HF Tire Changer

[GordonB]

Thinking about getting the HF tire changer and all the mojo stuff to go with it.

To all those that have this setup, are you pleased? Is it mickey mouse or a great at home tire changer?

Anything else needed for a smooth tire change operation?

[Richard_D]

Why? Cycle gear only charges $15 a tire even if you bring in your own.

[smiller]

A Mojo-equipped HF changer makes the job so easy that the question becomes... why not just do it in your own garage and save the trip?

[ednowicki]

+1 harbor freight pos

+1 mojobar

 

I've changed at least 15 tires with this setup. Works like a charm.

 

It's always easier to have this kinda of work done for you... and I understand that.

 

But if you want to 'roll your own' and take the satisification that it's done right, the HF tire changer and MJBar are the way to go.

[smiller]

It's always easier to have this kinda of work done for you...

Maybe, and maybe not. I find it easier to do it myself than pack everything up, take it to a shop, wait around (if they can take the work right away) while some kid munges up my rims and does a half-assed balancing job. When I started doing it myself I wasn't too pleased when I saw what several years of 'professional' attention had done to my rims...

[Lawman]

Since you're not likely to hear from those of us who have recently purchsed the equipment you are considering and still struggle with tire changes let me tell you it is not easy for everyone..

[Arizona_oldguy]

You don't need to balance your tires! You don't need to mess up your rims with ugly weights. You certainly don't need to spend all that money on changers.

 

For about $11.00 I installed Dyna Beads in my R1200RT's tires, through the valve stem, with applicator supplied with kit. Pulled off all the wheel weights. 7000 miles later I am getting longer tire life, reduction in cupping, silky smooth ride. Just bought two packs of beads for wife's scooter for $6. Future tires will only cost me $8.35 for the beads, as I can reuse the applicator that came with the $11.00 kit.

 

A vibrating engraving tool or orbital sander makes the installation go faster by helping the beads flow into the valve stem; but you could buy the engraving tool for about $10.00. I already had one.

I read about them in an article in one of the MOA magazines last fall, Maybe sept. I will NEVER balance a motorcycle tire again.

 

Usual disclaimer, no profit motive here, just super satisfied customer.

 

Glenn

[Newt]

I think it depends on how many miles you ride, how many miles you get out of a set of tires, and what the alternatives are. I have the HF / Mojo setup and Parnes balancer. As Lawman says, for some of us it is not as easy as it is for others. There is some technique to it. I can get 11,000 miles out of a set of tires and I do not put that many miles on in a year. For me, if I could get someone to do it for $15, that would make sense. If you only get 6,000 miles out of a set of tires and you put 18k on in a year and don't have a $15 alternative, then purchasing the changer may make more sense.

 

My $.02

[Dave C.]

I have the HF tire changer with MOJO blocks and I use a No-Mar tire tool. It works great and I can change out a tire start to finish in about 30 minutes including removal of rim from the bike. The big question is " is it worth the price of the equipment" For me it was because I ride 24K plus miles per year. That made it easy to justify the price.

 

Dave

[Godfather]

I bought the HF changer, Mojo Lever and Mojo Blocks this winter and changed my FIRST set of tires...ever. The system works very well for the DIY'er. The "Mojo" stuff Mitch produces is top notch all the way. I will never pay to have them changed at a dealer again. BTW I balanced with Dyna Beads. Can't wait to ride. W i n t e r... T o o o o... L o n g

[snod]

I have the HF stand with MoJo blocks, a MoJo bar, and a Parnes balancer. It all works together very well. I normally do at least 2, some times 3 sets a year. The ability to change tires when I want to, not when I have to is the biggest advantage for me. If I am leaving on a long trip, I can put new tires on, and save my half worn outs for comuting. The MoJo pieces are what make the HF stand usable. Without the MoJo pieces, it is really easy to scratch up your rims. (Thanks Mitch!)

[smiller]

The MoJo pieces are what make the HF stand usable.

Yes, the Mojobits are what turn a $75 POS into a $800 NoMar unit. Well, not quite, but close enough...

[SageRider]

The MoJo pieces are what make the HF stand usable.

