I've gotten a number of questions about this so I put together a little article about it. Josh invited me down to see how his new tire changer works.

HA! I invited you down to help me change my tires. You got me back with that lube innuendo.

laugh!! Well, I do believe it was close to a direct quote but with my failing memory I couldn't remember the exact words you used.

read the article:

those threaded things in the floor are called "drop in anchors"

instructional video:

Yup, that's pretty much it. Mine are Hilti brand that came from Home Depot. Pack of 4.

There's quite the thread building up about it on the BMW Tech List. No flames, everything so far has been really positive.

I've also heard back from the manufacturer and have asked permission to publish their comments. They say it's definitely a one man job and pointed out some errors in technique we were making. On the Tech it was commented that getting the wheel not to spin is challenging.

I should point out that I knew our technique was a little off. The reason you lube the center channel of the rim is to help the bead slide there as you are using the mounting bar.

However, since we were mounting a 180/50 tire on a 5" rim, I also knew the regular rules would not apply. This was a harder than usual job because a 180/50 on a 5" rim is pushing the envelop of tire width/aspect ratio to rim width...checking a fitment guide will most likely reveal that I think but I can't seem to find one.

That said, there is more art than science to this process. I've done 7 tires and I'm still learning. Bottom line, you CAN do this. There is a reason why they give the lowest level noob mechanic the job of installing tires. It's pretty much a no brainer, thus don't try to out think it.

Yea, the manufacturer sent me a note describing where they thought we had gone wrong. They say that it should be an easy one-man job if done according to the technique guidelines.

The BMW Tech list has also had quite the lively discussion on the subject.

Agree on the one man comment. But in order to make that happen you need warmer tires and probably more patience...something I am lacking.

I know the forum is for bikes but since we are on the subject of tires

one trick for installing a tire on the rim is using a plastic trash bag without tire spoons - this works on older skinny rims that use tubes like bicycles & older bikes I don't know if it will work on wider aluminum rims & tubeless tires.

other item is a tire bead seater. if you have a wide rim you can have problems getting it seated - northern tool has them
I bought this because the 8" rims on the truck I couldn't get the tires to seat.

I sincerely doubt that such an approach could work for modern motorcycle tires but it's an interesting technique.

I think the lip is too thick/ wide on a modern bike tire to be able to feather the tire over. Looks unlikely, and the guy look like he was mad struggling to pull the trash bag out... hahaha

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=299597

this ACTUALLY may work rather painlessly.

Damn. That's impressive! And makes a hell of a lot of sense but I think the straps might be a bitch to pull out ...

Interesting. I think I'll stick with the tried and true though.

I like the comment about using this technique to get the tire OFF the rim. Made me laugh.

In a way it makes sense since it's just getting thrown away anyways.

And for a street-side repair option knowing about the straps approach is useful knowledge (in a "worst case scenario" kind of way).

Tire Changer and balancer have arrived. Picked up a compressor w/ Yun tonight from Sears. Now all I have to do is order some tires and find a place to bolt the changer down. Progress is being made and too much money is being spent ...

Yeah, you'll have to find a way to pay for all this stuff eventually, but consider how cool it is to have your own tire-changing gear, a good garage, a brand new compressor and above all, a reason to be changing motorcycle tires!

Speaking of which, I'm jealous of you guys with your warm weather and early Spring. We're still in the 40's with more rain than usual. What I wouldn't do to be able to wear out a pair of tires...

not unless you have killer allergies... because... its miserable right now for me. But yea, I'm still riding. I double up my doses and ride away. ahhaha

by pure accident your thread on tires has lead me finding companies that use centrifugal balancing.

I found the ideal interesting.

@mothman Do you or your dad have a hammer drill I could borrow?

ya, I have a hammer drill I take you have some anchors to set???

A moderator on the Ducati Monster forum has a sig that refers to one of his bikes as: "looks like a motorcycle - really just a device to destroy tires".

I hope you get a lot of mileage out of both the tire changing gear and the tires you change with it!

I like that. Mine should say "looks like a motorcycle but it's really a device to speed me to poverty"

mothman, I need to go pick up the correct anchors and the right size concrete drill bit. But yet, I need to drill four holes in the garage floor and set some anchors so I can set up my new tire changer.