I bought these originally
https://www.ajsutton.co.uk/product/B...FVFuGwodV2UHzA

And I could not use them, they were way to thick to get between the tyre and the rim. I ended up with two of the ebay tyre levers and ground one of the buzzetti tyre levers down so it was a lot thinner. I now use two ebay levers 1 adapted buzzetti and plenty of washing up liquid and perspiration. I could not take a tyre off without using 3 levers no matter how many videos I watch.

__________________
www.frothandflames.com
2012 Kawasaki W800
1997 NX 650 Dominator

For me 16" steel levers, big blue G-clamp and a couple of bits of wood for breaking the bead and anything soapy and plenty of it. Don't know why but last set of tkc's were a pain to get off compared to the last set I changed! Caused a sweat!

Mal.

I recon some rims are easier than others. One manufacturers 18 inches might not be quite the same as anothers?

I am sure rims are getting taller and thicker? Many years ago I used to be able to take the tires off my D14 Bantam with old spoons Admittedly I was much younger and fitter and I am sure Sheffield steel was better quality than the cheap Chinese crap we get from poundland these days

__________________
www.frothandflames.com
2012 Kawasaki W800
1997 NX 650 Dominator

Actual rubber lubricant as used in a proper tire shop is what I use. The product I've seen here is called RU-Glide. I'm sure you've got similar in UK?

Problem is Ru Glide only sold in huge gallon or 2 gallon tubs. Visited my local tire shop and the guy spooned me out some into a plastic film can. Done! (free)

That's what I carry with me. So ask local tire shop if you can "borrow" a bit of their rubber lube. (tip: it can get a bit runny in temps over 35C but still works fine)

Dish soap is OK but Ru Glide or similar is BETTER! (IMO)

Many of the videos shown are on tires like TKC80's or other NON DOT knobbly type tires. These tires are extremely easy to break the bead on. I'd like to see that guy do a Metzeler Tourance, Avon Distanzia or the like fitted to a tubeless style rim like the DR650 with the serrated inner rim which grips like HELL to keep that tire on there and WILL NOT let the bead pop easily.

On mine, you can't even get a tire iron in at all. A real BEAR to deal with Tire sidewall must be properly crushed to break bead ... I use C Clamp. But I think the Motion Pro system may work better.

Tyre soap is good. Some stuff is designed for use only with a tyre machine though. Another good trick is to get a bar of household soap. Dip into water and rub it on. I carry some in my wash kit. Little ones donated from hotel rooms are handy to carry. And of course, they're dual purpose.

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Another popular tire Iron now used are the Motion Pro ones:
BeadPro Tire Bead Breaker and Lever Tool Set
BeadPro FS (Forged Steel)

Mollydog they look good but they seem a trifle expensive?

__________________
www.frothandflames.com
2012 Kawasaki W800
1997 NX 650 Dominator

Most guys I see go overkill on the tire irons, strapping the long workshop versions onto their bikes... I have a big set for my at home tire changes, but on the bike I carry a compact set of Motion pro 8" tire irons that fit in a sleeve and take up very little room... With proper technique the compact irons perform just fine ... The biggest mistake I see is people trying to pry a stiffer carcass tire off without having the bead opposite the working area sitting in the drop center of the rim... With a big iron the possibility of breaking or damaging the tire bead increases..

I did up a short video of a pretty casual tire repair on one of my back country jaunts:https://youtu.be/pKAzGBxJmuc

To pop the bead with the short irons I cross the tips and pry against each other pushing the bead away from the rim similar to the how newer motion pro tool works...

That technique may work on soft Knobby tires on dirt bike rims, but on other rims with safety beads ... running stiffer, road oriented tires, it's not going to work. (God knows I've tried it!)

21" front tires practically fall off the rim on a dirt bike rim like your KTM. Looked like the soft knobby on there was already broken by the time you'd stopped.

A 17" rear wheel with a knurled safety bead like the DID wheels used on DR650 and other bikes, can be extremely tough to break the bead. Once broken, spooning tire OFF back ON is not the hard part (for me).

The hard part is initially breaking the bead on the stiff rear street tire. I've even seen Tire pros at shops struggle with these using the No Mar tire changer.

With a Coates machine or other power changer, no problem ... but if you get the spoon/breaker bar in wrong, you can break the steel wire bead in the tire ... seen this in person ... luckily it was the worn out tire coming OFF that he ruined. I stopped him right there and got the boss to finish up the job.

On two occasions I've ridden on Flat Avon Distanzia rear 17" tires. One time for over 50 miles. I knew I couldn't break the bead with what I had on board ... and I also knew it would not break from riding flat ... it did not. Caught up with my riding partner who carried a 12" C clamp to break the bead on his 955i Tiger 150/17 rear tire. It worked on my DR's stubborn Distanzia.

Anybody used the "body cream" from hotels instead of soap?

That front tire in the video was an MT-21 and it was pretty warm and soft cause I rode on it for a bit, you can see how easily it spooned off...
But I do run stiff carcass tires on the back more times than not and still get by with the 8" spoons... The rear tires I often run are the Metzler Karoo 3 tubeless in 140X80X18, the Dunlop 908 RR and also the Pirelli Scorpion Rally in the 140 size.... The Scorpion Rally is a big stiff tire that actually measures 150 wide and the biggest challenge is to get these big tires into the drop center of my DID Rim ... When the tires are on the rim for a long time the bead will actually stick to the side of the rim making it harder to separate the 2... When I get a flat I'll ride on it for a bit, this may not break the bead, but it will warm up the tire and hopefully make it more pliable ...

Last year I took a short jaunt and ended up doing an extended ride, problem was I forgot my tire kit... Well I hit some nuggets at speed and ended up with an instant flat on the front... With no tire tools I ended up riding 30 KM on it till I got cell phone service and phoned a friend to bring me out a tube and spoons... That front tire did not pop the bead in that 30 KMs of riding on it an I don't use rim locks...

Breaking the bead can be next to impossible on some tyre / rim combinations. The Michelin Desert + Excel rim on the back of my CCM took me a day and a half just to break the bead last time I changed it - and that was in my garage. I came very close to taking an angle grinder to it. There's no way at all it would come off at the side of the road with one person and two 8" levers. And it's not just lack of experience - I've been changing my own tyres for 40yrs and can do "normal" ones in about 20-30 mins.

The worst part is it now needs changing again .....

I've never done a Michelin desert but have done a Michelin Baja which is probably similar construction while I remember it as a stiff tire I don't remember any problem breaking the bead... I worked as a mechanic at a small bike shop a couple yrs back and we did a lot of tires.. It was all done by hand with tire spoons as the owner was too cheap to buy a tire machine.. He built a fulcrum bead breaker out of a long 2x6 that fit into a jig on the workbench.. He was a street bike guy taking the tire off all on one side and had never seen the method of dropping the rim inside the tire that I use..

having only ever done 10-15 tyre changes myself, I count myself in the "have got a bit of an idea on it, but need more knowledge" category. There's been some really useful comments here, and a few useful ideas taken out, many of which appear to be tyre dependent?