Definitely lots of dish soap and a little bit of water - I usually grab a bottle that is part used and top it up with water - then it doesn't evaporate off so quickly and the tyre stays 'slimy' so easier to slip the levers in, spoon levers do work pretty well, I was sceptical of them, but thy are pretty good and don't pinch tubes so easily, if you really need levers much over a foot long then you are doing it wrong. Warm tyres do make a difference too, hard to warm them up in Winter though, If I can I put them on the roof (with asphalt shingles) or in direct sunlight in Summer somewhere bloody hot they slip on much easier.

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Cheers
Grif

'11 KTM 450 EXC
'09 Suzuki DR650
'00 Discovery Series 2 V8
'95 Defender 90 300 Tdi Overlander
http://gipperstravels.blogspot.ca

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.

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

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.

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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?

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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.

I had a rear flat in my spoked/tubes triumph 955 tiger on the motorway 10 mikes from my house. I had a full puncture kit with me. I used every trick in the book and that bead just would not break. I had to get the AA out after an hour on the hard shoulder.

Once home I attacked it a again with a long levered manual need breaker. Even in the jig, it wouldn't budge. It took me an hour with a can of wd40 and a crow bar getting it to separate. I can't remember the tyre.

I've changed hundreds of tyres by hand and on machines and that rim was impossible. No wonder they changed them to cast wheels after two years.

So !! The point is. Sometimes it's almost impossible with whatever tools you have.

Anyway, after that I sold the bike.

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

I use the the besrest kit that comes with 3 8.5" irons .
For my 690 they're ok and very easy to use .
http://www.bestrestproducts.com/imag..._01_Kit550.jpg


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You can wtch the video on you tube https://youtu.be/7YNh6nFQ2Es

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We are the Pilgrims, Master, we shall go Always a little further: it may be beyond that last blue mountain barred with snow, Across that angry or that glimmering sea.

Also the bead re setter https://youtu.be/5JPwpC4_7uY
Down side is costing im sure there is simler in uk or eu just not seen it yet!

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We are the Pilgrims, Master, we shall go Always a little further: it may be beyond that last blue mountain barred with snow, Across that angry or that glimmering sea.

Got the Rabaconca tyre levers (16") recently as a present. Well ~ actually, they are part of the full RABACONDA Tire / Mousse Changer https://rabaconda.com package. The Rabaconda tyre levers have the same shape / pointy tip as the 16" MotionPro tire levers.

Rabaconda, brilliant portable tool kit for changing mousse and tubed tyres (inflated with around 0.6-1psi) with ease, shall take pics next time around but videos show how to process.... Rabaconda Videos: https://rabaconda.com/videos/



MotionPro Tyre Tools.... https://www.motionpro.com

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Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

pnuematic tyres have been around for over 100 years old and a puncture still the big problem?,i still cant believe after all this time with punctures still being a pain, especially on bikes there isnt a long life road going moose ,then the only time the tyres would have to come off is when they were changed ,my moan over

On other forums I've seen it said that RuGlyde and Murphy's Oil Soap are pretty much the same. I don't have personal experience, though.

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