HOW TO CHANGE AND BALANCE YOUR TIRES USING THE TiRx TIRE CHANGER

This job is easy, but you can make it difficult by not following the instructions or by using the tire changer on wheels and tires for which it is not recommended

Step 1. Tire Changer Setup.

Axle. Remove the two inch long by 3/16ths inch diameter ring pin from the axle hinge. Lower the axle to the horizontal position and reinsert the ring pin in the hinge.

Compression roller arm. Mount the compression arm on the upper right base arm. Use the small knob to secure it into position. Now install the black rollers into the compression arm using ¼ inch ring pins. ORIENTATION. The wide end of the rollers is nearest to the hub of the wheel when breaking the bead, but the narrow end of the wheel is nearest when demounting the old tire and mounting the new tire.

Caution #1. Do not compress the roller arm beyond the operating limit. Stop tightening before the outer arm section touches the inner roller axle socket. Also avoid fully retracting the roller arm as this may damage the internal mechanism.

Caution #2. Observe the roller axles while breaking the tire bead to ensure that the axle DOES NOT come in contact with the wheel rim.

Step 2. Wheel Removal. Consult technical information sources such as your owner’s manual or other authoritative guide for instructions on removing and replacing wheels on your motorcycle. Raise your motorcycle from the ground using both rear stand and front stand that are capable of securely preventing your bike from tipping over. Remove the wheel or wheels from your bike.

Determine the axle diameter for the wheel of the tire being changed. The pseudo axle is ¾ inch diameter and requires no spacers for ¾ inch or 20mm wheel bearings. The tire changer comes with collets/shouldered bushings to fit standard wheel bearing sizes. Insert the correct shouldered bushings into each side of the wheel hub as needed.

Step 3 Tire removal and installation.

Tire Bead Break. 1. Release All Air. Remove the air valve core from the valve stem of your wheel. It is not OK to simply bleed the air out by pushing on the valve core. 2. Position the rollers on their axles so that the wider diameter end of the rollers will face the wheel hub. Adjust the height of the roller arm using the screw knob so that the rollers just touch the wheel rim. Use your cordless drill/driver with a 9/16 inch socket to tighten the rollers against your tire sidewalls. Tighten the rollers until the sidewall separates slightly from the wheel rim, and spray liquid bead lubricant or a 20/80 mix of liquid dish detergent along the crevices between the tire and the rim. Tighten further and rotate the wheel until the bead is pulled out of the bead seat. In cases where just one of the two beads is released you can adjust the height of the roller arm so that the groove of one roller fits against the wheel rim on the side of the released bead, and slide the other roller up on its axle so that it touches the top of the rim. Now compress the rollers again and rotate the wheel. Complete three rotations of the wheel with rollers fully compressed. This will make it easier to slide the tire beads into the drop center of the wheel.

Tire demount. Install the demount arm on the pseudo axle by sliding the keyed bushing onto the pseudo axle with the ½ inch threaded stub facing away from the wheel. Attach the duckhead slotted arm to the slide plate using the large threaded knob. The red “duck-head” at the end of the demount arm should be must be positioned so that it can slide on the rim of your wheel between the wheel and the tire. The length of the demount arm can be adjusted to the right length for the diameter of your wheel.

Ensure that the valve stem is not at the top of the wheel. Slide a sidewall spring clip over the tire at the top the wheel while squeezing the sidewalls into the drop center by hand. Slide the duckhead onto the rim of the wheel and tighten the large black knob that connects the two halves of the demount arm. The duckhead should be seated over the rim, but not tightly.

Caution #3. When using the bead tooth do not apply as much leveraging force as you would with a metal tire iron, since the bead tooth is made from unreinforced plastic material.

Now insert your tire iron between the red duckhead and the bead of the tire and insert the white bead tooth between tire and rim with the notch of the bead tooth facing upward. Now lever the bead over the large knob of the duckhead. Holding the bead tooth with your right thumb, rotate counter clockwise until the bead tooth approaches the roller. You can now release your thumb from the bead tooth. Use your drill in reverse to loosen rollers, rotate the wheel and remove bead tooth. Complete the rotation until the bead is completely pulled outside of the rim of the wheel. Repeat on the other bead being careful to get the tire iron over the inner bead before applying leverage. Inset the bead tooth and rotate as above to complete the demount process.

Mounting the new tire.

