Harbor Freight Motorcycle tire adapter changes.

[bwv]

Works. So far I can duplicate your online price. Do you need the bead breaker? LINKY

Nope.. this one has the bead breaker built in...you dont need to buy another.

If you look at picture #1.. straight below the FJR's kickstand and slightly left, is where it is on this machine.

I did get this tire iron for $5 (CLICKY) while i was at it...

 

[bwv]

So.. my thoughts on what i'm gonna do..

A
1 Cut up wife’s biggest plastic chopping board (buy wife new one… ) into strips.
2 Fill rectangle tubes with stacked strips that extend ¼ inch or so above top..
3 .the strip against the “rim finger” to be wider at top, and longer to cover the entire face of it.
4 Notch this longer strip for "rim finger"

(maybe clamp two of these together and drill at the middle, resulting in a perfect half circle groove in each when seperated)

Possible "A" Version 2… reality checks in.. quit being cheap.. buy new improved Mojo Blocks

B
Find solid bar for center… I think I got something laying around here somewhere…

C
Use more strips of cutting board.. make some kinda "glides" for HF bar.

D
(Optional based on performance)
Weld the 3 arms… I don’t think the arms will stay put…the bolts don’t have exact holes… only clamping force from the bolts the arms perfectly on plane .
( I’ll try it the way it is..but if it moves, I’m meltin’ some steel…. )

E
1 Wear out rear tire
2 Carefully shop for new rear tire at bargain price..possibly with coupon

F… See what Fred thinks

 

[escapefjrtist]

I have a original design HF changer with Mojo lever, blocks and Marc Parnes balancer. As long as you're not doing a ton of tires it works OK...mine is also bolted to a 4 X 4 piece of plywood. Probably changed a 100 tires so far, including a dozen car tires and a couple off the riding lawn mower. It's definitely paid for itself!

I'd wait for the Mojo parts or fab something similar on your own. Get rid of the arm and use a piece of round stock through the wheels, that's all you need.

Have fun!

--G

 

[Chuck35]

Thanks for helping separate me from more of my hard earned money!

I probably wont live long enough to retire anyway

I ended up with the changer and mc adapter taxed and delivered for $77.01

Every way I tried to add the tire iron wasted 5 bucks. (changed the coupons)

I'll get the Mojolever when the new Mojoblocks are ready. Its a nice looking tool! CLICKY

There goes another $130

I'm getting to old to keep mounting tires on my knees.

 

[gixxerjasen]

Thanks for helping separate me from more of my hard earned money!

This is about keeping your hard earned money. It'll pay for itself very quickly.

 

[Chuck35]

This is about keeping your hard earned money. It'll pay for itself very quickly.

For me this is a luxury. I can freely use the automotive tire changers at work, but I prefer to work on my bike at home. I have been installing bike tires with short spoons on my knees.

 

[escapefjrtist]

Thanks for helping separate me from more of my hard earned money!

This is about keeping your hard earned money. It'll pay for itself very quickly.

...many times over! Not to mention the ability to change tires when YOU want to.

--G

 

[dcarver]

..and not have to give up an entire morning / afternoon while they dick with it and phook it up.

I'm to the point it takes less than 1.5 hours to swap a tire, front or rear. But I prefer to take 2+ hours.,

I like to take more time, enjoy the experience, check carefully for bearing damage, rim run-out, why do the little rubber marbles appear in some tires, not others, why do the inside brake pads wear faster than the outside... it's a Zen thing.. and at day's end, I'm happy, and saved money. I'm frugal. ...err, cheap.

And know the tire I just installed will be just fine. So just ride.

 

[bwv]

^^ THIS ^^

 

[Fred W]

Just saw this topic. Looking at the "new" HF tire stand, I have to say I do not see how it could ever work without some major modification.

Here's a look at the "old" wheel clamp blocks:

The hook in the old blocks was what would grab the edge of the wheel rim. That hook is now a vertical element, so there will be no way to clamp the wheel in place with the new stock block.

If you install the mojo blocks (once he has the new ones ready) that will give you the lip that is needed:

I assume the new mojo blocks will be the same basic design resized for the new style vertical backstop.

I wouldn't worry about the blocks flexing backwards when you are clamping the wheel. The blocks in my Cycle Hill changer do that too. The blocks (with mojo block hooks) should allow adequate clamping force to keep the wheel from spinning when you are levering on the tire.

I'd take off the entire upper arm and just get rid of it. It will not do anything for you and will just be getting in the way. It's nicer to have a full 360 degree access to the wheel and tire. You can buy a solid steel 5/8" rod at Home Depot (that's where I got mine) that will fit inside the wheel bearings perfectly. Just drop it in through both bearings and it will sit close enough to 90 degrees to lever against.

I find that the demount end of the various tire bars, NoMar, Noscuff and MojoLever (I own copies of the first two) work very well for removing tires. OTOH, the tire mounting end of these things tend to be a PITA. Maybe I have not been using them properly, but I have tried both styles of mount bar repeatedly and I find it much easier to just lever the second bead of the tires on using MotionPro tire irons and milk bottle rim protection. (the first bead will always just push right on with a little lubrication)

YMMV

 

[lonerider]

I find that the demount end of the various tire bars, NoMar, Noscuff and MojoLever (I own copies of the first two) work very well for removing tires. OTOH, the tire mounting end of these things tend to be a PITA. Maybe I have not been using them properly, but I have tried both styles of mount bar repeatedly and I find it much easier to just lever the second bead of the tires on using MotionPro tire irons and milk bottle rim protection. (the first bead will always just push right on with a little lubrication)
YMMV

I've had the same experience (with the HF and the Mojo levers) and, like you, end up levering the bead with rim protectors and tire irons.

