Hi,

I have never changed a motorbike wheel (nor a car for that matter!) before.
I have attempted to break the bead using a vice and I am not sure if the bead has broken.. (How can I tell?) I have also removed the valve stem. I have a motorbike tyre lever, but it is not doing any good at the moment.. When I place it behind the rim wall and tyres It simply wont 'grab' and the tyre feels like it is not going to come silently :).

The wheel does squish quite a bit when pressure is applied to the lever, but I really have no clue what to do here, or what is going wrong.. Any ideas? Cheers. (I hope I explained the situation reasonably :p).

P.S - Bike is a GSXR 400 GK73A

It's a hard job without a bead breaker, the vice and alot of levering should do it though. Is the tyre still touching the wheel rim? If it is you haven't broken the bead yet

The tyre is touching the wheel rim while I am not touching it. When I apply the tyre iron I can visually see the tyre move about 5mm away fromt the rim's lip. It is not possible to move the tyre away from the rim with simply using my hand though.

Take it to a tyre shop & pay them to do it.

Not worth the sweat, faff & trapped fingers for the sake of a few quid to have somebody professionally change your tyre over with a new valve & balancing...

I'm restoring the bike, and doing everything myself, It's not needed asap and is just a project for fun and learning :) hence doing the wheel myself. Just doesn't want to play ball at the moment :D



P.S - Could the issue be the tyre is too cold?

If the tyre is knackered just slice it off with a knife and snip the bead with pliers. If it's a good tyre take it to a bike shop as you will probably damage the rim and end up repairing that also, just not worth the hassle!

Kris

ibby4585 wrote:If the tyre is knackered just slice it off with a knife and snip the bead with pliers. If it's a good tyre take it to a bike shop as you will probably damage the rim and end up repairing that also, just not worth the hassle!

Kris

Update:

I decided to buy a bead breaker and a wheel balancer and a lot of weights and paste.. I have changed the tyre already and I must say, with the right tools it's a doddle! I really should have bought a bead breaker to begin with :D.

Thanks for all the info.