Don't use brake cleaner to seat your beads

**200XMichigan** · 03-30-2010, 12:08 PM

A ratchet strap works great, I have even use some old cloth and just tied it around real tight, wouldn't work for real hard casing tires but it helps on softer tires. Never seen the fire seating trick before coming on here.

And by the way the trike on the back of the bike is cool. I used to have a rack to carry a bicycle on my 750 and that got some crazy looks. Can't imagine the looks you get with a trike on the back.

**tundrawolf** · 03-30-2010, 12:20 PM

The problem is, I only have one of those small 12V cigarette lighter air compressors. It has worked great, but I have had to rebuild the reed valve (I used soda can tin. I drilled out the rivet, and threaded the hole and put in a small screw in it, with teflon tape to seal) once. I found the compressor years back on a trail ride, dirt had gotten into the motor and the shaft needed to be turned and it worked fine. I don't have a big air compressor. Do you think the strap trick would work to at least get some pressure in the tire? I have seated beads with this small air compressor. The fire on the cardboard kept going out, God was telling me "Stop it man! You're going to blow it up!"

**200XMichigan** · 03-30-2010, 12:23 PM

If you got a ratchet strap the small compressor could do it, when its good and centered it pushes the bead out to the rim. I used a bike hand pump with a ratchet strap and got a small garden tractor tire to seat. It took a lot of messing with but it did seat.

**200XMichigan** · 03-30-2010, 12:24 PM

Maybe if you got something lying around you could make a portable air tank with a few parts? That would give you a higher volume of air all at once, but you could fill it with the little compressor.

**tundrawolf** · 04-01-2010, 02:23 PM

The portable air tank is a great suggestion, thanks. Yesterday I tried a ratcheting tie down to try to seat the bead, with my small inflator. No dice. So, I tried two ratcheting tie downs. No dice. Then, I soaked the bead seat and tire with soapy water, and after some working of the tire, I was able to seat the bead just using my little inflator!

**Dirtcrasher** · 04-01-2010, 11:01 PM

Originally Posted by 200XMichigan

If you got a ratchet strap the small compressor could do it, when its good and centered it pushes the bead out to the rim. I used a bike hand pump with a ratchet strap and got a small garden tractor tire to seat. It took a lot of messing with but it did seat.

Fantastic suggestion!!

My local guy I use to pay for work ALWAYS used a strap on the OD of the tire, he said it helped seat the bead and in some cases you can make one tire a bit larger OD wise and it will pull to one side....... Just like when we have one low tire, it heads in that direction......

I never tried brake cleaner; Just starting fluid, otherwise I always seat beads with just air and a strap. I cannot buy bead GOOP anywhere (I gave up) so sometimes I'll just put some SLIME on the bead merely as a lubricant.

I've never seen a tire explode like that, thats crazy!! Glad you weren't hurt!!

And BTW, I HATE tubes. I always end up shearing off the air nipple; But, we run in tough terrain. If your just bouncing around the yard and lil trails they'll work fine. I just run a bit more air in them, maybe 8psi............ I still hate them

**3wheelmecca** · 04-01-2010, 11:10 PM

With ya on that DC. do you slime your tires and how many pumps/ ounces? I ran 10 on my 200S with 22/11-8 tires.
Thats pretty cool that you rebuilt a little compressor.

**Logan Mathwig** · 04-01-2010, 11:12 PM

we used ether on dirt track stock car tires at the machine shop i worked at.. some of those suckers were like 14" wide! if you sprayed to much in, when the bead poped up those things would jump like 4 feet of the ground!

**Autophysn** · 04-02-2010, 02:28 AM

simple dishwashing soap works every time for me, for lube. Safe, and cheap too. At work we have the tire goop, it sucks, I use a simple green spray bottle that has been cut down to 60 water/40 simple green.

Seating the bead with a flammable substance is hella fun, but much safer with some sort of strap

just my 2cents

**dajeepman** · 04-02-2010, 09:44 PM

Yall guy's ever use CO2? I'm getting me a 20lb tank for my jeep so when i air down i can air back up pretty quick. I know if you turn up the regulator you can push out a lot of air pretty fast on up till you blow a air line.

I would think a 5lb tank would work on atv's if you ever need to air back up or such.

**tundrawolf** · 04-02-2010, 10:04 PM

I am actually thrilled with my rectifier discovery. I used a rectifier to convert the lighting coils output to DC, and I was able to run a small cigarette lighter inflator to 30 PSI which is more than enough. If I used a regulator and a battery I could go even higher.

**Autophysn** · 04-03-2010, 01:49 AM

if that's the case, I use this everyday to set the bead on heavy truck tires

**Logan Mathwig** · 04-03-2010, 02:05 AM

Ahh! you know tires I see! the worst bead I ever had to seat were my 34x950-15's TSL's on a 8" wide chevy rim, bead blaster, ratchet straps, and alot of cursing! those things were stupid when they were new!

**tundrawolf** · 04-03-2010, 02:31 PM

How does one use that bead seater? I have seen those protrusions, I take it it doesn't have anything to do with the Schrader valve?

**Logan Mathwig** · 04-03-2010, 02:53 PM

First you would fill the main tank from a compressor, to 100+ PSI or so, then you line up the nossle type end between the bead and the rim( when the bead is not seated of course), then you see that yellow lever type thingamajig? Its a ball valve, you pull the lever and hang the f**k on! it dumps all the air in the tire right now, and whalla! bead is seated! thats a real quick lesson anyway, probably wouldnt need 100psi for atc tires tho

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