Tire changing and wheel balancing on wire spoke GS wheels

[DouglasR]

On the recent UnRally ride my buddies and I were discussing tire changing. I had just swapped tires and balanced the wheels on my GS and photo-documented it, so I thought I'd post ANOTHER do-it-yourself tire mounting and balancing thread just in case folks need a refresher!

 

MarcoPolo, listen up, you can do this!

 

When I bought my first BMW (a 1997 R1100RT that I still own and love) it needed tires in a bad way. I took it to a dealer and said, "Swap those bad boys for some fresh meat!". They did a fine job, but the labor costs almost equaled the cost of the tires and I nearly had my first BMW sticker-shock coronary right then and there. Over $450 for a set of tires . I can buy a set from SWMotoTires.com for under $225 shipped to my door. I've been riding for 43 years now and have changed a lot of dirt bike tires, but was intimidated by the cast wheels on the RT. So I did some reading, bought a Marc Parnes balancer (what a cool tool!) and three long curvy tire irons from Bob's BMW. So here we go!

 

It's always a good idea to tie off the center stand so the bike doesn't fall forward while working in it. It's easy on the GS, just tie off to the crash bars. It's tougher to find something to tie off to on my RT or K75.

 

 

Check the crown seal and final drive while you've got the wheel off, and check the brake pads. Good, no sign of oil leaks! Clean it up good before putting it back together. The brake rotor comes off with the GS wheel, but stays on the bike with the RT and K75. You don't even need to pull the brake calipers off to get the GS wheel off.

 

 

Still some meat on that tire, but not enough for a long ride!

 

 

This is where the real fun begins, breaking the bead on the old tire. I use a high-tech gizmo of my own fabrication:

 

 

Set the wheel rotor-side down on three carpet covered 2X4's and use the truck's frame as a fulcrum. The 2X4 lever has a piece of scrap metal I found along the railroad bolted to it for a bead-breaker. Cheap and effective! Careful not to scratch your rims here.

 

 

Flip the wheel over and break the bead on the other side, careful of the brake rotor!

 

Now we're ready for the really fun part, taking the old tire off the wheel. I use the same carpet-covered 2X4's, rotor side down, Windex for lubrication, three curvy tire irons and some plastic rim protectors made from a liquid detergent bottle (milk cartons and pop bottles are too thin). The rim protectors sold at motorcycle shops work great on your cast wheels but they don't fit the thicker spoked wheels.

 

 

I'm going to post this in chunks so I don't run the risk of losing it to a computer glitch!

 

Doug

[DouglasR]

Continued:

 

It's easier to get a good "bite" with three tire irons:

 

 

Once the tire is popped off one side, reach under and pull the other side off the same way. Those curvy tire irons are fantastic! Use lots of Windex for lubrication.

 

 

 

 

Bingo!

 

 

Now it's time to clean the old rubber, wheel weights, bugs and other crap off the wheel so you can properly balance it and provide a good seat for the new tire:

 

 

 

Next chunk, balance the wheel without the tire!

 

Doug

[DouglasR]

Continued:

 

Now it's time to balance the wheel without the tire on it. This is done because there's always a heavy spot on a wheel, and tire manufacturers mark the light spot on their tires. Put the light spot of the tire adjacent to the heavy part of the wheel and you decrease the amount of weight needed to balance it.

 

This is the Parnes balancer resting on two jack stands. The cardboard under one stand is to level the balancer. I bought the BMW set of cones for the balancer and a "universal" cone so I can balance the wheels on any bike (BMWs, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, etc.).

 

 

 

Balance the wheel according to the instructions.

 

 

Hmmmm.... The heavy spot is really close to the valve stem! See the red dots on the Metzelers showing the lightest part of the tire?

 

 

I tap a couple of punch marks into the rim to mark the heavy spot:

 

 

Getting the rotation direction correct is easy with the GS wheels since the rim and tire are both marked. On the cast wheels the arrow on the tire goes on the rear wheel opposite the drive side, and the front wheel on the speedo side (left side of the wheels).

 

 

 

OK, it's late now and I'm tired. I'll finish this tomorrow!

 

Doug

[DouglasR]

Well yesterday was a really long day so I didn't get this post finished! Here we go again:

 

Once you've established the heaviest part of the wheel and marked it, you never have to do that step again. Check out the valve stem and replace it if it looks suspicious, you can get them at any car parts dealer for next to nothing.

 

Put the new tire on the wheel by reversing the procedures outlined above, making sure you've got the rotation direction arrow on the tire on the correct side of the wheel.

 

 

Halfway there! Now is the time to rotate the tire to align the light spot dots with your punch marks on the wheel; once the tire is fully mounted it's almost impossible to turn it on the wheel. Use lots of lubrication!

 

Keep the already-mounted part of the tire bead pushed down into the depression in the center of the wheel as you dismount and mount the tires, otherwise you're asking it to stretch a LOT and they don't like doing that!

 

 

 

 

Now it's time to balance the wheel with the new tire on it. The Marc Parnes balancer comes with great instructions, so I won't reiterate them here. Suffice it to say that you find the heavy spot again, then put weights 180 degrees opposite that spot to balance the wheel. It's a trial and error business to get the proper amount of weight, so I stick them on the wheel using masking tape until I have the proper amount delineated. Make sure you've put the valve stem back in, aired up the tire to proper pressure, and put the valve cap back on since all that affects the weight distribution. (The valve stem and cap should be installed when you balance the wheel without the tire mounted yet.)

