Rabaconda street tire changer: initial review

[pdedse]

DIY or take them to a shop?

My mechanical skills are only as good as youtube videos, service manuals and forum input. I've probably changed tires 5-6 tires on dual purpose bikes. Tried one street bike tire change and gave up after 10 minutes of trying to break the bead. And I didn't want to mess up the rims with tire irons.

But with all three motorcycles needing tire changes and two of them street bikes, local shops wanting $100 per wheel if on the bike / $75 off, I decided to try out the Rabaconda Stree Tire Changer.

[url=https://us.rabaconda.com/]https://us.rabaconda.com/

Not making a video as there are plenty, a few:

Street bike with tubes:

Goldwing:

Harley:

It's pricey at $650. But my justification was $150-200 per bike, that's $300-400 for my street bikes. Next time around, the machine pays for itself and I can loan it out to friends or have it available for long-distance travellers who want to visit.

HUGE selling point: it's very portable, comes with a carrying case and weighs 36lbs.

Nice all the videos, but would I be able to do it? Would I be able to get the wheels off the bike, new tires mounted / balanced, and back on and not fudge things up?

I watched about 7 videos, read online comments and read the manual. Last night, got the W800 rear wheel off and I was done. Tonight, got all my notes together and went at it.

Took my time, got the stand set-up, looked things over, rewatched videos...and started. Took me a few minutes to realize just how to go about it, but broke the bead and had the tire off in just a few minutes of actual work time.

Getting the old one off

Literally, just minutes

And then on with the new. This took more time as the mechanism that does the heavy work slipped off a few times and I had to start over, but still...less than 20 minutes and it was on:

This is what moves the beads over the rim as you ratchet with the long lever

Zero scratched rims.

The W800 has tubes and it wasn't really that difficult to work with. I guess we'll see tomorrow if it holds air. Still need to balance the tire and get it back on the bike, but the Rabaconda works...very well! The W's front tire still has some life, but next up will be the Honda CB1100 rear.

In short, it works as advertised. If you read the manual, watch some videos and take your time, it's totally do-able w/out much frustration.

 

[Frulk_imp]

I can see one of these in my future…currently have 4 bikes in the garage. Would quickly pay for itself.

 

[misterprofessionality]

As somebody who's been defeated by attempts at tire changing over and over again, even with machines and other heavy duty tools, this is pretty encouraging.

 

[misterprofessionality]

I think Rabaconda offers their own wheel balancer don't they? either way, you can buy those at harbor freight, but i'm not sure where you get those little wheel weights.

 

[pdedse]

my wheels get dynamically balanced in that cost(admittedly a bit less but not much). what's your plan for that?

Not trying to be flippant, but--not to get them dynamically balanced.

I bought a tire balancer off Amazon a number of years ago and it seems to do just that. Is there a great deal of difference between what a machine balanced tire does and what one can do with a tire balancer?

For some, the answer might be a definitive yes--smoother and more stable ride-- and they ride in such a way that they can feel the difference. I likely do not ride that way.

I am told that I'll notice a good deal of handling improvement largely because many W800 owners claim any tire is better than the stock ones. I'll find out soon enough.

I think Rabaconda offers their own wheel balancer don't they? either way, you can buy those at harbor freight, but i'm not sure where you get those little wheel weights.

They do, but I didn't look into it as I already have one.

Wheel weights...[url=https://www.amazon.com/Motion-Pro-08-0454-Silver-Weight/dp/B0023080RU/ref=asc_df_B0023080RU/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693366125504&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14167947883547334735&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1013596&hvtargid=pla-468879631368&psc=1&mcid=42cb9037cb843259a28e56fdd2cbe676]I bought these by Motionpro, recommended by some dual-sport riding friends.

 

[michael1954]

I think Rabaconda offers their own wheel balancer don't they? either way, you can buy those at harbor freight, but i'm not sure where you get those little wheel weights.

You can buy them off ebay.

 

[Gone in 60]

Wow, thank you for the detailed review of the Rabaconda. After my last tire change on the Bonneville, it's definitely something I'm considering. Glad to hear the rim didn't get scratched. That would be my biggest fear, and the chrome wheels on the Bonnie were a good choice to cut my teeth on using levers and rim protectors, no paint to scratch. But, not fun at all!

 

[Nachodaddy]

The last time I had a tire mounted, the shop used the beads. Seemed to work fine.

 

[pdedse]

Wow, thank you for the detailed review of the Rabaconda. After my last tire change on the Bonneville, it's definitely something I'm considering. Glad to hear the rim didn't get scratched. That would be my biggest fear, and the chrome wheels on the Bonnie were a good choice to cut my teeth on using levers and rim protectors, no paint to scratch. But, not fun at all!

Full disclosure...I did mess up a little the very lip of the rim when I made my first attempt at getting the old tire off. But it was because I wasn't doing it right.

The opening to the "duck head" (black part) on the left goes over the rim.

