Today I fitted a new rear tyre to my XT prior to its MOT. I'd like to say that it went smoothly but suffice it to say that I got there in the end.

Sort of.

My question: How do you get a new tyre to sit centrally on the rim? I got one side to look OK but the other side has definitely got the wobbles with part of the 'Bridgestone' name concealed by the wheel rim.

I've tried deflating it, then kneeling and bashing it with a rubber mallet but, apparently, to no avail.

Any advice please?

did you lubricate the rim before you fitted and inflated the tyre? You need some tyre soap like tyre garages have ideally, but when im fitting my mx tyre, i use a bit of soapy water. It just lets the tyre slip onto the bead part of the rim that bit easier. You should deflate the tyre, break the bead again and get some soapy water (fairy liquid or the like) and squirt it round the rim. Then try inflating it again. You might need more pressure than you normally put in to get the tyre seated onto the bead. Maybe 40-45psi. Don't go any higher and if it doesn't seat at first, let it sit for a while.

Gav

Thanks Gav. Helpful post!

Soaping the rim.......... why didn't I think of that when struggling for an HOUR! trying to get the tyre to sit right and missing my ferry to Cueta! I tried to ride the bike with low inflation around the ferry port car park to sort it........ silly arse !
I ended up using some of the girlfriends satchets of hair conditioner, on a passing fellow bikers recommendation, not conditioner necessarily, but something other than oil! ah-ha! It worked a treat and smelled great! Lesson learnt! I don't know about her hair but the tyre looked like it (ad music)"..... Just stepped out of a salon..." Tee hee hee!

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Geoffshing

'Security is a product of one's own imagination, it does not exist in nature as a rule, life is either a daring adventure or nothing.'

LOL
A sweet smelling XT. Nice. I shall make my XT more fragrant once I've got rid of the virus I've woken up with.



BTW, what screen can I see fitted to the poorly XT in the photo?

Hey mate,
The screen was a 'Splitfire' universal screen, Also available as an 'Airblade Universal Custom Smoked Screen () = £49.99' from Motorcycle Parts and Accessories, United Kingdom and Worldwide, Motorcycle Road and Race Ltd
Not bad screens, easy to fit but a little on the low side, you might want to fit a bit of perspex type plastic on the top as some people do and as I should have done.
They do break if the bike has been dropped , note the blue bike was dropped COUNTLESS TIMES by the culprit in the pic, god love her! but are pretty strong and worth getting for keeping most of the shite off you.

Have fun

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Geoffshing

'Security is a product of one's own imagination, it does not exist in nature as a rule, life is either a daring adventure or nothing.'

Great! Thanks Geoff. Time to do some Googling.

I just bought some parts off that shop for my girlfriends bike. Top class service. Delivered in 2 days

Update

I removed the wheel and deflated it as suggested above before smearing soapy water everywhere and reinflating it.

I failed again.

This time I gave in and got my friendly local tyre dealer (cars only ) to inflate it for me. he only took it up to 40psi which is the same as my battery inflator managed, but there was something about the violence of his approach that seemed to overcome the tyre bead's reluctance to seat properly. end result - job done. And free of charge too.

So, your advice was spot on and it was just my insipid tyre inflation technique that let me down, I guess.

Safe roads!

For home changes I'd avoid products designed to remove grease. They have chemicals that encourage rust. Best bet at home is to borrow the kitchen cheese grater and grate up some bar soap. Mix with warm water at about 50:50 and you have tyre soap. All you need to then is get your mucky finger marks off the cheese grater before wives/mothers/partners etc. spot 'em

If you used washing up liquid don't worry. I've used it plenty of times at the road side and it's fine, I just think that everytime I do i'm taking a few months off the life of the wheel.

The other trick with awkward beads is to inflate to the maximum cold pressure noted on the sidewall, then if it still won't pop on, bounce it round the carpark/drive. At home you can also leave the tyre in the sun (fat chance in UK today) or put it somewhere warm before you start. A warm tyre is a lot easier to handle. Some people suggest heating using paint stripper hot air guns, but they seem a bit fierce to me.

Andy

Thanks for the tyre soap recipe, Andy. I'll use it next time. Good points about rim corrosion and heating the rubber too.

As for inflating the tyre: the Battlax is marked with a max of 41psi so I didn't want to exceed that yet it didn't do anything once it had got there, even after vigorous wheel bouncing and bashing with a rubber mallet. I'm convinced that the way in which the garage inflator 'shocked' the tyre into place was the main difference (they didn't use soap by the way). My tyre compressor got to 40psi oh so gently! Just a theory.

Still, you live and learn.

(Notes to self: buy longer tyre levers, make some tyre soap, and practise pumping like fury. A doddle when you say it fast.) .....

Cheers!

i used builders pipe lube (the stuff used for sewage fittings with rubber seals) to remove and fit new tires and there was no bead seating probs at all no popping into place or any of that

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2002 xt600e