Need info on these two items...

[jrbloise]

Hello all, I was wondering if anyone has firsthand information on the following two items from Harbor Freight. I would love to save money by changing and balancing my own tires instead of paying astronomical rates to have my dealer do the job. I can buy the OEM tires from my dealer or E-Bay at reasonable prices.

First item:

Anyone have or used this unit? If so, please mention the pros & cons you might have experienced.
Only thing I got out of reading some reviews is that a better "bead breaker" would be needed.

Second Item:

Wheel Balancer. It would be very important to know if this will work with the OEM wheels or not. I know that most dealers (including mine) do not have a balancer that will work on the Spyder's wheels. Most regular tire service places also don't have the right adaptor (or refuse to do the job because they see "motorcycle" on the tires) to accomodate the OEM wheels either.

Other notes: Most users reviews mention securely bolting down the tire changer for more stability etc.

Biggest thing I'm looking for is to save some money by doing both the changing and balancing myself.

If anyone can help by advising, I would greatly appreciate the help.

John

 

[BajaRon]

Hello all, I was wondering if anyone has firsthand information on the following two items from Harbor Freight. I would love to save money by changing and balancing my own tires instead of paying astronomical rates to have my dealer do the job. I can buy the OEM tires from my dealer or E-Bay at reasonable prices.

First item:

Anyone have or used this unit? If so, please mention the pros & cons you might have experienced.
Only thing I got out of reading some reviews is that a better "bead breaker" would be needed.

Second Item:

Wheel Balancer. It would be very important to know if this will work with the OEM wheels or not. I know that most dealers (including mine) do not have a balancer that will work on the Spyder's wheels. Most regular tire service places also don't have the right adaptor (or refuse to do the job because they see "motorcycle" on the tires) to accomodate the OEM wheels either.

Other notes: Most users reviews mention securely bolting down the tire changer for more stability etc.

Biggest thing I'm looking for is to save some money by doing both the changing and balancing myself.

If anyone can help by advising, I would greatly appreciate the help.

John

The tire changer works, I've had one and I was pretty happy with it. But you must lag it into a concrete floor or otherwise bolt it down. Otherwise, you'll never be able to use it.

I've tried several of the bubble balancers like the one shown and never had any luck with them. The problem is that is a static balancer and your tires are dynamic.

I'd just go with Ride-On and not mess with a balancer.

 

[Raptor]

The tire changer works, I've had one and I was pretty happy with it. But you must lag it into a concrete floor or otherwise bolt it down. Otherwise, you'll never be able to use it.

I've tried several of the bubble balancers like the one shown and never had any luck with them. The problem is that is a static balancer and your tires are dynamic.

I'd just go with Ride-On and not mess with a balancer.

Two words, bro - RIDE-ON! Or is that one hyphenated word?!? :roflblack:

 

[Roy's Bassets]

:agree: with BajaRon 100%, I have had one for years, works great, as for balancer for get it us ride on.hyea:

 

[RAL]

The tire changer works, I've had one and I was pretty happy with it. But you must lag it into a concrete floor or otherwise bolt it down. Otherwise, you'll never be able to use it.

I've tried several of the bubble balancers like the one shown and never had any luck with them. The problem is that is a static balancer and your tires are dynamic.

I'd just go with Ride-On and not mess with a balancer.

I have the changer, it works but get some extra spoons to help (it can get frustrating) also be aware that it is quite easy to scar your wheels. I use it on my Ural wheels but do not think I will use it on the Spyder Mags.
As far as mounting the unit, I bolted it to one end of a 2"x8"X8' and just park my F250 on the far end when using.


RAL

 

[BajaRon]

I have the changer, it works but get some extra spoons to help (it can get frustrating) also be aware that it is quite easy to scar your wheels. I use it on my Ural wheels but do not think I will use it on the Spyder Mags.
As far as mounting the unit, I bolted it to one end of a 2"x8"X8' and just park my F250 on the far end when using.


RAL

I found a thin, tough plastic tube that just fit over the spoon that came with my kit. It helped it slide around the bead and I never scared a wheel. Without that you do need to be carful with aluminum rims.

 

[jrbloise]

tire changer & balancer

Well, thanks to everyone who replied to my post about the Harbor Frieght stuff. Today I went to a H.F. store in Nashville, and bought the yellow lift (on sale for $89.99), and some floor jacks for stability. Also got me a hydraulic roll-a-round stool as my "old legs and back are aching now-a-days.

While at the store I got to look at the above two items that I'm thinking of getting. The tire changer and the bubble wheel balancer. I didn't buy them because my tires are only a couple months old, but I'll definately will get something in order to change and balance the tires and wheels for the future. (Don't like paying the dealer those high rates!)

Question for BajaRon....you had mentioned something about "static" and "dynamic" for the balancer. I don't know what this means. Can you describe the difference?

Also, I'm not really wanting to go the "Ride-On" thing. I'm thinking too much of a mess when changing tires etc. Correct me if I'm thinking wrong about that. I have it in my head that the H.F. bubble balancer would be accurate and easy to do, with no messy "goop" to fool with.

Any help would be appreciated so I can decide what to do. If most of you agree with the Ride-On, then I would probably go that route.

Looking forward for some good advise and thanking everyone in advance,

John

 

[wyliec]

static= at rest
dynamic= moving (spin balance)

Ride-on doesn't make a mess. You'll be able to scoop it out. Lamonster had pics. of his tire removed with ride-on.

 

[NancysToy]

A tire used at speed (to me anything over 40-50 mph) should alway be spin-balanced. A bubble balancer was sufficient in 1950, but it just won't cut it nowadays.

 

[jrbloise]

Made My Decision...

I have finally made my decision concerning the Tire Changer and Wheel Bubble Balancer. I won't be buying them.

After replies from posters and especially after I actually used the Search function, I read up on Ride-On and decided that's the way to go.

The tire changer idea was dismissed because I thought about the "manual" labor involved, and decided that the $10.00 charge per tire for my local Co-op to do the job would be well worth saving me the aggravation.

Again, many thanks to all who posted with advise and comments.

John