's got a massive 'hole' in the middle and I couldn't be
>bothered to make something on the lathe to hold it so I used a car 'bullseye balancer' like this:
>https://tinyurl.com/39tcnps9

I made a special 'cone' spacer for the GS wheel so I can use it on the
static balancer.

>
>Oh, and lots of lube (tyre soap).
>
>I guess one of the compensations for getting older is that the workshop's better equipped than when I
>was 20; 400 or whatever quid's worth of kit to save 40 quid. (but I've owned most of it for over ten years
>and it's paid for itself).
--
Mark Roberts

Stephen Packer <stephen.packer@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Friday, 6 May 2022 at 19:38:40 UTC+1, Stephen Packer wrote:
> <snip>

<more snippage>

> Used with a sealey motorcycle 'walk around' tyre 'machine':
> https://tinyurl.com/y4z3zday

HFM? I bought the Harbor Freight edition of pretty much exactly that
one, which if I remember correctly was all of $75 on sale... admittedly
that was probably close to 20 years ago. For some reason they don't
sell them anymore, at least not with the motorcycle tire changing
attachment.

> And the static balancer was like this:
> https://tinyurl.com/3n2mw7bp

Got one almost identical to that from HF as well, IIRC it was about
40 of our beer tokens.

I had to order a precision ground 1/2" diameter shaft from
McMaster-Carr to replace the original one, as the finest cheapest
Chinesium shaft was bowed enough to make the wheel about 3/4 of an
ounce out of balance. I did the math and was surprised that only a
relatively tiny amount of radial runout would cause a significant
imbalance. The bearings and the rest of it were perfectly fine,
which is par for the course at Harbor Freight, almost nothing you buy
there is 100% ready straight out of the box, but can be remediated
relatively easily.

<snip>

> Oh, and lots of lube (tyre soap).

Ru-Glyde is the stuff I use. Dog's bollocks, etc.

https://www.amazon.com/Ru-Glyde-Mounting-Rubber-Lubricant-Bottle/dp/B000CIJUGK

> I guess one of the compensations for getting older is that the workshop's better equipped than when I
> was 20; 400 or whatever quid's worth of kit to save 40 quid. (but I've owned most of it for over ten years
> and it's paid for itself).

My only regret re: all the tools I've bought is that I didn't buy them
sooner. Especially the tire changer / balancer and the bike lift.
The convenience of being able to have tires delivered to my door
and mounted at my convenience is a huge improvement from dealing
with generally incompetent and eye-wateringly expensive dealership
tire changes. And not having to bend over or lie on the concrete
is non-negotiable at my age.

--
FJR1300A, GL1000, KLR650A6F, EX250J9A, DR200SE, Vespa Ciao

Stephen Packer <stephen.packer@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Friday, 6 May 2022 at 21:00:51 UTC+1, YTC#1 wrote:
>> On 06/05/2022 19:38, Stephen Packer wrote:
>> > Protyre's website refused to work so I couldn't book the R1200 in for a new set of tyres. Naturally I only think about doing such things in the middle of the night when no one's manning the phones.
>> >
>> After doing the Peg tyres back in 2017, before going to Momgolia, I've
>> decided to never do a tyre again unless stuck at the side of the road.
>>
>> Somewhere between 2010 and 2017 I seem to have got older and totally
>> lost the knack. And sweated a shed load.
>
> I think the biggest single benefit of having decent kit is that you're working
> standing up rather than grubbing around on the floor. Looking back, not
> having a decent tyre post (which positions the wheel at waist height give or take)
> made the job a lot harder than it needs to be.
>
> It is a sweaty job when you're not used to it though, with experience it gets
> easier.

Amen. I've also learned- put the tires out in the sun (if it shows up where
you are) or put them in front of a FOAD heater. Warm tires are a fuck sight
easier to mount. With the right tools, and the knowledge to use them, it's
really not a bad job.

--
FJR1300A, GL1000, KLR650A6F, EX250J9A, DR200SE, Vespa Ciao

On Friday, 6 May 2022 at 23:26:27 UTC+1, Mark Roberts wrote:

> I've just received some new Anakee 3 for the GS. I'll be fitting them
> with levers though :)
> I'll let you know how long....

Strangely enough I'm less bothered about levers with rims that aren't painted... !

On Friday, 6 May 2022 at 23:38:19 UTC+1, Mark Olson wrote:
> My only regret re: all the tools I've bought is that I didn't buy them
> sooner. Especially the tire changer / balancer and the bike lift.
> The convenience of being able to have tires delivered to my door
> and mounted at my convenience is a huge improvement from dealing
> with generally incompetent and eye-wateringly expensive dealership
> tire changes. And not having to bend over or lie on the concrete
> is non-negotiable at my age.

Sadly I've got another bike with a fork off sat on the bike lift so I spent
the afternoon scrabbling on the tarmac to get the wheels/exhaust off
and back on the bike.

On Fri, 6 May 2022 17:55:46 -0700 (PDT), Stephen Packer
<stephen.packer@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Friday, 6 May 2022 at 23:26:27 UTC+1, Mark Roberts wrote:
>
>> I've just received some new Anakee 3 for the GS. I'll be fitting them
>> with levers though :)
>> I'll let you know how long....
>
>Strangely enough I'm less bothered about levers with rims that aren't painted... !

