So I've been on vacation last couple weeks, went to a friend's wedding in Oregon and had to leave everything behind in dear old Georgia. It was fun while it lasted but it's time to get back into gear, back into work and going back to school. That said, I've missed quite a bit of motorcycle classes.
Tonight our instructor showed us how to use the tire changer/tire machine, or whatever the correct term is. The same ones most major commercial shops use anyway. Previously I've only known how to take a tire off a rim using the youtube method. I call it the youtube method because that's how me and a few of my friend's learned how to take our tires off the less costly way using a two by four and some good ole muscle leverage against a ledge. Also known as the not-so-efficient method, but definitely cost effective if done without damaging the rim itself.
Any who, we started with a wheel and tire from a dirtbike, a Honda CRF 250 to be exact. Before we started, our instructor told us we would find out why changing out tubes and tires from dirtbike wheels is a pain in the ass, and therefore we would soon find out ourselves.
It was a bit of a process taking the tire off the rim as it also contains the tube, a bead lock, and the center tire band. But it was even more difficult trying to put it back together, especially tricky trying to line up the bead lock, the band and the tube all at once. After our instructor showed us, we all took turns taking the tire off and on individually.
It was a good learning experience all in all because I plan on buying a new tire set for my bike within the next couple weeks, and I wasn't really looking forward to using the 2x4 method again.
