Joe Frickin' Friday Posted September 19, 2004 Share Posted September 19, 2004 Harbor Freight and Wikco each sell a motorcycle tire changing stand. The basic stand is identical; it appears to come from a common manufacturer, and then Wikco and HF each put their own sticker on it. Harbor Freight's changer (parts 1 and 2) sells for $78. Wikco's changer is a whopping $388. What's the difference? Well, there's an included tool holder attachment. But the golden goodie is a special bar for removing (and installing) tires on painted/chromed rims. Both changers include a pretty basic bar for removing/installing tires on steel rims, where you don't really care whether the bar hacks up the rim. But Wikco's special bar is a real gem for working on motorcycle tires. Turns out they also sell that special mount/demount bar separately, for $69 - but only if you already own the whole tire changing stand!!! I would gladly have paid $69 for it, but there was no way I was going to sink nearly $400 on their entire stand just to get that magic mount/demount bar. So I borrowed the Wikco bar from another DB member here in the Motor City, and copied some dimensions. I recently finished fabricating my own copy of it. If you're so inclined, you can also make your own. Here are some pictures. First, the "demount" end, for removing used tires from your rims: My finger is included for scale. The white plastic part is 3/4" in diameter, and includes a necked-down section. After you've broken the beads loose and fitted the rim up in the jaws on the stand, you stick the bulbous tip of the demount bar between tire bead and rim, so that the tire bead sits in the necked-down section. Flop the whole lever back over the top of the rim, and using the vertical center post of the stand as a fulcrum, you walk the lever all the way around the rim (as with good ol' tire irons, you need to make sure the rest of the tire is pressed down into the well on the centerline of the rim, away from the bead seats). The whole process (insert tip between tire and rim, walk tool around rim) takes about fifteen seconds if you're slow. Repeat the process to liberate the second tire bead from the rim. Note that the entire tip of the tool is a piece of plastic (I used HDPE). If you start by cleaning road grime and grit from your rim, the plastic of the tool minimizes scratching of rim paint. Want to make your own? Click here for a CAD drawing of the plastic tip, and what the tip of the bar needs to look like to accomodate it. Plastic tip is secured with a long 5/16-18 bolt; you'll want a round-headed bolt (phillips head or socket head) to minimize the presence of sharp edges that could scratch the rim if you happen to slip. HDPE roundstock is available from www.mcmaster.com. And the other end of the tool, for installing the new tire on your rim: This tool only works in a clockwise direction around the rim. the white plastic guard hooks on the lip of the rim, and the wedge shape of the bar tip pushes the tire bead outward beyond the lip of the rim so it can drop down into place. Want to make your own? Click here for a CAD drawing. The metal hook is made from 1/8" thick sheet metal, and is welded to 3/4" thick square bar stock. A single small countersunk screw holds the 1/8" thick plastic guard in place (make sure the screwhead is well below the surface of the plastic so it can't touch your rim!). If you look at the pics, you can see I got careless with my screw placement; the threads broke through on the beveled portion of the bar. Looks nasty, but not a problem, as the tire bead won't get anywhere near that area; it'll stay right near the very tip. The tire and rim squeeze together on that big flat metal/plastic area, so no effort is required in order to keep the tool from twisting (not the case with the crappy bar that comes with the HF tire changer). I could not find 1/8" thick plastic right-angle material for the plastic guard. I found 1/4" thick stock and then because I was too lazy to track down a vendor who offered 1/8" thick I put my 1/4" thick stuff in a mill and shaved it down to 1/8". Hopefully you'll have better luck locating a plastics vendor who has what you need. The Wikco bar is made from 3/4" square bar stock, with the last couple inches of the "demount" end turned round on a lathe to accomodate the round plastic demount tool tip. My bar, as you may have notice from the pictures, uses a short piece of roundstock for the demount end and a short piece of squarestock for the mount end; both finished pieces are bolted into a 4' long piece of perforated square steel tube. I plan to wrap the ends of the perf tube (and exposed bolt heads) with a whole lot of electrical tape to prevent any edges from accidentally hacking rims. the demount end of my bar was tested a few weeks ago and found to work perfectly. The mount end was recently finished; I have tires arriving some time this week, and so I'll get to try it out. It's a close enough facsimile so that I have no reason to believe it won't work perfectly. Link to comment
steve404 Posted September 20, 2004 Share Posted September 20, 2004 Nice prototype. Now, how about trying a bit of mass production? Link to comment
Stan Walker Posted September 20, 2004 Share Posted September 20, 2004 Yeah, we need mass production of this..... It's probably too late for my current rims unless I sand and repaint, but there will be more bikes in the future. Stan Link to comment