Ah; well there is that. I don't use levers on the Street Triple; that
*used* to go to the bike shop for new tyres.
When I rode it enough to wear the tyres out.....
--
Mark Roberts

On 06/05/2022 23:26, Mark Roberts wrote:
> On Fri, 6 May 2022 11:38:38 -0700 (PDT), Stephen Packer
> <stephen.packer@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Protyre's website refused to work so I couldn't book the R1200 in for a new set of tyres. Naturally I only think about doing such things in the middle of the night when no one's manning the phones.
>>
>> Ebay, on the other hand, operates 24 hours so they got my 180 quid (pair of BT023GT; 180/55/17, 120/70/17) rather than Protyre getting 220 quid.
>>
>> I've got 'all the kit' to change and balance (static) tyres anyway so don't really have much of an excuse not to do it...
>>
>> But fucking hell. The exhaust's got to come off to change the rear tyre (and I don't think it had been off in an age) and the tyres probably had been on the rims for about 5 years (guessing from the MOT mileages). The front wasn't that difficult but all the fasteners were corroded so they needed cleaning up.
>>
>> Top tip: Don't think about using levers on tubeless tyres, always use a tyre bar, much easier.
>>
>> I think that was the hardest 40 quid I've saved in a while. Spent about three fucking hours changing and balancing. Oh, and cleaning.
>>
>> Now I don't feel like I'm getting an upper body workout when I need to change direction. A slight, unconscious prod of the bars and it's over on its ear, rather than the hefty old push I was giving it with the nice squared off BT023s that I've just taken off.
>
> I've just received some new Anakee 3 for the GS. I'll be fitting them
> with levers though :)
> I'll let you know how long....

Surely you already know how long the levers are?

--
Bruce Porter
"The internet is a huge and diverse community but mainly friendly"
http://ytc1.blogspot.co.uk/
There *is* an alternative! http://www.openoffice.org/

On Fri, 6 May 2022 12:57:36 -0700 (PDT), Stephen Packer
<stephen.packer@gmail.com> wrote:

>Used with a sealey motorcycle 'walk around' tyre 'machine':
>https://tinyurl.com/y4z3zday

I bought one of those (or similar) second hand.

It sat in the garage getting in the way for 4~5 years, without me once
using it, so I sold it again
--
Champ
neal at champ dot org dot uk

I don't know, but I been told
You never slow down, you never grow old

On Saturday, 7 May 2022 at 12:15:53 UTC+1, Champ wrote:
> On Fri, 6 May 2022 12:57:36 -0700 (PDT), Stephen Packer
> <stephen...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >Used with a sealey motorcycle 'walk around' tyre 'machine':
> >https://tinyurl.com/y4z3zday
> I bought one of those (or similar) second hand.
>
> It sat in the garage getting in the way for 4~5 years, without me once
> using it, so I sold it again

Strange, I'd have thought you'd have often changed tyres. I seem to do it
at least twice a year and rarely ride anywhere.

I'm looking at this and salivating a bit.

https://tinyurl.com/58bdwp6s

I don't need it, but when has need come into anything? If I had it I know I'd
use it... but what if it's rubbish? It *should* be good since the 'duck's bill' is
what most professional tyre machine's use but even so...

Stephen Packer <stephen.packer@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Friday, 6 May 2022 at 23:38:19 UTC+1, Mark Olson wrote:
>> My only regret re: all the tools I've bought is that I didn't buy them
>> sooner. Especially the tire changer / balancer and the bike lift.
>> The convenience of being able to have tires delivered to my door
>> and mounted at my convenience is a huge improvement from dealing
>> with generally incompetent and eye-wateringly expensive dealership
>> tire changes. And not having to bend over or lie on the concrete
>> is non-negotiable at my age.
>
> Sadly I've got another bike with a fork off sat on the bike lift so I spent
> the afternoon scrabbling on the tarmac to get the wheels/exhaust off
> and back on the bike.

My GL1000 (sans carburetors) has been occupying my lift more or less
continuously for going on six years now, but let's not ruin a good
story, eh?

--
FJR1300A, GL1000, KLR650A6F, EX250J9A, DR200SE, Vespa Ciao

On Sat, 7 May 2022 04:45:18 -0700 (PDT), Stephen Packer
<stephen.packer@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Saturday, 7 May 2022 at 12:15:53 UTC+1, Champ wrote:
>> On Fri, 6 May 2022 12:57:36 -0700 (PDT), Stephen Packer
>> <stephen...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> >Used with a sealey motorcycle 'walk around' tyre 'machine':
>> >https://tinyurl.com/y4z3zday
>> I bought one of those (or similar) second hand.
>>
>> It sat in the garage getting in the way for 4~5 years, without me once
>> using it, so I sold it again
>
>Strange, I'd have thought you'd have often changed tyres.

That's what I thought.

