How to put on new tires??????

What is the normal way you guys handle new tires.

#1 do you buy them online and install them yourself?
a. if you do, what about balancing?

#2 Do you take it to a local rip-off shop and let them do it?


#3 I dont have any more ideas.

Please help?

I buy tires online and install and balance them myself.

Two motorcycle specific tire irons for mounting/dismounting (C-clamp for tubeless tires).

Two kitchen chairs and stick on weights for balancing (chairs not motorcycle specific)

I buy them online, mount them myself and don't bother balancing. Done this for 36 years and 1/2 million miles at least.
Total defective tires due to "mail order sells defective seconds as tires"

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Zero.
Number of times lack of balance caused hopping, strange wear, vibration, bad handling tank slappers at 100mph ect, ect,

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Zero.

THANKS ALOT!!!!

I was pretty sure I could do it myself, but you know how that little voice trys to talk you out it.

:dry:

best investment i ever made

RonKZ650 ,

what causes the hopping, vibration! I'm not saying my front tire comes of the ground, but it does sometimes feel like I'm bouncing down the road.

Is it most likely the forks?

there are a lot here who change their own tires, I prefer to let the shop do it and balance them also, I have done them in the past but its not worth it to me

Same here, I've changed my tires a few times but now I just let "them" do it. On the plus side, a couple times they pinch the tube and because it was their fault I get a NEW tube to boot!! As a mechanic I understand the importance of balancing, but have never balanced mine in 27 years and have had no problems! I know they realy should be but usually it looks like crap to have a stick on somewhere n my shiny polished rim.

I always get the tires balanced, and I have thrown a weight before, man I knew right when it happend , the bike got a vibration at about 65 and then would come back at around 75-80, anything lower than 60 and I never felt it

line up the yellow/white dot on the tire with the valve stem and forget about the balancing. done this many times with no ill effects. just get yourself some soapy water and 2 tire tools. easy.

I mount my own tires primarily because I don't trust anyone else to not pinch the tubes (like packing your own parachute). I balance them by suspending the axle between 2 chairs and giving the tire a little spin (several times) to see where it stops. If the tire has a heavy spot it will consistently end up at the bottom. If I find this to be so, I put 2 little stick on weights 1/3 of the way around the tire so I end up with 3 offsetting heavy spots (the one inherent to the tire plus the 2 different places the weights are placed). This leaves me with a sort of triangular balance rather than 2 heavy spots, thus reducing the "barbell" effect. I then spin the tire a few more times to see if it comes to rest at random places. If it does, it's balanced; if not, I adjust the amount and/or location of weights. This is not something you can do quickly, so I usually change tires at night or in the winter when I'm not in a hurry to go riding. This apprach may be overkill, but it has always worked well for me. Ed

Ed, that's exactly how I do it, including the kitchen chair tire balancing