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New Pirelli's and Tire Changer, Open for business!

Gigantor

Gigantor

Member
Member
I received my Pirelli Angel ST's today from CompAcc.  They were only $267 delivered to my door, ordered on Tuesday and arrived on Friday.  I also picked up a tire changer from ebay, like the one they once sold at Harbor Freight.  Mounted the tire changer to a hitch bar and now I have a mobile tire changing station.  Also picked up a wheel balancer from HF for $25.  I figure I'm changing tires at least once a year, if I use the setup 2 times it's paid for itself.

If anyone in the NYC area needs tires changed PM me and we could swap tires over lunch (you're buying).  :)
 
Marc, thanks for the link.  I'm ordering the bar, it's a lot better than the one that came with the changer.  I'll use that one to change car tires but the Mojo one I'll use on the motorcycle wheels.
 
Yep it's much better IMHO :)

As for balancing, I've used the Harbor freight one, but I like the Mark Parnes balancer better...  Just a more precision unit which gets me a closer balance IMHO
 
I am getting a mojolever, for sure.

Ordered a really nice dual roller balancer, it doesn't have a stand but I will make my own (rather, design it and let Ian machine the parts and assemble and powdercoat for me).

The picture of the tire changer at the rally shows mojoblocks already installed, I'm hoping it is delivered that way. Heh.

Pretty soon I will be open for business in western Maryland. US 81 x US 70 essentially.
 
JR hopefully it does have the Mojo Blocks.  The changer I bought can't mount the block to them.  They do have nice rubber tips so it doesn't scratch my rims.
 
odd, the last 2 times I changed my tires (did front & rear) 2003 C10, I was using a similar tire changer which works the same way as the Pirelli (borrowed from a friend) & I had to FIGHT to get them off & on, the front isn't as bad, smaller tire. Used plenty of lube & had the extra long bar with special ends to get the tire off & back on (rim protectors saved my rims). One time the rear tire wouldn't seat so it wouldn't inflate. Had to put a nylon strap around the outside of the tire & tighten it up as much as I could, then it seated. You never know what will happen when changing a tire, sometimes it goes smooth as butter, sometimes not, a friend over inflated one once & it popped like a balloon but it was LOUD!! Scared the bejezes out of him & me, he was standing right over it so he really got the full affect. Anyone seen the post about changing tires without tools...http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=299597, kinda interesting, haven't tried it myself.
 
I saw a demonstration of the Cheetah inflater and it was amazing!

You charge the handheld canister to like 50 psi, hook compressor up to tire valve running at about 40 psi, slip the beak of the Cheetah between the wheel and the tire. Pull the lever.... THUMP... Tire is seated and inflated to 40 psi.

I am getting one.  :great:
 
I've got the makings of a nice balancer on the way. I will have to go to the machine shop and fabricate a stand for it, to get it up at about waist height. Might as well put levelers in the base, and a spirit bubble to level it with.
 
When I had the tires on my Expedition changed they couldn't get the tire to inflate and get the beads in place.  They used a device which I guess is a Cheeta, not sure.  It had a rectangular opening and they put it between the tire and rim and then boom and a lot of fog like it was liquid nitrogen.  They did it a couple of times and it did the trick.

JR nice wheel balancer you're building, I think you could have gotten it done with two jack stands, but I guess you have extra time on your hands.
 
- from practical experience , am pretty sceptical at youtube demos of tyre changing. Learned from hard experience (racing go kart tyres) that youtube is one thing , actual doing it is something else ... haha

.
 
Gigantor said:
When I had the tires on my Expedition changed they couldn't get the tire to inflate and get the beads in place.  They used a device which I guess is a Cheeta, not sure.  It had a rectangular opening and they put it between the tire and rim and then boom and a lot of fog like it was liquid nitrogen.  They did it a couple of times and it did the trick.

JR nice wheel balancer you're building, I think you could have gotten it done with two jack stands, but I guess you have extra time on your hands.
Click to expand...

Yes, sir, I bet they used a Cheetah or one of its clones. Super trick, and works quickly. Hook compressor up to tire valve with constant flow. Slip the beak in between the tire and wheel, and pull the trigger. THUMP.  fog..... seated. Air it up.

No messing around, no tire bead goop, just THUMP. Heh.

I don't have a bunch of time on my hands, per se. It doesn't take a lot of time in a machine shop to do it, is all. My friend will do the welding, and the truing, because he is a practicing master machinist still and I am not, so I'd probably mess it up. Of course, I pay him for his time, he has earned that right.

And anyone who knows me, besides seeing the OCD part, knows I over-engineer just about everything.  :-[
 
dog said:
- from practical experience , am pretty sceptical at youtube demos of tyre changing. Learned from hard experience (racing go kart tyres) that youtube is one thing , actual doing it is something else ... haha

.
Click to expand...

Dog I can assure you that it isn't hard to change tires.  I bolted onto the base of my changer a hitch for a vise I bought at Harbor Freight and I could wait to try it out so I removed a tire from a wheel that was laying around.  I didn't mount it on the hitch, that would be too easy,  I removed the tire on the machine in my shed while it wobbled all about.  Basically I had one hand to remove the tire and one hand to steady the changer.  The tire came off in seconds with little effort, it should even be easier when I mount it on my truck and have my MoJo bar.