 

[RaYzerman19]

I find that the demount end of the various tire bars, NoMar, Noscuff and MojoLever (I own copies of the first two) work very well for removing tires. OTOH, the tire mounting end of these things tend to be a PITA. Maybe I have not been using them properly, but I have tried both styles of mount bar repeatedly and I find it much easier to just lever the second bead of the tires on using MotionPro tire irons and milk bottle rim protection. (the first bead will always just push right on with a little lubrication)
YMMV

I've had the same experience (with the HF and the Mojo levers) and, like you, end up levering the bead with rim protectors and tire irons.

Agree you can have some "oops" once in a while... what helps is a woodworking clamp or two to keep the tire down in the valley of the wheel, and a slightly higher attack angle with the Noscuff or Mojo. Not perfect but might be if they were made of thinner material. I have occasionally had to use a spoon too.

 

[Chuck35]

I'd take off the entire upper arm and just get rid of it. It will not do anything for you and will just be getting in the way. It's nicer to have a full 360 degree access to the wheel and tire. You can buy a solid steel 5/8" rod at Home Depot (that's where I got mine) that will fit inside the wheel bearings perfectly. Just drop it in through both bearings and it will sit close enough to 90 degrees to lever against.

I'll Take that advise! I found one for $11.00 HERE

How long does it need to be?

I also stumbled upon a holder that looks almost as handy as an extra hand. Clicky

 

[bwv]

It is likely I will wind up with Mojo blocks and a Mojo bar.. but I am frugal and this was to be an inexpensive project so...

Here's what i did today using some scrap stuff.

The brown plastic is leftover vinyl lattice... it is perfect for taking up the play in the rim clamps. I then had to drill the pin holes out as only one side fits after the shim is installed..

Because i am lazy, I did not take the lead screw drivien rim clamp off... I simply forced it into the space using the lead screw and a block.

The clamps are now very stable and stay at 90 degrees.

The white plastic I used for the rim blocks is leftover 1"x4" PVC Trimboard... I think it will hold up... if it doesnt I will by some higher density plastic. (onlinemetals.com has great selection)

The vinyl downspout I melted over the ends of the HFT tire bar with my heat gun, then trimmed where i think it will work then zip tied... we will see...

Now i gotta try and wear that rear tire out faster...

 

[bwv]

I guess im gonna head to Home Depot too for the bar.. I only have 1/2"

Thanks FredW !

 

[Chuck35]

Nice work bwv!

I am quite taken with the rim clamps.

I'm anxious to see how this works out.

Don't you have a buddy with a worn out tire?

 

[bwv]

I would Imagine the MoJo guy will do a similar setup... and probably do a lot nicer job of it (he really does make some really professional looking products, I'm just not ready to drop another $130 yet)

Anyone close enough that wants to try it out is welcome. Just lemme know.

I just gotta get my hammer drill back from work so i can get some anchors in the floor. And I gotta get some 5/8 rod....

I already have a balancer (I don't have any proper clip on weights though...just stick coated steel on ones... i will fix that sometime) ...

I just got this setup going because i didnt have a bead breaker yet, I had some coupons, the MC adapter was back, and the rear on the Feej wont fit in my vise like the front did.

That... and after changing the the rear on my buddies' c90 and the front of my feej with spoons...I had enough fighting... That stuff was ok for the KLR tires.. but not the big stuff.

 

[PhilJet09]

Nice work! I have the old style with the Mojo blocks and lever and can change a tire in about 1.5 hrs going really slow. I never liked putting enough clamping pressure on the wheel to keep it from spinning, so I use a couple cargo straps wrapped through the spokes and around the tire changer. Works great. Mine bolts right to the garage floor so it's rock solid. I drilled the four holes in the concrete and dropped in some inserts that use lag bolts. The whole thing stores up in the attic when I don't need it.

 

[Old Guy]

Wow, the rim holders on the new one look positively awful. How the heck are they supposed to hold the wheel at all? I can see a lot of first timers having a difficult time with this one.
I like that the center bar has the bit at the bottom to keep it from moving around, the clamping method on the old one has never been to my liking but I also don't want to have to pull bearings just to change a tire either. Seems like some good ideas with poor implementation.

Those rim holders on the new one look pretty useless to me. I don't see how they're supposed to work. I use pieces of plastic cut from milk jug and zip tie them to the old-style clamps. To keep from having to clamp so tightly, I strap one of the spokes of the wheel to an arm on the changer. I took the top of the motorcycle adapter off and just drop the original bar down through the bearing. It flops around, but it seems to work fine. We've mounted a bunch of tires, including those gawd-awful Goldwing tires, on it.

I use a Mojolever on it. The one that came with mine was pretty much useless on motorcycle tires.

 

[bwv]

+1 on the cargo straps.. I'm with you there.... problem solved before it happens.

+1 on the rim holders looking useless out of the box... I mean.. what the hell were they thinking? between the lack of any kind of rim hook at all, and the loosness alowing them to angle tipped away from center....theres no way theyd hold even the easiest of tires to change...

Hell.. if i was to design something to shoot a rim at the ceiling.. it might look like that..