Replacing Tires on ATV

[Gwbarm]

I have had my new tires for a while, chronic procrastinator, decided it was time to get them mounted up. Against my better judgement i decided to mount them myself.

 

I got one of these Harbour Freight manual tire mounting machines, mounted it to a half pallet to make it more portable. Very impressed with the quality and amount of tools that came in the kit for a low price point.

 

The bead breaker worked very well, i wasnt sure it would be able to do it, i think these tires are original to the bike its a 2004, but with enough lube, mothers concentrated car wash straight, it finally broke the bead.

 

Tire fit very well on the machine and it tightened down good.

 

The extra long pry bar that came with the kit worked well to get the outer rim of tire off.

 

Half way there, half way there no issues, then it got serious.

 

I pulled and i tugged had 3 prybars working this thing and it wouldnt budge no matter what i tried it would not come off, until i got the grinder out and cut it off. Im sure most of you see what the problem was. I didnt notice it until i was too far in to change direction. On this particular rim the tire goes on and off from the back side of the rim, not the front like what i was used to. The back side is the low side. Plus to add to the problem tires were old and not very strechy, i have a greater respect for how well these ATV tires are made with well reinforced sidewalls, even with the grinder it took me a minute or two to cut through it, of couse i was being very careful not to nick the rim. Anyway the HF machine worked well and the tire is off, hopefully the next one wont be this bad. Lot of hard work for an old man, glad i can still do it.

 

Now for the fun part , cleaning up the old rim, years of stop leak and slime caked on the inside, that stuff dries hard, the little Milwaukee is good for getting into tight spaces, but wasnt quite up to the task.

 

Needed a few more RPMs.

Old rattlecan paint just flaked right off. Now time to decide on a new color, tired of the boring gray. More to come!

[jen]

what does the inside of the rim look like?   Will you need to sand that smooth so the tubeless tire will seal?  

[WeeBee]

Yes ,you ALWAYS want to run a Wire wheel /Brush on the inside lip of the wheel to remove Rust ,etc. to help with resealing the tire!

[jen]

i have a trailer tire that was pitted and held air. but when new tire was insttalled it leaked.

your arstrong tire machine paid off!

[Gwbarm]

Looked good no pitting, cleaned up inside lip with wire brush you can see in photo 6 no rust just a lot of remnants of stop leak hard brittle stuff. 

[Gwbarm]

Second tire coming off, bead breaker works very well.

Easier off the rightway, good idea actually, if you happen to scratch up the rim it will be towards the back, not seen.

 

This one had a mixture of water and slime, more cleanup time, water been in there a while i havent had it in water since i have owned it.

Now trying to decide on rim color, like it will make any difference after one muddy ride. Just want it to stop the rust.

 

 

[jen]

Did you use a primer?  Is this acrylic enamel paint?  Did you use a filler primer?

[Gwbarm]

I did use filler primer, the paint was engine enamel. The copper was rustoleum hammered finish not sure exactly what that is but it holds up well, i have painted bumpers with it in the past. I suspect it is enamel with a little silicone added to create the finish becuase it doesnt like to be topcoated with other paints. 

[mikeexplorer]

I do carry slime when riding with other tools & supplies, but I will only use it as a last resort. Got good at plugging tires. One time a machine in our group had a nice sidewall slice. Took 12 plugs to fix it. I told him it was a VERY temporary fix and it needs to be properly fixed. This idiot ran it like that for 2 YEARS! Can't believe the plugs held that long

 

[jen]

That is good.  I have tried plugging tires but do not have the strength.   Men have strength to shove the tool in the hole. BTW I have Pirelli run flats on my sports car....NICE.

[JBuckeyeJ]

7 hours ago, jen said:

That is good.  I have tried plugging tires but do not have the strength.   Men have strength to shove the tool in the hole. BTW I have Pirelli run flats on my sports car....NICE.

👀

[mikeexplorer]

14 hours ago, jen said:

That is good.  I have tried plugging tires but do not have the strength.   Men have strength to shove the tool in the hole. BTW I have Pirelli run flats on my sports car....NICE.

Interesting innuendo 😁 

Before plugging, there is a second tool that reams the puncture to rough it up, it helps the plug seal the hole and helps inserting the plug.  Usually the plug kit will include rubber cement which you coat the plug with before inserting. Acts like a lubricant to make it easier to stick it in the hole. The glue also helps seal small gaps. One trick I learned is after plugging, set the plugs on fire for about 5-10 seconds and douse with water.  It also helps fuse the plugs together if you have to use multiple plugs.

 

Here is an example of a plug job I did on a sport bike, sidewall puncture which is the worst kind of hole to fix.  He got home just fine.

[jen]

Holy Plugs! Batman.  That's amazing!   You saved that guys day,    The only tires I tired plugging were steel belted.  I could not get the TIRE PLUG tool in.  Interestinly on my sports car I had slow leaks. The tire was a Pirelli run flat.  The dealer would not plug it "because it was a run Flat."  I could not plug either.   It had several thousand miles of tread left So  kept airing it up and after a couple weeks it quit leaking.  I just replaced all four with Pirellis run flat.

[mikeexplorer]

22 hours ago, jen said:

Holy Plugs! Batman.  That's amazing!   You saved that guys day,    The only tires I tired plugging were steel belted.  I could not get the TIRE PLUG tool in.  Interestinly on my sports car I had slow leaks. The tire was a Pirelli run flat.  The dealer would not plug it "because it was a run Flat."  I could not plug either.   It had several thousand miles of tread left So  kept airing it up and after a couple weeks it quit leaking.  I just replaced all four with Pirellis run flat.

