I've built a little wood stand that requires a good bit of muscle (my son) to get the bike up. I need to buy some sort of motorcycle lift. However, once you have the bike in the position where you can remove the tires it is quite simple to remove them both. The front tire is no sweat, extremely easy to remove and put back on. The rear tire is a bit more work to remove and a lot more work to reinstall (it is a pain in the backside if you are doing it on your own, not too bad if you have a helper). Probably the most difficult part once you have the tires back on is adjusting the belt just right so it is straight, not too tight and not too loose. I mark the belt adjuster on each side to indicate how it was before I take the rear tire off, but even then it might take 3 or 4 fine tuning tries before I am satisfied.

Patrick:

I change all my own tires - been doing it for nearly 50 years.  I started with bicycle tires, then my dirt bikes....and eventually my street bikes.

I was lucky enough to get lessons on how to do it - I can't imagine trying to do it without having someone show you how to do it the first time.  Even in this internet age with YouTube videos....it isn't the same as getting a hands on lesson.

Even after fifty years.....getting the tube in and valve stem through the hole is a challenge with the overly stiff modern tires.

You have any biker friends who would be willing to help you  get the wheel on/off the first time?

Dave

No choice with stock rims. You need tubes.

Well... guess it is back to the drawing board... I've only been looking at/for tubeless tires.
I was hoping to get away from tubes.
Looking through a bunch of the mod pics here I really like the GS550L wheels that some folks have used.  I had an 81 GS550L and wouldn't mind finding another at some point.
At this point though I just want to get the bike on the road, so no major mods in the near future (other than adding a tach).

The early GS550L rims also require tubes.

Dave wrote on 04/23/19 at 18:12:41:


My hubs tried to do a tire change on Friday afternoon and it was terrible. We both watched a few videos and it seemed pretty straightforward. Not so much for us! There was so much cussing and sweating and frustration. After much scratching of the rim (even with the plastic rim shield doodads) and using all the brute force he had in him, he finally got the darn tire on the rim. He vowed to never try doing this again. In the end, we still had to take it to a tire place to get the thing inflated (no compressor at home). After seeing him go through all that, I have no confidence that I can do it for my bike.

I do everything I can to not hire someone for anything.
I Pay for tire swaps.
Could I learn how to get the job done?
Maybe, but I have other things that need done, and a banged up body, so, I don't want to experience that learning curve just to save a few bucks a year..
If you're determined to learn, start on the front.