Maybe I'll post a youtube video. :great:
 
Gigantor said:
dog said:
- from practical experience , am pretty sceptical at youtube demos of tyre changing. Learned from hard experience (racing go kart tyres) that youtube is one thing , actual doing it is something else ... haha

.
Click to expand...

Dog I can assure you that it isn't hard to change tires.  I bolted onto the base of my changer a hitch for a vise I bought at Harbor Freight and I could wait to try it out so I removed a tire from a wheel that was laying around.  I didn't mount it on the hitch, that would be too easy,  I removed the tire on the machine in my shed while it wobbled all about.  Basically I had one hand to remove the tire and one hand to steady the changer.  The tire came off in seconds with little effort, it should even be easier when I mount it on my truck and have my MoJo bar.

Maybe I'll post a youtube video. :great:
Click to expand...

I noticed once I got the one I won together, the base is indeed inadequate for the job. No problem, I know exactly who to bug about it, and I'll get an oil drum lid size base on it soon.
 
What's nice about the one  I got on Ebay is that there is no support arm for the rod that goes down the center of the tire.  So if the tire walks a little you can keep going without the support arm being in the way.  The base is fine if you bolt it into the ground but I wanted it to be mobile and I don't have enough room to keep it stationary.
 
Gigantor said:
What's nice about the one  I got on Ebay is that there is no support arm for the rod that goes down the center of the tire.  So if the tire walks a little you can keep going without the support arm being in the way.  The base is fine if you bolt it into the ground but I wanted it to be mobile and I don't have enough room to keep it stationary.
Click to expand...


A lot of us just removed them off the HF tire changer of past. They were not needed.
 
Cap'n Bob said:
Gigantor said:
What's nice about the one  I got on Ebay is that there is no support arm for the rod that goes down the center of the tire.  So if the tire walks a little you can keep going without the support arm being in the way.  The base is fine if you bolt it into the ground but I wanted it to be mobile and I don't have enough room to keep it stationary.
Click to expand...


A lot of us just removed them off the HF tire changer of past. They were not needed.
Click to expand...

Yes, I never bothered to install it to begin with.

I am however, going to take an aluminum rod the diameter of the opening (nothing is ever easy, will probably have to turn one down) and then drill a hole in it the size of the larger diameter rod. Sort of a bushing, to make it solid.
 
I also just bought new tires and a tire changer. I got the NoMar Jr Pro model with the hitch mount. I'm in the southern IL area if anyone needs a tire mounted.
 
I was looking at the base of the HF tire changer (the bottom to which the motorcycle tire changer attaches) and wondering how to put a more sturdy base on it.

I thought about bolting it to the floor, and decided not a good idea. I thought about bolting it to a sheet of plywood, but that alone would make it hard to move.

So with a little help from Google, I found a frame expandable from 12" x 12" to 34" x 34" with low profile casters on the corners, and step-on foot locks, go down and contact the floor to immobilize it. It is meant to move bandsaws and tablesaws and such.

Perfect. I'll just get a really heavy, strong piece of 34" x 34" hardwood, bolt the changer to the wood, and set it all in the frame. Moveable, lockable, heavy enough to make the changer stable when working with it.

Over-engineered? Maybe, maybe not.  :truce:
 
Nice, my machinist friend says he can fabricate a really sturdy stand for my tire balancer and put leveling feet on it for not much money. Which is good. And he can make the bushing I want to steady the rod in the base of the motorcycle changer part.

So no need for the overhead piece.

Moving along... got the mobilizer frame/castors/locking feet thing today, its very heavy, which is good. This weekend after I drop the parts for the balancer and the motorcycle changer portion off at the machinists house, I'll go to Lowes and get a thick square of hardwood to use for the base.

Will be all ready to use long before I need to use it.
 
Timbo said:
I also just bought new tires and a tire changer. I got the NoMar Jr Pro model with the hitch mount. I'm in the southern IL area if anyone needs a tire mounted.
Click to expand...
That's exactly the same setup I got.  I like the hitch mount so I don't have to worry about getting it mounted permanently on concrete floor, or one of those platforms I see some folks use.  I did learn to put a beefy floor jackstand under the changer to help support it.

First couple of tire changes was a challenge, but I'm starting to get the hang of it.  Front tires are easy, larger rear tires are a bit more work.

I just use my shop air compressor to seat the tire beads.  HF balancer get accurate enough for me.  I've had the C14 up to triple digit speeds with no dynamic balance issues.
 
I dropped the beam balancer off with my machinist friend, he will make a stand for it, with floor jack bolts so I can level it. Should work great.

Also dropped the entire changer off with him. In the base unit, there are threads that accept the car spindle. When you take that off and slip the motorcycle adapter on, there is nothing solid to hold the rod that you use for leverage.

I don't want to put the L upper support on, it gets in the way.

So I'm having my friend make me a plug, which screws into the threads in the base, and comes level with the top of the motorcycle adapter cylinder that slides over the base. It will have a hole bored in it for the rod, with a set screw, so the rod will be solid which suits my need to over-engineer everything.  :great:
 
Ocean said:
Are there any issues involving the TPS when changing the tires?...special precautions?
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Yes, don't hit it. The pressure sensor is directly under the air valve. It is fairly well placed semi-flush inside the rim. But take caution using a bar/iron around it. I would try to avoid using the bar in the area if possible, just to be safe.
 
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