ArbyNav Posted September 20, 2004 Share Posted September 20, 2004 Nice bar. That's some work into that. I like simple, elegant tools or engineering solutions. I'd hold off on asking for hordes of mass production though because patents and a attorney could cause extra unwanted blood pressure. It could be unpatented in which case someone else could apply for a patent first. I wouldn't have ordinarily thought about patents but a friend,a mechanical engineer who is now in law school, seems a lock for a very well paying job as a patent/intellectual rights attorney. The lawyer/experienced engineer combination is rare and seems quite powerful to firms. Link to comment
Sondance Posted September 20, 2004 Share Posted September 20, 2004 I'll second the mass or short run production request for this, as I don't have that kind of resource available... Nice work, looks good, very well done. Link to comment
steve404 Posted September 20, 2004 Share Posted September 20, 2004 I was thinking, (hoping) that perhaps plastic "coat pegs" and small "ice scrapers" could be offered up at say $25 ea. These parts might then be attached to a bar of sorts by some. Link to comment
Joe Frickin' Friday Posted September 20, 2004 Author Share Posted September 20, 2004 It could be unpatented in which case someone else could apply for a patent first. Then I could collect $$ from Wikco! Anyway, yeah, I don't mind fabricating my own tool and sharing knowledge with others, but the prospect of large-scale for-profit production would indeed require a patent search. Link to comment
russell_bynum Posted September 20, 2004 Share Posted September 20, 2004 Mitch, You kick *ss. Seriously, you're my freaking hero. I just put new tires on both bikes with the HF changer, and didn't damage the rims too much, but I did leave quite a bit of red paint on them. With your CAD drawings, I should be able to get the new bar fabricated before I have to change the tires on the CBR. MITCH FOR PRESIDENT!!! Link to comment
steveknapp Posted September 20, 2004 Share Posted September 20, 2004 I should be able to get the new bar fabricated Doing it yourself, or paying someone to do it? I'm with the others...I want it, but the tooling needed to make it would cost more than my bike. Link to comment
randy Posted September 20, 2004 Share Posted September 20, 2004 Yea me too, I want one, but the tools Mitch has at his disposal, far exceed mine. However if anyone in the GA, TN, SC or NC area has a wilco machine, and would not mind ordering a second one, I am sure myself, and all the area riders that are coming over to use my setup would appreciate it. Link to comment
jviss Posted September 20, 2004 Share Posted September 20, 2004 Beautiful job on the tool! Nice bar. That's some work into that. I like simple, elegant tools or engineering solutions. I'd hold off on asking for hordes of mass production though because patents and a attorney could cause extra unwanted blood pressure. It could be unpatented in which case someone else could apply for a patent first. I wouldn't have ordinarily thought about patents but a friend,a mechanical engineer who is now in law school, seems a lock for a very well paying job as a patent/intellectual rights attorney. The lawyer/experienced engineer combination is rare and seems quite powerful to firms. I wouldn't worry about that; it doesn't look like anything that woud qualify as a utility patent, and probably doesn't infringe any design patent Wilco or anyone else may have. (I have some intellectual property experience, and 5 U.S. patents). However, the tooling/setup costs could blow this away at the small volumes you are likely to see here. jv Link to comment
russell_bynum Posted September 20, 2004 Share Posted September 20, 2004 Doing it yourself, or paying someone to do it? Rule #1: Always have at least one friend with at least a basic machine shop in his garage. Link to comment
steveknapp Posted September 20, 2004 Share Posted September 20, 2004 Rule #1: Always have at least one friend with at least a basic machine shop in his garage. Uh, ya, that's Mitch. And you KNOW he's got a few requests littering his inbox. How about showing this to Sean, seeing if he want's to run with it? Link to comment
Joe Frickin' Friday Posted September 20, 2004 Author Share Posted September 20, 2004 I wouldn't worry about that; it doesn't look like anything that woud qualify as a utility patent, and probably doesn't infringe any design patent Wilco or anyone else may have. IF Wikco has a patent on their bar, then this is certainly a violation; it is, afterall, an exact copy! For grins I looked up some patents this morning on tire mount/demount bars. Didn't find anything resembling mine/Wikco's (although I don't claim my search was exhaustive), but there were a number of patents for other tire mounting and demounting tools. Link to comment
ArbyNav Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 the tools Mitch has at his disposal, far exceed mine.... I think half the fun is in the pursuit of getting something, and I'd love to find a good general purpose machine shop (maybe I could fix the decrepeit Unimat I brought home one day). On the patent thing (though I'm sorry I brought it up) I think there's some fair use exceptions for an individual making a single one for own use in research. But another way is producing a better version - maybe even cutting down the production tools needed. On the mounting end of the tool, what if that tapered edge was replaced by a steel wheel, with good bearings and no axle wobble, and the axis screw was also an attachment point for the plastic portion. That eliminates one cutting and shaping for the home user (although the parts costs increase) and could reduce friction. On the demount end, could a small wheel on the tip, with an axis covered by a sturdy teflon sheath do the same purpose, mounting in the same bar as this? If the shaped neck isn't needed, those changes would reduce tooling needed to drills, and being able to get the right supplies (1/8" right angled plastic - HDPE or would Teflon do also here?). Link to comment
