Easy Tire Installation

Does it seem like I'm always working on the rig to keep it on the road? Sometimes it does. Today marks the official end of Winter as I removed the studded Heidenau K60 tires on both the pusher and the front. Changing tires especially putting on tires has been a real challenge for me. While I was visiting Dom in Denver, he mentioned an introductory sale price on the Baja Tools No Pinch tire tool so I jumped on line and ordered one immediately. I had seen a video of a similar product made somewhere in Europe and this one was half the price and no international shipping!

I did end up going back to the site and ordering the 17mm axle shaft since that was the size I needed for my bike instead of the included 20mm shaft. After getting the tire bead started, you simply place the end of the geared shaft against the bead and pull on the geared handle to push the bead onto the wheel. The tool is anchored with a shaft the same size as the axle going into the wheel. Getting the bead seated, even with the stiff sidewall of the K60 was a snap. As in about a minute with very little physical effort. It took me longer to do just about every other task than installing the tire. What a difference! An incredible tool for anyone who changes their own tires. Absolutely no risk of pinching the tube with the tire irons.

Since I had both wheels off, I thought that it may be a good idea to grease the wheel bearings. George Rahn, the BMW guru of Fairbanks, said that the non-sealed tapered roller bearings on my bike will probably last forever as long as they are regularly greased. He had this nifty tool that you simply insert into the wheel and pump grease into the zerk fitting on the end. Grease comes out of a hole in the middle of the shaft and is forced into the bearings at each end. He said to just keep pumping in grease until it starts to come out at either end. It works pretty slick and I may need to pick one up. He suggested greasing the bearings every time the tires are changed.

I reused my old Heidenau K60 that I took off last Fall on the front as there is still plenty of tread left even though it has something like 12K miles. For the rear, I'm trying out a sidecar specific tire. The Heidenau K28 has a square profile for more rubber on the road and a stiff sidewall to handle the lateral loads and is available in the correct inch size for my bike, 4.00x18. It went on very easily with the new tool and it took much longer to loosen the bead on the old tire than putting the new one on. Both wheels took less than an oz of weight to balance.

Of course, I had to try out the new tires and was amazed how much quieter the ride was. The studs do make quite a bit of noise. One more task done and the studded tires still have plenty of life left and will be re-installed next October. My winter commuting only totaled a couple of thousand miles.