How much to change a tire?

Get an Atlas from Greg Smith. I got mine for $1250 shipped with the motorcycle tire adapters. If you are only doing street bikes you wont need the adapters. I never take it to the track, but it is awesome to be able to prep your bike at home and mount up tires on all your wheels before you leave for a weekend. No more rush over to tire guy first thing to get ready for a trackday/race.

$900 for a manual one. No thanks.

Why haul it to the track when the tire vendor is right there? If you must then mount some handle bars on it and get some heavy duty wheels mounted on the back and tilt and roll it like the tire vendors.

I have an Atlas from Greg Smith. Have had it for about 3 years or more now. It has been very good. After a few months one seal started leaking a bit of air. I called them and they even mailed me the o ring at no charge. I have changed a few hundred tires on it. I bet it will outlast me. On the greg smith site they do a pretty good job of showing why there unit is better than all the other similarly priced units.

 

I just said it would be handy to have one in our pit, i didnt say anything about ME actually changing the tires. Hey Joe....

 

Because it would be quicker and i wouldnt have to wait in line, or worry about not getting my tires back in time.

 

And those prices sound very fair, for the customer bringing just the rim.

 

Stop trying to justify a silly purchase.

 

Hey. Hushup.

 

I'd rather have a $900 manual changer that's virtually indestructible, impossible to damage wheels with, and pretty much idiot-proof, than a bare bones automatic unit that will cost more to keep up and is more likely to damage wheels.

 

To each their own.... But In the heat we have down here I would much rather use my feet to push a pedal than upper Strength....If a Automatic one is messing your wheels up its not the right one for MC's, Jaw Pressure too loose or the person operating is a idiot... Plastic inserts hold the rims on most MC styles and with correct pressure you can change a tire without touching the rim like your supposed too... No rim savers ect...

 

Man, that's a sad truth. It used to be easy. I don't know if I'm getting old or if I have just had a run of tough tires, but changing by hand has been kicking my ass recently.

 

I've used an auto plenty at the old shop. For stiff tires on cruisers and goldwings or for ATV tires or car tires it's the bomb. For race tires on sportbikes, my nomar is just as easy and I just feel better not using as much force to mount them.

 

Hard compound MX tires kick my ass sometimes but I have not had any race rubber that has given me trouble with irons. Most of it is soft enough that they pop right on with a bit of lube. The only thing that can be a hassle is my 2x4 bead breaker...

 

And how much money have you spent on the cheaper tire changers for upkeep and maintenance?

 

Um ok. Good luck damaging my 500 lb machine. A nomar for close to a grand is silly when you can get an actual tire machine for basically the same price. I haven't scratched a single wheel on mine. Maybe that is because it has plastic or rubber jaws. I managed to teach myself how to change tires just by remembering what the tire guys did. And in the 3 years I have had mine I have spent zero on maintenance. There is a reason that virtually every motorcycle and car tire place uses and automatic type machine. You have to be nuts to spend the same type of money on a manual machine as an automatic. You can justify it however you want, but your arguments against an automatic machine are weak at best.

 

Which model Atlas do you have?

 

Mine is the TC211 I believe. Looks like it may have been replaced by the TC221

 

I just performed the first maintenance ever on my 20 year old Corghi automate changer. $50.00 worth of bearings as the changer sits outside my shop, sometimes in the rain. I have easily spent that much on the plastic protectors for the rims and changing bars for the Coates 220 manual changer I also have.