Dreaded 2 piece wheel

[foxbodylove]

Now before I even say anything, im not trying to over post or be a post whore, I just dont want to post in "Trikesylvania" since im new and don't want to pi*s off the vets of the forum.

But here's my issue...I recently had a front tire on my 185s dry rot through and needed to be replaced. I purchased a basic "knobby" tire from farm and fleet. When I asked them to swap em out the guy basically laughed at me and said they wouldn't TOUCH a two piece wheel...So I was forced to go to my only other option...the stealership...my local Honda dealer. He did in fact swap the tire out for me....but the installation was 38 bucks!!!

So now im stuck... I have a set of tires I would like to put on the rear of my 185 but cant fathom the cost of over 70 bucks to mount 2 tires. (Since they too are 2-piece wheels)

My question is...Can you just mount and dismount tires off a two piece wheel without splitting the rim? I mean just treating it as if it was a 1 piece wheel? Or is it worth the extra cash to buy an aftermarket 1-piece wheel instead? Ive attempted time and time again to do it myself, but I either end up not seating the gasket right, or just cant get enough pressure on the wheel to put it back together. Suggestions? Thanks in advance!

[R-tifacts]

What about tubeing them ? cheap and you dont have to worry about the seal.

[Jon Boy]

or you can use RTV in place of the o-rings. sometimes it doesn't take on the first try, but it works. i wouldn't recommend unmounting a tire from a 2 piece rim without splitting it. i'm sure people have done it before, but your running the risk of bending the rim at the center where it bolts together IMO.

why not just change it yourself? all your doing is splitting the rim, and changing out the tire an o-rings. sometimes it can be a real B to seperate the tire from the rim halves though. have you tried standing on the rim halves to push them together, then stick a bolt through to get the nut started the threads? if that's not getting it then i think somethings probibly not right. it shouldn't be too hard to mount a tire on a split rim really.

[Jason125m]

Wow! Nearly 40 bucks for a tire change!!!???? My local honda dealer only charges 10 bucks!!

[atctim]

From what I understand - you have to half the wheels to change tires - something about the way the bead seals - I got this info from my tire guy. And oh, BTW - your only other option was not a dealership - you have a third option, a tire place. Small local places are pretty good for this - they charge roughly $5 or $10 per tire. Any tire shop that sells ATV tires can do this for you!

[thestud25]

I would buy tubes, and do the change yourself. It may be tough at first because the tires will more than likely be rusted on, but it will save you some money.

[fabiodriven]

Now before I even say anything, im not trying to over post or be a post whore, I just dont want to post in "Trikesylvania" since im new and don't want to pi*s off the vets of the forum.

You couldn't post in there if you wanted to. You haven't been here long enough and you don't have enough posts. This question doesn't seem that bad though.

Take the wheels off and break the bead before splitting the rim. If you don't have a bead breaker, you can use a car or a truck to drive up on the side of the bead and break it. I would put the wheel on a piece of plywood so you don't scuff up the lip of the rim. Once you break the bead, split the rim. Take your old tire off, put the new one in, seal it up, and away you go. Tubes aren't a bad idea, but I prefer not to use them if I don't have to. They have a tendency to fail at the worst possible time and you can't plug or slime them.

[badass350x]

You can buy a one piece ITP replacement wheel for 38 bucks if not cheaper, then put the new tires on yourself which is fairly easy, then you don't have too worry about the problem again.

[coolpool]

If you thnk you have a good seal with the o ring or rtv, wrap a ratchet strap around the tire and cinch it up. It will force the bead against the rim. It should seat easily. A little mounting lube wouldn't hurt either.

[GotaCrawB4UWalk]

take it to your local ma and pa tire shop. i work a bigger then ma and pa tire shop but we do these things all the time and usually dont even charge for one dismount one mount. and no you cant dismount it without splitting the rim(if you do you will rip the bead) i also agree with fabiodriven, dont tube it if you dont have to. plugs are where its at..