Yes, the Mojobits are what turn a $75 POS into a $800 NoMar unit. Well, not quite, but close enough...

Amen!

 

If I had a cheap, close source to buy and change my tires, I would probably let the shop do the job, but I am 50 miles away from my dealer and can save upwards of $200 per pair of tires installed if I do it myself.

[OoPEZoO]

If I had a cheap, close source to buy and change my tires, I would probably let the shop do the job, but I am 50 miles away from my dealer and can save upwards of $200 per pair of tires installed if I do it myself.

 

Bingo....+1 for me as well. My dealer is a little closer, but it is a major PITA to get to and REALLY out of my way.

 

Plus I can do it on my own time if I get bored some night at 10pm, or some Sunday when its pouring down rain. That right there is worth the price of admission for me

 

EDIT: I just noticed that was post #1000 for me

[CoarsegoldKid]

Is that a R1200RT your gonna change tires on. The rear is an SOB to be sure. I will try it again but last time I had to take it in. Fronts are not so bad. Maybe a tech daze event can show the trick to us. I still have hope. Oh, yes, get the mojo blocks for sure.

[keithb]

Joe

I would tend to agree with you about mounting the rear tire. A buddy and me tried to do the rear and had to stop and take it in to a shop but I believe it was the bar we were using not the HF changer itself. Jamie (KMG_365) changed my tires at our tech day one year ago and with his Mojolever it was a breeze. At least it looked like it was a breeze. Thanks again Jamie!!

[OoPEZoO]

Is that a R1200RT your gonna change tires on. The rear is an SOB to be sure. I will try it again but last time I had to take it in. Fronts are not so bad. Maybe a tech daze event can show the trick to us. I still have hope. Oh, yes, get the mojo blocks for sure.

 

Really? what is so tough about them? So far, the most trouble I've had was with the tires off of my Dad's Goldwing 1500. He runs those damn Dunlops that I swear have sidewalls stiff enough to be runflats. Either way, I figured if my rig could handle them, it could handle anything.

 

The rear tire on my R1100 is a breeze. I don't even need the mounting bar to get the first lip of the tire on the rim. I usually just spritz down the edge with some soap and put some weight on the tire. It pops right on with hardly any effort at all. Is the rear tire/wheel combo that much different on the R1200? What is the difference that makes it so much tougher?

[keithb]

Keith

The 180/55/17 is a different animal for some reason. At least the first tire we tried to mount was. We would get the whole tire on except for about 10-12 inches and it would just not go on. Of course the machine at the shop made it look easy. I think it had to do with leverage and the bar we were using. As stated previously Jamie had no problem with the Mojolever.

[RFW]

Why? Cycle gear only charges $15 a tire even if you bring in your own.

Because owning a motorcycle is not about getting others to do your work for you. Besides... if you do it yourself, you KNOW it gets done right.

[OoPEZoO]

Keith

The 180/55/17 is a different animal for some reason. At least the first tire we tried to mount was. We would get the whole tire on except for about 10-12 inches and it would just not go on. Of course the machine at the shop made it look easy. I think it had to do with leverage and the bar we were using. As stated previously Jamie had no problem with the Mojolever.

 

hmm....good to know

[SageRider]

Keith

The 180/55/17 is a different animal for some reason. At least the first tire we tried to mount was. We would get the whole tire on except for about 10-12 inches and it would just not go on. Of course the machine at the shop made it look easy. I think it had to do with leverage and the bar we were using. As stated previously Jamie had no problem with the Mojolever.

If you require a lot of leverage, reevaluate your process. Lots of leverage is NOT required.

More likely it has to do with the amount of mounted tire bead which was in the center groove of the rim when trying to pull that last section of bead over the edge. The more bead in the center groove, the easier to get the final few inches of bead over the edge. Using some sort of clamp to retain the bead in the center groove of the rim really makes the job much easier! (I use 2 nylon clamps)

 

I have no difficulty on my R1200-RT.

[smiller]

More likely it has to do with the amount of mounted tire bead which was in the center groove of the rim when trying to pull that last section of bead over the edge.

