Rabaconda street tire changer: initial review

[1973cb750]

I got a real tire machine last spring with and digital balancer. Also got the motorcycle adaptors. I was Going to get one of these but a real tire machine was only 700 bucks more and I do a lot of car tires anyways. new shed is a mess but far better than the old one some day soon a proper garage would be awesome ive done probable 200 car tires and a few motorcycles ive yet to do my cb though lol but i can recommend the mayflower its a china machine but has been great 1300 shipped to a local dock and the balancer was 850 the motorcycle accessories were about 400 more

[pdedse]

I got a real tire machine last spring with and digital balancer. Also got the motorcycle adaptors. I was Going to get one of these but a real tire machine was only 700 bucks more and I do a lot of car tires anyways. new shed is a mess but far better than the old one some day soon a proper garage would be awesome ive done probable 200 car tires and a few motorcycles ive yet to do my cb though lol but i can recommend the mayflower its a china machine but has been great 1300 shipped to a local dock and the balancer was 850 the motorcycle accessories were about 400 more

Looks cool! I'd come over just to watch it work. You being all young at 36 and doing car tires too...you'll get to suck the life out of that machine and the other necessities.

[1973cb750]

I got a real tire machine last spring with and digital balancer. Also got the motorcycle adaptors. I was Going to get one of these but a real tire machine was only 700 bucks more and I do a lot of car tires anyways. new shed is a mess but far better than the old one some day soon a proper garage would be awesome ive done probable 200 car tires and a few motorcycles ive yet to do my cb though lol but i can recommend the mayflower its a china machine but has been great 1300 shipped to a local dock and the balancer was 850 the motorcycle accessories were about 400 more

Looks cool! I'd come over just to watch it work. You being all young at 36 and doing car tires too...you'll get to suck the life out of that machine and the other necessities.

Looks cool! I'd come over just to watch it work. You being all young at 36 and doing car tires too...you'll get to suck the life out of that machine and the other necessities.
Thats the idea lol its paid for it self already
I went to get 4 tires i had bought for a chevy sonic and firestone wanted 385$ just to mount them just bringing the wheels in so i went home and ordered those ill do it my self for that price

[max]

Just a tip for aligning the rear wheel on the cb1100;
The width of the front disks is exactly the same as the width of the rear tire, so i use a string from the front disk to the rear tire behind the sidestand spring with a clear path like this;









After the rear shaft is tight enough so it won't shift by itself adjust the two 8mm screws so the string just touches the front of the tire's edge and then tighten the shaft up to spec.

After that tighten the 8mm bolts so they won't wriggle loose, just check them after the shaft is done up.


Love this thread.

[Cormanus]

Max, presumably that works only if you’re mounting a 140 rear tyre?

[PowerDubs_imp]

I had a Coats car tire changer and wheel balancer... used it 3-4 times on my own tires, and once for a friend... but ended up getting rid of both because the amount of space they took up... the time between tire changes...and having to get rid of the old tires once I put the new ones on.

[1973cb750]

I had a Coats car tire changer and wheel balancer... used it 3-4 times on my own tires, and once for a friend... but ended up getting rid of both because the amount of space they took up... the time between tire changes...and having to get rid of the old tires once I put the new ones on.

i got friends who work at tire shops they let me dump them in their pile, hoping to build a 30x40 14 heigh shop in a few years and then theyll have a dedicated area to live

[Cormanus]

Another review: https://www.advrider.com/rabaconda-tire-changer/

[pdedse]

Changed out the front tire on the CB1100 today, using the Rabaconda.  I put on a Pirelli Sportdemon...the Avon Roadrunner had 8k miles on it and maybe another 2-3k miles could be had, but I don't want to mess with tire change during a possible trip coming up.  I'll keep the old Avon as an emergency tire.

Last change was the rear in November of '24, and I kinda had to re-watch the how-to videos, go over my own notes and photos.  I remember from last time there are two steps that you really have to pay attention to for the process to go well.  I removed the wheel from the bike, broke the bead and got the tire off from the wheel no poblems.  The raba is really good at this and I was pleased with myself--looked like I was going to finish in just a couple of hours.  

Then I tried to mount the Pirelli.  It was a warm, sunny day today so I was able to fully warm up the tire by leaving it in the sun.  I followed the instructions to a T, but the thingymabob that runs around the rim forcing the bead over it slipped off a couple of times.  And then I stretched the tube at the base of the valve too much and it split.  It was an old tube, so no biggy as I had another.  Tried again and failed again.  The mechanism got good and stuck this time and I had to undo some some bolts to free it from the rim and tire.  Took a pecan pie break and watched the video again.  I noticed what I was doing wrong...the bead absolutely must be behind that plastic "duck head" as shown below, and I was trying it with the bead straddling that curvy plastic part. 
   

And you have to make sure the bead stays behind the duck head the entire time you ratchet the arm that moves this around and installs the tire.  If you let the bead pop-out in front of the duck head, you're screwed if you don't notice and keep going.  This took me about 3 hours to get right as I kept checking videos and photos to see what I was doing wrong.  But once I saw what I wasn't doing, then it was easy peasy.  I don't think I'll forget this detail next time around.  

I balanced the tire and decided to take the W800 out for a spin as daylight was fading.  I needed to step away from the project.  I'll get the tire back on the bike tomorrow morning.

With this 3rd tire change, the Rabaconda is half paid for.  I have 3-4 more changes I need to do this year, so that will make me about even.  

The Raba is a good to great piece of equipment.  I never imagined I would be changing and balancing tires for the CB1100 and the W800.  If one were changing tubeless, this would be super easy.  

While breaking downt the Rabaconda, a bolt got stuck and stripped.  It's a specialty quick-release bolt that had me thinking from the get-go that it would not hold up.  I'll contact Raba to see if they'll send me a new one, or I might just buy my own from a local hardware store.

[pdedse]

... While breaking down the Rabaconda, a bolt got stuck and stripped.  It's a specialty quick-release bolt that had me thinking from the get-go that it would not hold up.  I'll contact Raba to see if they'll send me a new one, or I might just buy my own from a local hardware store.

On Monday of this week I emailed Rabaconda asking them if they would send me a new quick-release screw.  Today, 2 days later, I got an email back from them: 

"Thank you for contacting Rabaconda.

I am sorry to hear the Quick Release Screw stripped out. I will send a warranty replacement to the address you provided.

Rest assured, we stand firmly behind our lifetime warranty promise. Your positive experience with our tools is our top priority, and we're here for you—anytime you have questions or need support, don’t hesitate to reach out."

Sometimes we call out a company for lack of good customer support.  By the same measure, when they respond like the above, it should also be pointed out and made note of.  

Good on Rabaconda.

I also received email notification that the replacement quick-release screw has already been sent out.