Motorcycle tyre fitting is a skilled job

Can you fit motorcycle tyres yourself? Yes, probably. In the same way that you can rebuild an engine or change fork seals yourself. You’ll need a workshop, a bead breaker, tyre balancing equipment, balance weights, a compressor plus the tools and skills to remove and refit wheels. Oh, and don’t forget the ABS sensors and tyre-pressure monitoring systems. And a note from your mum because you’ll be needing at least a day off school and some time for your knuckles to recover.

Tyres and wheels have evolved

Most modern bikes use radial tyres which have stiff construction. Getting one on or off a lightweight motorcycle wheel without breaking either the tyre, the wheel, your knuckles or all three is a skill that takes practice. Modern bikes have much wider tyres than older ones. The rear tyre on a 2023 Yamaha MT-125 (14bhp, 70mph top speed) is wider than any motorbike at all before 1984 including 120bhp, 1100cc superbikes that went twice as fast. Your local tyre fitter will have changed the tyres on most types of bikes of most ages, will be familiar with spoked (tubed and tubeless), cast, lightweight racing and wheels with TPS sensors fitted. They will also know how to sort out the mess from that get-you-home foam you sprayed inside and how to fit a tube without pinching it against the rim.

They will know how to remove the back wheel from a Honda Gold Wing or full-dress Harley or scooter in the shortest time while doing no damage. They will know the difference between how manufacturers mount and calibrate their ABS sensors and they’ll know to catch the cush-drive rubbers as they tumble from your rear wheel and in what order they need to be refitted.

Removing wheels tells an awful lot about how a bike is maintained. A good tyre fitter will instinctively look at the state of your fasteners and brake calipers. They will check the pads, look at the chain and sprockets and notice a weeping fork seal or damaged rim. Having an expert look over your bike from time to time away from the pressure of a MoT test is clearly a good thing. Good tyre fitters refit the wheels with greased bolts and a squirt of chain lube too.

If your bike has tubed tyres...

Adventure tyres with tubes need extra care when fitting. It’s all too easy to nip the tube while fitting and every tyre fitter has heard the excuse, "It was damaged by Hermes and it had a hole in it when I went to fit it" at least once a week.

Also, when changing a tubed tyre, it makes sense to change the tube at the same time. The old one has been in action for several thousand miles, are you really happy to trust it for twice as long as the tyre it was inflating?

Part of the adventure culture is a spirit of independence. We admire that, but when luck goes against you and it’s your turn to ride over the nail are you sure you can change a tyre at the roadside?

When a tube fails you have a flat tyre that, no plug or get-you-home slime will fix. At the very least make sure you have breakdown cover with recovery and, if you are planning on a trip of a lifetime, make sure you can change a tyre/tube at the roadside. Having seen the experts work on a small, tubed rim - with all the right kit in a calm workshop environment, I'd hate to be in Timbuktu (or Tunbridge Wells) with a punctured tube.

Lou Sweels