Yes, and it is impossible to over-stress this point. Get the opposite bead where it needs to be and the last bit will be easy, if not it will be near impossible. This step seems to be where 95% of people run into trouble on their first attempts.

[Burt]

More likely it has to do with the amount of mounted tire bead which was in the center groove of the rim when trying to pull that last section of bead over the edge.

Yes, and it is impossible to over-stress this point. Get the opposite bead where it needs to be and the last bit will be easy, if not it will be near impossible. This step seems to be where 95% of people run into trouble on their first attempts.

I have a 1200T, and didn't have any trouble at all mounting the rear tire. As stated above, you have to get the part of the tire that is on the rim in the middle to give you some "slack" to get the last little bit on the rim. If you do that, it is really very easy.

[Burt]

I have the HF tire changer, Mojo bar, Mojo blocks (just purchased and not installed yet), and Parnes balancer. I bought the HF changer before Mitch started making his changer, or I would have just bought the whole set up from him. His changer is more portable, and easier to store.

[russell_bynum]

A Mojo-equipped HF changer makes the job so easy that the question becomes... why not just do it in your own garage and save the trip?

 

+1

 

We have a cycle gear 10 miles from our house and I can still do it myself faster.

[keithb]

Michael

Now that I think back about the tire mounting job that night you are right the bead was trying to move away from the center of the rim which made it difficult to mount.

[randy]

cycel gear must have different pricing around the country. I believe in Atlanta it is

30.00 if tires are puchased elsewhere

22.50 if tires are puchased at cycle gear

 

for me, a set of tires from SWMoto runs about 10.00 cheaper than a set of cycle gear. Plus 22.50 per tire, makes about 55.00 per set of tires. I do have two bikes, so three sets per year, saves about 150.00 per year. In addition I now have 7 other Atlanta riders using my set up, so they will now save.

 

In addition as noted above, track days are a big reason to own a tire changer set up. If you ride your street bike then you can take off street tires and install track tires at will. Of course once you figure out how fun track days are you do tend to just get a dedicated track bike.

 

Also as noted above, doing the tire change on my schedule i.e. 10pm at night while watching an NBA game, really makes the process seem more of a non event. Also I find I tend to let my tires go until they need changing, i.e. many times before I would change my front with my rear, even if my front maybe had a couple thousands miles left, just to not have to make two trips to cycle gear. Now it does not matter, I change the tires when they need it.

 

I will note, even if you have the HF and mojo accessories buy the "yellow hand" from NoMar. this item really makes a difference when mounting a tire. In order of importance

mojo bar

NoMar yellow hand

mojo blocks

HF unit

 

had Mitch created his Mojo blocks 6 months earlier, i would not have spent 700.00 on the no mar unit. And I will say, I have the full no mar unit, and I still use the Mojo bar, it is still better than the Nomar bar.

 

Finally I also built a bead breaker box, to use instead of the HF bead breaker. It really made a big difference.I will make pics and post them here

 

etheridgefamily.smugmug.com

[Newt]

I'll throw another $.02 into the mix regarding the difficulty in mounting tires that some of us have experienced. My problem came with the final 10 inches or so as some have already stated. I was about to throw in the towel, too, when Mitch came to the rescue with a PM with the saving tip. You have to push the bead behind the lever TOWARD the center of the rim to get the final bit mounted. I say TOWARD, because you may not really be able to get the bead into the center, but just moving the bead the slightest amount toward center will be enough to get the final few inches to slip on. In my case, it hardly seemed that the bead moved at all, but it was enough so that the tire slipped on. Now that I have done it, I fully expect no problems the next time, especially with my newly purchased mojoblocks. Anyway, I hope this helps folks that have struggled. I am actually lookng forward to my with next tire change.

[steveknapp]

The MoJo pieces are what make the HF stand usable.

Yes, the Mojobits are what turn a $75 POS into a $800 NoMar unit. Well, not quite, but close enough...

 

Depends on if/who you share the setup with. The HF/MojoBlocks won't fit my Buell rim, and from what I've seen not fit a H-D rear wheel either. It's the belt drive pulley that gets in the way. So it might impact the F650CS folks as well?