 

Sometimes the new tire is reluctant to seat properly until it's aired up to proper pressure. Use plenty of lubricant and DO NOT OVERINFLATE THE TIRE to get it to seat! You may have to deflate it and relube, then pump it back up to proper inflation before it seats properly. Don't get impatient, it will eventually pop into place. Don't have your finger stuck in there when it does or it will pinch it off!

 

 

 

Once the wheel is balanced you can gently spin it and it will stop randomly since there is no longer a heavy spot anywhere.

 

 

Install the wheel weights with double-sided foam tape. If you have several weights in one spot put them in the center of the wheel or split them evenly on the left and right sides of center.

 

Reinstall the wheel, torque to proper tightness:

 

 

The front wheel is the same procedure, you just have two brake discs to work around:

 

 

Now it's time to clean up your messy garage!

 

 

Or not! I like to get right out and start wearing the nubbies off!

 

 

Ride cautiously for the first 50 miles or so on your new tires as they get "scrubbed in". Manufacturers use a mold release compound in the tire construction process that takes a while to wear off and the tires won't develop their full grip until they've got a few miles on them.

 

I spent about 1.5 hours doing the GS tire swap and balance by myself. It will go quicker next time since I can skip the balance-the-wheel-without-the-tire step. My total investment in tools for changing and balancing is under $150. The dealer charged $230 for labor to remove, replace and balance two tires and the tires were $240. I can get a set of MEZ6's for the RT or Tourances for the GS shipped to my door for under $215, so after only one tire change I'm already saving money. Since I live in Wyoming where there are ZERO dealers and other brand shops won't mess with my wheels, it also saves me a couple of days in time (and the expense) of getting the wheels and new tires to the dealership.

 

I hope this helps. Now go wear those tires out! Happy trails!

 

Doug

 

[DEF]

 

Check the crown seal and final drive while you've got the wheel off, and check the brake pads. Good, no sign of oil leaks! Clean it up good before putting it back together. The brake rotor comes off with the GS wheel, but stays on the bike with the RT and K75. You don't even need to pull the brake calipers off to get the GS wheel off.

 

 

Still some meat on that tire, but not enough for a long ride!

 

Doug

 

Doug,

 

I seem to notice a bit of "wet" at the lower half of the rear hub and on the RD case........you say, no oil or leaks........I don't doubt your analysis but, what is that stuff?

 

Of course, I see the typical road grime and brake dust at the rear of the FD around the boot.....no concerns there.

 

Also, I see you leave the rear caliper in place......does this not present some installation challanges and potential for rotor or pad damage?

 

Very good writeup.....I'm now tempted to do the same on my GS.....might as well....I do everything else.

 

Thanks

[DouglasR]

Well, this is a GS and it gets off-road on bumpy dirty roads so I think a little "weeping" like you see around the crown seal and final drive boot is acceptable. I've since cleaned that area up and ridden over 2000 miles and it's still clean and dry. This is the rear drive crown seal on my RT with Red Line Heavy gear oil seeping out, if you see this it's time for repairs!

 

 

I've removed/replaced the rear wheel from the GS several times without bothering with the brake caliper, one just has to be a little careful doing it. It saves a little time and isn't real difficult to put the wheel back on with the caliper in place. Either way it's pretty straight-forward.

 

I've found that doing my own service work is pretty gratifying. I know the bikes better so that if I have an issue on the road I'm better prepared to deal with it, and when the work is done I know for a fact it's been done right and to my expectations. It saves money too!

 

Doug

[JonathanE]

Doug,

 

Do you ever check spoke tension and/or wheel true on your laced motorcycle wheels? While that is a standard PM that I do on all my human powered bikes, I've never really heard of anyone doing so on dirt bikes or BMW RxxxxGS's. Maybe laced BMW motorcycle wheels never get out of true.

[DouglasR]

I've never done it on this bike, but I've had to true and relace many a dirtbike wheel (motocross, trials and enduro) usually as the result of a massive get-off or pileup. I don't ride the GS like I do the KLR or DR, so I hope I never have to worry about it's wheels and spokes. I saw a post on AdvRider once about this, so I guess people do it. I view my GS as a dirt-road-capable street bike, not a true dirt bike, so I don't thrash it like I do my real dirt bikes. It costs too much to repair this thing if you tear it up!

 

Doug

[DEF]

Doug,

 

Do you ever check spoke tension and/or wheel true on your laced motorcycle wheels? While that is a standard PM that I do on all my human powered bikes, I've never really heard of anyone doing so on dirt bikes or BMW RxxxxGS's. Maybe laced BMW motorcycle wheels never get out of true.

 

GS wheels can and do get out of true if left with loose spokes or if they are abused.

 

Truing GS wheels is an art left only to those who know how to perform the spoke tightening ballet.

 

I would NOT recommend truing out of true GS wheels to anybody but an expert. Even BMW shops do not perform this work. I had a slightly out-of-spec front wheel on my new GS and the dealer replaced the whole wheel….he did not even attempt to true it by adjusting spokes.

 

Attempting to true a GS wheel can result in disaster. Leave crooked GS wheels to experts. There are a few who provide this service. Search the web and speak to the folks by phone before even thinking about this service.

[Mike O]

Nice write-up Doug. It's material like this that I 'salt away' in a notebook for future reference. I've accumulated a fair number of these (oil, brake, spline, etc) on the occasion I might need them; and if for no other reason to understand and appreciate the cost-saving benefits of DIY.

 

Regards,

 

Mike O

 

P.S. Good to meet you an UN..