[blitz]

In the late 1970's and early 1980's, while a young'un, I used the Coats 220 at the shop i worked at all the time. Beautiful machine. It changed my life. Before the 220, I *hated* doing tires; after the 220, I looked forward to it.



That being said, the 220 is overkill for the home mechanic. I have 7 motorcycles (3 dirt, 4 street), and change all of my own tires, both tubed and tubeless. I have the Harbor Freight tire changing machine, and use it only to break beads. Once the bead is broken, i use long Motion Pro tire levers to lever the tire off of the rim. I also used Motion Pro rim protectors to protect the rim from lever marks.



This rig works great for someone who changes fewer than one tire per day. But, I am also cheap, and although I'd love the 220, it doesn't make sense for the average home mechanic. However, if you have the dough, go for it.



If you understand the basics of tire changing (i.e., start at the stem, end at the stem,

and make sure the bead is in the drop section of the rim while levering tires on and off), you don't really need the machine. By practicing without a machine, you're more able to fix your own tires on the road or on the trail.



My $0.02.

 

[blitz]

One trick i use to lift/hoist the front end of your motorcycle (provided you have access to an area where you have rafters) is to use 2 tiedowns and a small bottle jack.



Connect two tiedowns to the rafter, and one each to each side of the handlebar. Pull the tiedowns tight. Now, put the bottlejack under the engine/fame, and raise it up a bit. On the tiedown with slack, pull the slack up, putting tension on the tiedown. Move the jack to the other side, and repeat. In about 3 minutes, you'll have the bike up and ready to go.



Works like a champ, and is WAY cheaper than some stand deal.



FWIW.

 

[blitz]

Re: dude, ever hear of a front stand?

Dude, learn to read and think.

1. He didn't want to buy a front stand. (that's the reading part).

2. The speed 4 doesn't have a center stand. How do you keep the bike from falling over with

just a car jack? you *could* use a car jack and pivot on the side stand, but my guess is that with that $7k investment, you would want something a bit less wobbly. (that's the thinking part).

See. if you read and think, you can solve problems, even those with constraints.