 

I think it's worth it to DIY. No CycleGear here, local shops want $40-50 per wheel with it off the bike.

[smiller]

The HF/MojoBlocks won't fit my Buell rim, and from what I've seen not fit a H-D rear wheel either. It's the belt drive pulley that gets in the way.

Have you tried/thought about raising the Mojoblocks up on spacer blocks? Would that give you enough clearance for the drive pully?

[steveknapp]

I talked to Mitch about it in his thread and off line. He's thinking about it. But unsure it's structurally sound.

 

I know the Buell market isn't huge, but the H-D cruiser market could be some good volume for Mitch. I think first he needs to get caught up on the BMW owners.

 

One of the ways I've justified my purchase is that I can offer help to friends (as Rich has done countless times for me from the south-side). So if one was buying a setup to change not only their BMW tires but a friends bike too, something to consider.

 

The No-Mar, FWIW, fits the belt pulley quite nicely. Turns out a No-Mar employee is also a Buell rider.

[Woodie]

The local CycleGear (CT) is more expensive than that here. Plus, they will NOT do it while you wait. Have to drop it (them) off, and come back the next day. Pretty awkward to ride home from the shop, when the wheels are IN the shop.

 

That was the last time I did business with them.

[smiller]

OK. One more question re: the Buell wheel... I find that once the bead is broken on both sides that I don't realy have to flip the (BMW) wheel over to demount & mount a tire. Can't the wheel be mounted on the the stand with the pully facing up for the mount/demount procedure? I'm assuming that the problem is enough clearance when the pully is pointed down but is it really necessary to place the wheel in the stand in this orientation?

[steveknapp]

The pulley is tall and big enough to get in the way of the mount/demount bar. You would be holding it at almost 45deg, if not closer to vertical.

[smiller]

The pulley is tall and big enough to get in the way of the mount/demount bar. You would be holding it at almost 45deg, if not closer to vertical.

Ahhhh... got it, thanks. But doesn't the same problem occur with the NoMar stand? Or any stand?

[steveknapp]

The no-mar blocks are tall enough for the pulley to fit facing down. The brake rotor faces up, but it's not at all in the way. Same for the coats 220 (if you shim it). I've not watched, but I'd figure the shop models that spin the wheel don't interfere either.

 

You can see some shots here:

http://rhinowerx.com/fotos/details.php?image_id=2147

 

 

Oh, and the pulley can be removed, but it's spec'ed with red-loctite and one-time use bolts. Never mind that I'd need an impact and a properly fitting Torx bit to get them off.

[smiller]

Oh, duh, I see... kinda slow today I guess...

[Jim VonBaden]

The MoJo pieces are what make the HF stand usable.

Yes, the Mojobits are what turn a $75 POS into a $800 NoMar unit. Well, not quite, but close enough...

 

Depends on if/who you share the setup with. The HF/MojoBlocks won't fit my Buell rim, and from what I've seen not fit a H-D rear wheel either. It's the belt drive pulley that gets in the way. So it might impact the F650CS folks as well?

 

I think it's worth it to DIY. No CycleGear here, local shops want $40-50 per wheel with it off the bike.

 

The HF unit with "Mojo Blocks" works fine with the F650 wheels, both GS and CS. I have done over 100 sets of wheels with the HF unit, almost all with the HF bar, now have a No Mar, and no major issues.

 

Here is a pictorial I did using it. click here

 

Jim

 

PS The "Mojo Blocks" I am using were made by my friend Kermit LONG before Mitch made his, and are virtually identical!

 

[steveknapp]

The HF unit with "Mojo Blocks" works fine with the F650 wheels, both GS and CS. I have done over 100 sets of wheels with the HF unit, almost all with the HF bar, now have a No Mar, and no major issues.

 

Here is a pictorial I did using it. click here

 

That's an R12GS rim you were doing there, right?

 

On the CS, the pulley doesn't get in the way at all? Or does it stay attached to the bike?

[Jerry Johnston]

Looking at your mojo blocks gives one the idea that making them out of rubber might even be better. Still protective and keep the wheel from slipping.