Dave's got it right! :thumbup1:
This tool is THE WAY TO GO! You can try to make one but for the price the "real thing" makes it easy peasy once you've used it a couple times.

There are many tricks guys have to getting the valve stem in ... but this tool eliminates all the fuss.

Since you're practicing changing tires ... what are you using to break the bead? To me, breaking the bead on certain tires/wheel combos on certain stubborn rims is the really tough part of tire changing. Spooning tire Off/On is easy by comparison.

The DR650 wheel really "grabs and holds" the tire bead, not letting the bead slip into wheel well (break). You can ride a flat for 50 miles on some tires ... bead will not break. :helpsmilie:

I carry a BIG C Clamp ... I hear the Motion Pro bead breaker does a great job ... have not tried it yet. C Clamp is a PITA to pack/carry ... but it DOES break the bead on my DR650.

Do yourself a favor ... buy the Value pully thingy. Well worth it! bier

I've seen that valve stem puller thing on sale and wondered how effective it is. If it worked it would make life a little easier but there are so many snake oil gadgets around in the bike world that cynicism is usually my first response these days. It does work then - does it?

I usually end up using the Churchillian method of tyre changing - " nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat", and when I've failed to get the valve stem in place after about twenty attempts there's usually plenty of all of that all over the tyre as well as soap, WD40 and just about any other liquid I have to hand. I mean, how hard can it be? It's usually at this point I start fantasising about alternatives like split rims or .... paying someone else to do it. A little window flap on the side of the tyre that you could open and get the valve stem in place that way would be nice but I'm sure there's a downside to it somewhere along the line. :confused2:

Pride however means I end up determined to see it through irrespective of the state of my fingers afterwards. I know many of you here are seven feet tall with fingers of steel and able to rip a tyre from its rim with your bare hands
so none of this poses a problem but my lily white girly fingers have a hard time with many enduro type tyres. Some of these things have sidewalls made of concrete and you just cannot get any space under them to reach the valve stem. My record (fortunately some years back now) is a day and a half to change a rear Michelin Desert on my CCM Excel rim. And that was in my garage. It would have been a long and lonely session at the side of the road.

There is a different method. With one side of tyre on rim, but tube not yet in tyre. Use 2 levers, a few inches either side of valve hole in rim, levers jamed into well of rim, lever 2nd bead onto rim at the valve hole, gently kneel on levers, pushing second bead well onto rim, but only in the regon of the valve hole. With just the right amount of presure on the levers with your knees, the valve hole will be exposed. Slip the valve stem of the tube into the hole, put a nut on, or a valve cap to stop it coming out. Remove levers, pull the 2nd bead back past the valve (of the rim), so you can then install the tube into the tyre, then put second bead on as normal
like everything, requires a little practice, but it works fine, no extra tools required. It is the method I use as my first choise, either on the floor at home, or on the side of the road.
kneeling on the levers takes a little practice, as they are inclined to slip.

I've never given that method a try (Sprinter), but I've sometimes thought of it but discounted it as I would expect to damage the tybe too much trying to get the bead over it. Again, practice makes perfect.

I so sympathise with you, back of beyond, because this is my experience, trying a trying, getting more frustrated and wearing away your fingers. I don't fancy that in the middle of nowhere!

Still working on a home made, just got to be sure it is tough enough!

Attachment 14882

'Ere we go. Its light and cheap and has worked. I don't think it would put up with much rough treatment, but more than anything, it gets in in the right position quick and easy and a little re-adjustemnt will slide the valve into place.

With it being just a little bit of wire, the core remover works with it quite easy too.

The bead on my bike is not too hard to break, a little bit of jumping up and down on it and a tyre lever will get it off with just a small amount of effort. I guess I am lucky in that sense!

I feel your pain !!! :helpsmilie: I loath tire changes/flat repair. In Mexico I've ridden many miles (out of my way) to get to a Llantero shop to avoid having to break down the bead. I don't mind front tires ... but rear tires are a bloody and bruised affair. :nono:

The little valve gizmo does work ... if you know how it works and at what stage you should pull the valve through.

No tools required:

From 5:20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_A9VeM-XLc

Great if you get a puncture 200 metres from a Honda work shop.

Totally useless if you are by the side of the road/ miles from anywhere!

We all need real world solutions to problems that happen on the road.

I love home made/cheap/ not exactly repair manual sanctified proceedures because they get the job done, where no workshop is available.

I think everyone likes and appreciates that! hopefully!

??? Did you see how he got the valve in? I've done it like this for years, but it's up to you.

I have changed more tyres than i could possibly count and the youtube video as linked up by Alibaba is right on the money. This method does not need to be done in a Honda equipped workshop and works perfectly well in the middle of nowhere with just the tools one should carry on a trip or trail riding. I know, I've done it and I've used this method for at least 20yrs. The fact that the guy did the job with wheel on a purpose made stand was for convenience and is not essential. This is "real world" and doesn't require the purchase of another special tool. Its also the best method for those people who use rimrocks.