First step is to orient your tire to the wheel for direction of rotation and weight. Note the direction that your wheel is intended to turn while running forward. The wheel is often marked with an arrow indicating the direction of rotation. Your tire will have an indicator of intended direction of rotation; usually a small arrow. Tire manufacturers mark their tires with different symbols indicating the heaviest point of the tire. One manufacturer may use a white dots pprox.. ¼ inch in diameter on the sidewall, while uses a one inch barcode. Plan to mount your new tire so that the weight mark is opposite/180 degrees from the valve stem on your wheel.

Generously lubricate the tire bead with tire paste. Back off the rollers. With the duckhead adjusted over the wheel rim, place the tire on the rim starting at the bottom of the wheel, and then pushing the lubricated bead against the rim working up both sides of the tire. Turn the wheel clockwise to install the inner bead. Push the outer bead over the duckhead. For front tire rotate the wheel counter clockwise and insert the sidewall clip over the rim of the wheel just past the duckhead. Rotate a bit further and slide the spring clamp over the wheel while working the sidewalls into the drop center. Continue rotation of the wheel until the sidewall clip passes under the compression rollers. Counter clockwise for rear tire or tires with stiffer sidewalls.

The bead chaser is used to ensure that tire bead stays where you want it once the bead is popped over the rim with the tire iron.

Fill Tire with Air or Nitrogen. Tire pressure set and maintained to manufacturers’ specifications is critical for tire wear and your safety. Your tires will leak air or nitrogen fill over time, so set carefully and check frequently.

Balance the Wheel and Tire. The static balancing of your wheel is best done with the heaviest part of the tire mounted opposite of the heaviest part of the wheel. In most cases this is done by locating the dot or bar code found on the sidewall and positioning the dot or code 180 degrees from the location of the valve stem.

Operation and Maintenance Tips:

Two key mounting steps must be followed to ensure that your tire mounting goes smoothly.

1. First, use plenty of good tire lubricant. Use a spray lube to remove the old tire, and use a paste lube to install the new tire. It works, so all tire shops use this stuff.

2. Second, ensure that you properly align BOTH beads of the tire in the drop-center of the wheel rim while mounting and demounting the tire. The beads are properly positioned when the sidewall of the tire is pulled below the top of the rim (at 12 O’clock looking at the wheel) as you lever the tire over the duckhead. Squeeze the tire with your free hand as you lever the bead with the tire iron. You will feel the beads slide over the bead hump and into the drop center of the wheel. Verify that the beads in the drop center of the wheel between 8 O’clock and 4 O’clock. There is a HUGE difference in the amount of effort required to mount and demount the tire when the bead is properly snugged into the drop center of the wheel versus when the bead only appears to be properly compressed.

3. Using the Bead Tooth. By inserting the bead tooth between the tire and rim BEFORE levering the bead over the duckhead you will avoid having to force the bead tooth into position. This will also allow you to use the bead tooth to assist in levering the tire onto the duckhead (being careful not to break the bead tooth).

4. Other Maintenance to Consider While Changing Tires:

Brake pad wear, rotor wear, rotor surface condition. It may also be a good time to do your annual brake fluid change for improved braking and protecting your master and slave cylinder from corrosion.

Chain and sprocket condition, adjusting and lube.

Bearing assessment - forward AND reverse should be silky smooth.

Wheel true/run-out. Use a run-out gage to verify that your wheel hasn’t been damaged, or at least spin the wheel and do a finger test.

What can go wrong? Safety

You are working with machinery and air pressure, so you or someone nearby could be seriously injured unless safe working procedures are followed.

Never place fingers between the wheel rim and the tire bead. This is especially important when inflating the tire. When the tire is pressurized the bead will resist movement into the bead seat, and then will suddenly break resistance as it seats with a loud report under great pressure. Think “finger Stubs.”

Select a tire that is designed for your specific motorcycle and your riding style. It must be marked with the appropriate speed rating and be manufactured with the appropriate sidewall construction and tread. Consult your tire dealer or manufacturer for professional advice. The TiRx Tire Changer is designed to fold out of the way when not in use. You must remove the pseudo-axle hinge ring pin from its working location, fold the pseudo-axle into the upright/vertical position and replace the hinge pin in the storage location when the tire changer is not in use. The tire compression roller arm must be lifted off of the support arm and rotated 90 degrees (along the wall) when not in use. This will minimize the chance that someone will suffer eye injury or other harm by bumping into the device or its parts. Eye Patch

After remounting your wheel to the motorcycle it is critical that you immediately compress the brake levers several times to fully seat the brake pads. Pumping up your brakes immediately will help avoid the shock of “NO BRAKES” when you take the new tires out for their scrubbing-in.

The surface of your new tire is dangerously slippery when it arrives from the factory and is first installed. Use caution during the first 100 miles to scrub-in the tire for baking and turning through the full axis of leaning.