Changing rear tire to Shinko 712 140/90-15

Need
1. Shinko 712 140/90-15 tire
2. Rubber rim protector 140/90-15
3. New inner tube with T4 valve 140/90-15
4. 24mm socket for axle nut and torque wrench
5. 2 decent tire irons
6. Talcum powder
7. Valve tool
8. 2x4 scraps, large enough to lay across one another to form a picture frame to support tire and keep rim off ground
9. Homemade 2x8 motorcycle lift
10. Dasco Beam Compass and 36" 1/2" dowel available at Sears and Home Depot http://www.homedepot.com/buy/dasco-pro-giant-circle-beam-compass-1405.html
11. Car door edge protectors
12. Air compressor
13. 2 ounces of dyna beads and application kit
14. Sharpie or grease pencil
15. Bottle jack
16. Soapy water made from dish soap, Dawn works well
17. Rubber mallet

Time: approximately 2-3 hours, but if its not going well-take a break and come back later. Who cares how long it takes you? If you wanted it done quickly you would have paid a shop who would have kept your bike for at least a day.


1. Read all of the useful advice on this forum. If you have never changed a tire and tube, practice on a bicycle wheel first, then a savage front wheel, and then the rear wheel -it's the toughest because its the most rubber and heaviest rubber and the smallest rim
2. Lift bike so rear wheel is off the ground. I built a lift composed of 3 2x8x30" boards screwed together by 2-1/2" drywall screws as found here: http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1100379341/3#3
3. Place something under rear wheel (I used a brick) just to catch rear wheel when you remove axle
4. Check belt tension so you will remember how tight it is using thumb and finger twist shown here:
http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1335401723/7
5. Disconnect rear brake line - just push brake lever toward front and you can untwist rear nut by hand
6. Mark left and right axle bushing with a sharpie L and R
7. Loosen left and right axle tensioners
8. Undo left side axle nut with 24mm socket, remove nut and washer
9. Use rubber mallet and a long bolt slightly smaller than axle to drive axle out to the right
10. Place tensioners,bushings, washer, and nut in proper order on axle and set aside until you need to reinstall rear wheel
11. Push wheel forward to release tension on belt and allow you to remove drive belt and remove the wheel from right side brake/frame slot
12. Wiggle wheel out of position under fender
13. Remove drive belt sprocket from left side of wheel and set aside until you reassemble later. Note: removing the black rubber bumpers is optional. Each is simply pushed into place with a rubber pin underneath slotting into a matching hole in the wheel.
14. Remove brake from right side of wheel and set aside until you reassemble later. Note: you might as well also inspect brake linings for depth now.
15. Lay out some 2x4 scraps to make a frame for setting wheel on ground without scratching up rim
16. Let air out of tire by removing valve with valve tool
17. Use the base of a bottle jack to break the bead on both sides of tire by placing tire and bottle jack under a car, trailer, or other relatively immovable object
18. Mix up soapy water and with a rag lubricate the edges of the wheel rim and the tire edges
19. Use 2 tire irons (and door edge protectors to protect the finish on your rim) to work one edge off of the rim. Use your hands as much as you can and use tire irons sparingly and only at the end. Less tire iron means fewer rim scratches.
20. There is a pretty good description of this here:
http://www.xs11.com/faqs/18-mounting-and-balancing-your-tires-at-home-faq.html
21. Remove any nuts on valve stem and push valve stem into wheel.
22. Grasp tube and pull it out of the wheel
23. Turn wheel over on your 2x4 frame and remove remaining edge from wheel  using hands, tire irons, and door edge protectors
24. Remove rubber rim strip
25. Clean wheel
26. Tap spokes with handle of screwdriver listening for the same tones. Where the tone indicates a loose spoke, tighten spoke with screwdriver from wheel side or spoke wrench from spoke side
27. Install new rim strip, lining up valve holes
28. Remove old wheel weights from rims or spokes
29. Lubricate new tire edges and wheel rims with soapy water
30. Locate arrow showing direction of rotation, place tire so it will roll in this direction when mounted on wheel
31. Install one edge on wheel using hands until the end and only then use tire irons and door protectors.  If it takes a while, use more lubricant. Note: a great idea on a sunny day is to put the tire in something like a black trash bag to heat it up before you use it.
32. Take new tube, air it up to barely inflated-just get wrinkles out. Rub outside with talcum powder. Remove air by removing valve.  
33. Hang tire over handle bar with valve up. Insert 2 ounces dyna bead using application kit.
34. Reinstall valve and this time put in just enough air that the tube is semi flat. There should only be enough air to keep tube from being twisted on itself during installation.
35. Insert tube into tire. Push valve through rim hole with cupped washer adn one nut on inside of tire; as manufactured.  This nut simply holds the cupped washer in place so it won't pinch the tube.  Put the other nut on the valve stem near the cap.  It keeps the valve from falling back through the rim while you are working on the tire..  I finger-tighten mine at the base when done, others use it as a lock nut to keep the valve cap from backing off, still others just throw it away.  Continental  likes to use it as a cap lock nut:
http://www.conti-bike.co.uk/default.asp?pid=26
36. Check directional arrow and now look for a yellow or other colored dot. This marks the lightest part of the tire and the tire should be rotated to place this dot next to the valve hole, as the valve and nuts will add extra weight for balancing.
37. Push tube deep and away from wheel rim where you will be using irons.
38. Install remaining edge on wheel using hands until the end and only then use tire irons and door protectors.  If it takes a while, use more lubricant. Periodically check on tube to be sure you are not pinching it.
Note: I like to work the rim up from the valve to the side opposite the valve, where I use irons.
39. Once both rims are on, fill tire to 30 pounds and watch tire bead seat against the rim.
40. Reinstall brake on the right side and the drive sprocket on the left side (install rubber bumpers first in the wheel if you removed them in step 13)
41. Wiggle wheel back in place
42. Place drive belt over drive sprocket
43. Reinsert brake slot onto matching frame slot
44. Reinstall axle tensioners but leave loose
45. Reinstall bushing L and R. You can hold the right side parts together with the axle and the left side parts with your long extra bolt or a large screwdriver.
46. Lift to wheel on something, I used a brick
47. With everything aligned, grease the axle and use a rubber mallet to tap axle in place while backing out screwdriver or long bolt.
48. Lightly install washer and axle nut
49. Adjust left side tensioner until belt tension the same as in step 4
50. Adjust right side tensioner to same position as left, but this is not the final position.
51. Using beam compass, check distance center to center from chrome swing arm cap to axle.  Adjust right side tensioner to the same center to center position, ignore frame markings.  When both sides of axle centers are the exact  same distance from the center of the swing arm, then the axle is square.
52. Tighten down axle nut, you need to have a wrench on the right side of axle to accomplish this.  Recheck belt drive tension.
53. Torque axle nut to 52ft lbs
54. Recheck air in tire to 29 pounds solo riding, 33 pounds for 2 up riding.

Mark bushings

Wooden frame to protect rim while working. C-clamps do not work as well as bottle jack.

rss, when I use C-clamps, I use a couple of 1"x4"x4" scraps of wood to make them more effective. This last time I had a couple of pieces of 1/4"x2" steel flatstock handy so I used them.

Here's a wheel holder I found on you tube...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FaL0kqekbE

I'm on my own I just want to add-if you were a wheel in the remote areas where it is difficult to find the mounting point, instead of the press,

you can use a BIG friend, putting it on the tire and that he jumped on it.

and after install the patch on the tube, it is possible to press it this a few minutes..

and then-in the way!
p.s. of course a little fun now, but I hope when you have to( though I will not wish) to fix the tube away from civilization, you will need the little things...