Joe Frickin' Friday Posted September 21, 2004 Author Share Posted September 21, 2004 Planning to investigate the feasibility of a small production run. Stay tuned... Link to comment
smiller Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 Planning to investigate the feasibility of a small production run. Stay tuned... If past experience is any guide you may be looking at more of a large production run... Link to comment
randy Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 cool, I think I was number 5. So please at least a run of 5. so I get one. Link to comment
Bob Martin Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 That's GREAT! If you make any up count me in. I have a source to get the plastic if needed. Link to comment
Dex Posted September 23, 2004 Share Posted September 23, 2004 Awesome, Mitch. If you decide to make some, I'll take one too. Thanks, Dex Link to comment
BPeterson Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 if you do decide to make em, add me to the list for one! Link to comment
cycdude6 Posted September 28, 2004 Share Posted September 28, 2004 Count me in as well. Link to comment
Joe Frickin' Friday Posted September 28, 2004 Author Share Posted September 28, 2004 Count me in as well. Acknowledged! And so the list grows! Link to comment
smiller Posted September 28, 2004 Share Posted September 28, 2004 Please add me to the list as well. Like I said, so much for your 'small' run! Link to comment
Bob Palin Posted September 28, 2004 Share Posted September 28, 2004 Count me in, now I'm out in the boonies I'm going to have to change my own tyres again, there's an HF in my future. Link to comment
Stan Walker Posted September 28, 2004 Share Posted September 28, 2004 Quitting your day job yet? Stan Link to comment
flyboy Posted September 28, 2004 Share Posted September 28, 2004 add me to the list. I have a HF in the box. bob smith Link to comment
Tool Posted September 28, 2004 Share Posted September 28, 2004 How about if I just put in an order for the bar ends, and I'll make my own "in-between" handle? Save on shipping etc. In other words, "Me too, please!" Link to comment
Bogey Posted September 28, 2004 Share Posted September 28, 2004 Aw, hell, I was trying to hold out for a while, but if you're gonna make 'em, I'll take one too. Now all I have to do is find a Harbor Freight store around here. Link to comment
ghaverkamp Posted September 28, 2004 Share Posted September 28, 2004 Wow. Okay, if you're trying to make up a list, I'd happily purchase if you do decide to get some manufacturing going. Greg Link to comment
K12GT_Steve Posted September 28, 2004 Share Posted September 28, 2004 Count me in as well! Tire changing is a real pain and even in Germany there are slugs that scratch your rims! Link to comment
Joe Frickin' Friday Posted September 28, 2004 Author Share Posted September 28, 2004 Holy crap! Had planned on a batch of 20; now have 22 people declaring interest. Will up the quantity and get materials moving. Stay tuned... Link to comment
Eddie Bell Posted September 28, 2004 Share Posted September 28, 2004 Add one more please!!! Link to comment
randy Posted September 28, 2004 Share Posted September 28, 2004 You know I am in the same boat. If making a lot is an issue, then just the ends are fine. that seems to be the real machine items. Might make it easier for you. Hey whatever it takes. whole contraption or just ends, I just appreciate you design work, and willingness to help those less fortunate, (in talent and tools) Link to comment
Joe Frickin' Friday Posted September 28, 2004 Author Share Posted September 28, 2004 Randy (and Denny) - The bar you see in the photos that started this thread is a prototype; the finished product will be 3/4" square solid stock from end to end, one piece. Don't worry about quantity, I'll take care of it! Anyone else? If the first batch turns out not to be big enough, I'll make more if there's demand. Link to comment
Stan Walker Posted September 28, 2004 Share Posted September 28, 2004 Way Cool!!!! When do you want $$$$? Stan Link to comment
Joe Frickin' Friday Posted September 28, 2004 Author Share Posted September 28, 2004 Way Cool!!!! When do you want $$$$? Stan Don't sweat it. I'll announce when they're ready; cash and goods can both flow at that time. Link to comment
Stan Walker Posted September 29, 2004 Share Posted September 29, 2004 Not sweating, just wanted to offer in case you needed some $$$ to cover my share of the initial 5000 unit build..... Stan Link to comment
Eddie Posted September 29, 2004 Share Posted September 29, 2004 Like the other thousands of posts...count me in for one!!! Don't mind sending funds now to ensure you I am serious about wanting one. Link to comment
henryj7 Posted September 29, 2004 Share Posted September 29, 2004 Ill take one too! Henry Link to comment
randy Posted September 29, 2004 Share Posted September 29, 2004 Mitch I agree, if funds are needed up front payment is no issue. I suggest you set up paypal, and let us send you money. As noted above that will make sure everyone is serious. And if you make enough, I may take two. I bought my first HF unit on sale, 64.00 total. If I can get another one, I might just do it so two or more can come over. Link to comment
Joe Frickin' Friday Posted September 29, 2004 Author Share Posted September 29, 2004 And if you make enough, I may take two. There will be enough, I'll make sure of that! Link to comment
markacraige Posted September 29, 2004 Share Posted September 29, 2004 Put me down for one as well. Link to comment
Dances_With_Wiener_Dogs Posted September 29, 2004 Share Posted September 29, 2004 IN!! Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.