I'll be glad to answer any questions anyone has about mounting your own tires. Tools, tips, tricks, ...etc. It's not that hard so don't be afraid to try it.

do you finance?

Yes I finance. I am also setup to take credit car payments.

I will also mount tires in exchange for goods and services rendered for those who can't afford $20. LOL

What type of barter do you accept?

Hot women, lap dance = at least 1/2 off tire changes
Dudes, you can mow my lawn, clean out my basement, pick up after my dogs, de-weed my garden, wash my car/bike, ...etc.

i thought that was reserved for robby?

Robby is too unreliable though. In the past 3 to 4 years, he has washed my bike 2x. Outstanding job both times but too much time elapsed between washings.

Serious question, can you use too much lube on a tire to cause slippage and/or cause a tire to come off a rim? How about using the wrong type of lube?

too much lube? like how much??? wrong lube yes. it much be water based so that it'll dry up. if you use oil based or silicone then it is possible that the tire will actually slip on the rim.

Slippage can be caused by using the wrong type of lube. Also, wrong type of lube can eat/corrode aluminum rims causing leakage down the road. You really can't use too much lube per say. If you inflate the tire and the bead pops correctly, any excess lube will be pushed out of the bead seating area.

But then again, just a light coating is needed. Next to wheel weights, tire lube is the 2nd most expensive item so use only a light coat to mount tires.

Are Cambo-stools a required tool for installing tires at Garage Mao?

Without a shadow of a doubt YES! Next time you come over, you can work without the aid of Cambo-stools. Then you will see how useful they are.

Sure you can drive a car with your feet but that doesn't make it right.

I heard that there is a certain direction that you are suppose to mount the tires, is that true and how do you really balance a tire?

Yes, most if not all motorcycle tires are directional. The tread is designed to work with one directional rotation in mind. This is especially true when riding in the wet. The tread is designed to push water away from the bike. Mount it backwards and you are pushing water at the bike. Doh!

Most people probably won't even notice if their tire is mounted on backwards though. I have changed some tires where the owner rode it down to the chords and never had a clue the tires was mounted backwards.

Slicks are a different story as they don't have any tread and often can be flipped. Some track riders will flip their slicks as often one side wears down quicker due to right or left turn heavy tracks.

Tire balancing is done either with a static balancer or a fancy schmancy computerized dynamic balancer. Both are balls on accurate if calibrated correctly. Problem is you don't know when the last time the shop/dealer calibrated the balancer.

I use a static wheel balancer because it's cheap and easy. The heavy spot always sinks to the bottom. You then compensate by adding weights on the opposite side. How many weights vary. Do it long enough and you can guesstimate how much weight is needed just by how quickly the tire rotates on the balancer.

Here is a good vid on tire balancing.

Hey that was cool!
thanks for the info.