Steel belted tires would make it more difficult to plug. A tire shop could have fixed it, dealers can get weird on what they will fix. 

Some newer cars don't come with spare tire. My one vehicle doesn't have a spare, they give you an air compressor with fix a flat. I added a plug kit to the car. 

 

[jen]

HaHa...My 2006 Crossfire convertible ...I can't tell you what I call him...S.D will do.....six speed man. tranny...has a compressor and fix a flat!   That's why I have Pirellis runflats.   We were doing 120 mph when he turned over 120  K miles on the odometer!

[shorty]

My ATV and motorcycle are female. Would seem weird to refer to them in masculine terms. Maybe it's a boy vs girl owner's thing. My wife refers to her truck as "it"

[jen]

"It"...Her truck is an 'It'...She is being nice and not putting a masculine name.   Now me I use masculine names or things that are peculiar to men's habits like "always Ready" LOL

BTW I did 146 mph at Daytona speedway.  I would love  to get SD out there.  That was in a Toyota.  The guy told me if the red oil light comes on hit the "kill Button" as the motor will let go and burn with me in it.  I was strapped in so tight...They were a little over zealous strapping me in. LOL...I  could not reach the Kill Button!   The light flashed intermittently but WTH?   I was at 75 MPH coming out of the pits into turn1.

[shorty]

I circled the Daytona track slowly with miss Daytona waving at the crowds. They needed a convertible sports car on standby if the 1st choice car became unavailable. I got lucky (not with the girl)

[jen]

Wow...impressive...But no cigar?  I don't mean that the way its sounds    you know one  cannot say that ever since Bill Clinton.   

I did 8 laps around the track.  I was trying to  keep close to my pace car but brain said push the right foot down but my butt said NO WAY!

[shorty]

Sorry to hijack Mike's thread.. back to replacing tires and Mike's expert advice .. edit: gwbarm's expert advice, sorry again, maybe I'll get this right the third time 

Edited November 9, 2025 by shorty

[jen]

Gwbarm....You sanded and removed rust on inside if rim.  What paint di you use on the inside tire sealing surface area?

[Gwbarm]

No rust there, original finish in good shape i cleaned the lip of rim(sealing surface) with brass wire brush, there was just black residue from old tire that i removed, finish was still good. No rust or corrosion. I was glad about that never get as good a finish as factory.

[Gwbarm]

Been cleaning up some of the paint overspray on the inside of the rim, sealing surface and inside in good shape.

Installed new valve stems, Amazons choice, but they dont seem as robust as the old ones, hope they dont leak.

Iim reaady for tireR

Rim ready for tire, so here we go!

The lower bead pushed right on with rim and tire all lubed up. The outer bead not so much, I pulled tugged pryed with 3 24 in prybars couldnt get it to stretch on. I then realized i was not able to compress the tire enough with my hand for both beads to fall down into the low area and also pry at the same time. Its really a 2 man job, but im just one old guy so i had to figure that out. Once i got that sorted it went right on. Clamps worked very well. You can see in the photo where i messed up the paint on the rim, even though its on the inside, im still not happy. I will fix that. Before i do another, i will get this upgrade kit for my tire machine, i think it will make things easier. Remember i said i bought this thing against my better judgement, but im having fun so definately worth the minimal investment.

This was a great idea a real rim saver, i think the duckhead is plastic so wont hurt the rim if it doent break, but even so you only have to replace the duckhead. I have 6 more to do maybe 10 if replace all the tires on all my quads. Oh man, that sounds disturbing. I must be a glutton for punishment, i would still rathar do them myself at my own pace than take them to the dealer and hurry up and wait to pay them money.

[jen]

Very nice pictures.  Is tire changer fastened down?   The edge of  the rim looks pitted; however, the sealing surface is good

[Gwbarm]

Well! Its been a minute or two, been working on the front wheels and rims, they fought me quite heavily. I used soap i used carwash i used PB Blaster i used Yamaha tire lube spray, even poured boiling water on it nothing would break the bead. I then resorted to more unconventional methods. That didnt work either.

 

This didnt break it i knew i was in trouble. Ready to give up i tried one other thing.

 

No go, it wasnt about the money now, they were coming off regardless. Ordered a different type of bead breaker you turn one nut to tighten it down and another to push the bead off.

 

Before it arrived, just for grinns and giggles i decided to try the Harbour freight bead breaker one last time, and they both popped off, i guess my unconventional methods loosened it enough that i could push it off with the conventional one.

 

 

Tires came off easily now that i have learned all the tricks i am just about finished.

Water in this tire also. Now for more cleanup, bigger job than i anticipated.

 

Not pretty but it should cut down the rust a bit. Engine enamel.

[shorty]

My favorite picture is the one where you drove the car over the tire. I thought I was the only mechanic crazy enough to try that. 

[jen]

I used a 2 x 8 on tire then drove on that. That did not work.   But Grandpa's Mahindra tractor forks did.   I cannot believe how he cleaned up like new...

[shorty]

Yeah now I tilt the tractor bucket straight down and push. That works 

[jen]

That looks like he sand /bead blasted it????

[shorty]

On steel I like silica sand, it's harsh on aluminum, removes too much material if you're not careful