Actually, I remember now - it needed to be bolted down. So I bought
some huge bolts for bolting things to concrete floors, but then
realised I'd need an SDS drill to make the holes and .... there the
project stalled :-)

--
Champ
neal at champ dot org dot uk

I don't know, but I been told
You never slow down, you never grow old

Champ wrote:

> Actually, I remember now - it needed to be bolted down. So I bought
> some huge bolts for bolting things to concrete floors, but then
> realised I'd need an SDS drill to make the holes and .... there the
> project stalled :-)

Didn't you go and buy a SDS drill when we were erecting your
garage/bike shed in Reading? Or did sweller/Neil R have a drill and you
just got the drill bit. Or is my memory shot to pieces?

--
Chris

Champ <neal@champ.org.uk> wrote:

> Actually, I remember now - it needed to be bolted down. So I bought
> some huge bolts for bolting things to concrete floors, but then
> realised I'd need an SDS drill to make the holes and .... there the
> project stalled :-)

I don't have an SDS drill and I managed to drill 4 holes to mount
my tire changer in my concrete garage floor without any difficulty,
using a standard 3/8" drill and a masonry bit.

I've seen videos of people using the same changer bolted to a sheet
of plywood, while that wouldn't be my preferred method, it seemed to
work for them.

--
FJR1300A, GL1000, KLR650A6F, EX250J9A, DR200SE, Vespa Ciao

On Sun, 8 May 2022 20:22:40 -0000 (UTC), "CT" <me@christrollen.co.uk>
wrote:

>Champ wrote:
>
>> Actually, I remember now - it needed to be bolted down. So I bought
>> some huge bolts for bolting things to concrete floors, but then
>> realised I'd need an SDS drill to make the holes and .... there the
>> project stalled :-)

>Didn't you go and buy a SDS drill when we were erecting your
>garage/bike shed in Reading? Or did sweller/Neil R have a drill and you
>just got the drill bit. Or is my memory shot to pieces?

Definitely didn't buy an SDS drill, as I know I've only just got a 2nd
hand one.
I might have gone and bought the drill bit. My memory is certainly no
better than yours
--
Champ
neal at champ dot org dot uk

I don't know, but I been told
You never slow down, you never grow old

On Sun, 8 May 2022 20:37:28 -0000 (UTC), Mark Olson
<olsonm@tiny.invalid> wrote:

>Champ <neal@champ.org.uk> wrote:
>
>> Actually, I remember now - it needed to be bolted down. So I bought
>> some huge bolts for bolting things to concrete floors, but then
>> realised I'd need an SDS drill to make the holes and .... there the
>> project stalled :-)

>I don't have an SDS drill and I managed to drill 4 holes to mount
>my tire changer in my concrete garage floor without any difficulty,
>using a standard 3/8" drill and a masonry bit.

My old corded black and decker wouldn't touch the concrete. I had a
decent masonry drill bit, too.

>I've seen videos of people using the same changer bolted to a sheet
>of plywood, while that wouldn't be my preferred method, it seemed to
>work for them.

Now you say!
--
Champ
neal at champ dot org dot uk

I don't know, but I been told
You never slow down, you never grow old

On Monday, 9 May 2022 at 10:26:01 UTC+1, Champ wrote:
<snip>

> I might have gone and bought the drill bit. My memory is certainly no
> better than yours

I'm absolutely staggered you can get to your time in life and not have an
SDS drill.

On Saturday, 7 May 2022 at 12:45:19 UTC+1, Stephen Packer wrote:
> I'm looking at this and salivating a bit.
>
> https://tinyurl.com/58bdwp6s
>
> I don't need it, but when has need come into anything? If I had it I know I'd
> use it... but what if it's rubbish? It *should* be good since the 'duck's bill' is
> what most professional tyre machines use but even so...

It was only a matter of time.

I can see some needless tyre dismounting and remounting coming up
towards the end of this week.

I guess the justification will be 'it makes it easier to clean the wheel'.

Stephen Packer wrote:
> I meant to say that these things are really good for forcing the tyre bead into the well (to give you room to work):
> https://tinyurl.com/34tkx4fn

I use my bead breaker (threaded type) to do the same thing, as an alternative to having four arms. At least, I do when I remember the trick. Which, given how rarely I change tyres nowadays, is after about 40 minutes of grunting, swearing, and wondering why the job is so much harder than the last time.

On Mon, 9 May 2022 03:21:00 -0700 (PDT), Stephen Packer
<stephen.packer@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Monday, 9 May 2022 at 10:26:01 UTC+1, Champ wrote:
><snip>
>
>> I might have gone and bought the drill bit. My memory is certainly no
>> better than yours

>I'm absolutely staggered you can get to your time in life and not have an
>SDS drill.

Yeah, I though someone might make this point.

Up until very recently (2020, really), I've just not done DIY. Maybe
putting up a couple of shelves, replacing a light switch, assembling
some flat pack furniture has been the extent of it. I worked on
bikes, I didn't work on houses. So I didn't need an SDS drill.

Of course, now I'm restoring an Edwardian house, so there's all sorts
of new shit in my life :-)
--
Champ
neal at champ dot org dot uk

I don't know, but I been told
You never slow down, you never grow old