Tire Replacement / Repair Trouble  By  dishe (Read 2,839 times)

Thanks for the input! No such thing as a response that is too silly!
The tire is actually pretty old and had a lot of miles put on her... its from 2 scooters ago, back in 07. I messed some things up and salvaged it for parts, then bought a new scoot.
The tire on the newer scoot ran over a nail which ripped a gash in it. Luckily, I still had the tire from the old one which was the same size, so I swapped them. That's the tire that is currently not holding any air. It could be you are right and it just isn't making a good seal, but at this point I'm probably best off replacing the original tire and putting that rim back on. The tread on this one is going anyway.

So, now I just need to figure out where and what type of tire to replace it with.

I dont get it why people drown in a puddle.
Instead of going around in the internet call tirebandit, tell them what tire you have now (you know, those little numbers in the tire wall) and they will be happy to tell you what you need and guess what, you can get them from them too... Just in case, here is the number 1-888-339-3888.
And since those other larger shops seems to be too pompous (sorry, they dont have a KMA smiley) to work in your "Chinese thing" go to one of those little shops that sells used tires and I am sure they can help you or at least point you out in the right direction for another local shop. Make sure you tip the guy good and send more work to his shop.
Ultimately, if you want to change your "Chinese thing" yourself go to Harbor Freights (the king of the "Chinese stuff" right after walmart, i love both) and they have all you need to make the change yourself that way you dont have to use a tire for over 3 times what you should have use it....

Good luck.

yea your valve stems probably bad now. since it was slow leaking before and now not sealing. or the tires bad. and now, after it sat it lost air. and probably was having weight pout on it? and that broke the seal when al the air went out and their was nothing to bead it with anymore. bead is sealing the side of the rubber on the tire against the side of the rim. so it just fell off, and no air to press it against it. so if the, tire was leaking, or the stem was bad. and its fell off over winter. repalce both. a tire iron will let you pince the tire right over the rim. that and a long screwdriver to hold your old place with. or walk it around to people. you mention china theyll crap you show them china but not mention it when you first see them. they wont crap. so much. theyll look at look at you weird and tell you to leave or say, give it here. and bring your tire and new stem. repalce the tire and stem. bike bandit i found got the best tires and .. i got better tires from there. there pretty cheap.

Seems like i have a part for every problem here.


Not only do they look good, but they are a lot safer than those cheap ones you get with the rim.
They've got weather weather resistant rubber seals inside.
If you're interested then drop me a pm and we can figure out a price.
Anything I send will be of Japanese quality, and i wouldn't sell anything i wouldn't use myself.

Oh and did i mention they come in a variety of colors?

Yeah, I ride everyday when my scoot IS running... The nylon tires last about a year or two for everyday riders who ride in good and bad conditions. Before I got the scoot I have the original owner had the tires on for over 3 years, and I got a year off of them before I had to change them as well. The valves are still nice too.

Changing the tires can be hard without an air compressor, but if you have one you can get it changed in no time! Instead of using a tire iron and clamps and all that other stuff I gelled up the rims with vasoline, got them as close to on bead as possible by hand, then popped them on with the air compressor. Takes about a second with my 50 lb air compressor from the point where you have the tires almost on the beads by hand. Just clean up the vasoline and keep an eye on it for a couple days, should be fine.

Oh and getting the tires onto the rims can be tricky. What I did was I put a spanner through the middle of the rim where the axle goes, and i took a plastic broom handle and slid the broom handle under the rims and the tires and rotated the handle by pushing it against the spanner all he way around, sort of like a regular tire changing tool thing you see in mechanics shops.

Oh and it helps a LOT to heat up the tires beforehand by running them under hot water for about 5 minutes. Or if they are on the rims do the same thing but try not to get the rims wet! But it'll happen! Have a rag in hand! I just run the water on the outside part of the tire where it would be making contact with the ground.

Getting the rims wet with soapy water is the standard procedure for changing tires. It helps the rubber move into the sealed position without binding. Most tire repair shops have a 50 gallon drum next to the bead seater. They throw the tire on top of the drum, pull out a wire with a bit of sponge on the end and run it around both beads. For motorcycle tires, you can then put a packing strap around the tire and pull it as tight as possible, then use either an air compressor or a bit of flammable gas to quick seat the bead. Check out videos on youtube, they cover all the tricks.