Instructions say to use supplied tire iron and grab the bead and then pull it over the "duck head". I misunderstood that to mean start with tire iron to the side of the duck's bill, when in fact, the tire iron is inserted on top of the head, thus the tire iron doesn't make any contact with the rim. I re-read instructions and realized my error.

These are aluminum rims, so I was able to sand out the rought spot to smooth, important because rough spots on the rim can wear on the underside of the duck and damage it...which I guess can then leave a mark on rims in the future. The idea is start with smooth, clean surfaces for both rim and "duck head".

What I described above is the only less-than-clear step as the photos in the manual and online videos don't clearly show what's going on. It's obvious once you see it, a "well, duh" moment.

 

[the Ferret]

I pay to have my wheels done. Don't have or have room in my garage for a lift and tire changer, not going to kneel or bend for that long (I'm too old) and for me it's just a pain to do. For most people it's not even a once a year thing. For me it's probably 3 times a year between the two bikes. I make an appt, ride them in, wait an hour and both wheels are done, mounted and balanced (spun balanced at that) and reinstalled. Plus you get a free chain adjustment out of the deal.

One time I got a bad front tire, took the bike back in, test rode it and agreed, mounted a new tire out of their stock and balanced it for nothing.

I'd rather pay someone to do it, honestly.

 

[pdedse]

to me, Balancing the wheel plus mounting is worth the 45-50 bucks per wheel that I pay (off the bike). they supply the weights, and take liability if the rim is damaged. maybe just me but it's liter³ally not worth my time. I can drop them off on way into work , pick them up on way home. I'd be ok paying 75 bucks tbh. but maybe that's just me.

I pay to have my wheels done. Don't have or have room in my garage for a lift and tire changer, not going to kneel or bend for that long (I'm too old) and for me it's just a pain to do. For most people it's not even a once a year thing. For me it's probably 3 times a year between the two bikes. I make an appt, ride them in, wait an hour and both wheels are done, mounted and balanced (spun balanced at that) and reinstalled. Plus you get a free chain adjustment out of the deal.

One time I got a bad front tire, took the bike back in, test rode it and agreed, mounted a new tire out of their stock and balanced it for nothing.

I'd rather pay someone to do it, honestly.

There is a lot of truth to both these observations, and one needs to think about whether messing with it is what they really want to get into. I think ideally one would split the cost between a friend or two because it's a tool that's not going to be used frequently.

The main reasons I never wanted to change street tires are 1) the sheer physicality of breaking the bead 2) the difficulty of using tire irons with stiff street tires, which leads to 3) messing up the rims. But watching the videos and reading comments led me to believe that this unit might change the game a bit. And I think it does. It was almost laughably easy to break the bead and remove the tire. I can see that with repetition one could get more efficient with the process. Hopefully, this will be the case and I can do my own for a number of years yet.

An on-line acquaintance told me getting the rear tire of the W800 back on the bike can be an ordeal, so maybe I'll be whistling a different tune once I get there. Still, I like the challenge.

 

[misterprofessionality]

I pay to have my wheels done. Don't have or have room in my garage for a lift and tire changer, not going to kneel or bend for that long (I'm too old) and for me it's just a pain to do. For most people it's not even a once a year thing. For me it's probably 3 times a year between the two bikes. I make an appt, ride them in, wait an hour and both wheels are done, mounted and balanced (spun balanced at that) and reinstalled. Plus you get a free chain adjustment out of the deal.

One time I got a bad front tire, took the bike back in, test rode it and agreed, mounted a new tire out of their stock and balanced it for nothing.

I'd rather pay someone to do it, honestly.

I think you've got a pretty uncommon experience there in reality Ferret. If it were that convenient and well oiled and as cheap as I remember you posting in another thread....i might say that your way is definitely the best way, despite some extra cost. I'll give you a run down of how it works for me though.

So the dealer's shop hours are Tuesday-Friday 9 am to 4pm. the dealer is open longer hours than this and will take in bikes during their showroom open hours, but no work is actually done outside the stated hours. I work Monday-Friday 6am to 3pm. So right there I cannot bring my bike to the shop for a tire change without taking a day off work, unless I bring the bike during off hours and leave it with them overnight. The same is true for bringing them wheels btw. So if i bring them the bike and leave it with them I need an Uber or a ride from my a friend in order to get home. Most likely that's going to be an Uber, both dropping off and picking up the bike. So the cost of my tire change just went up 60 bucks and still takes over 24 hours.

Speaking of cost: they will expect me to pay no less than $55 per wheel if I bring them in, or just about $275 in labor if I bring the whole bike in. You might say..."how do they have any customers?" If you go to any other dealer in Charleston you will find that they charge roughly the same amount of money. This is what is considered "competitive" here.

Assuming I pay all that money ($335 at this point, not counting the tires themselves), and inconvenience myself two consecutive days after work, and one of my tires has a high spot or is otherwise defective, I will have to do it ALL OVER AGAIN at my own expense, because the dealer takes zero responsibility for the tires themselves, and will not cover extra labor to replace them, even if they provided the tire. they will warranty the tire itself, but the labor is on you.

so all in all.....it's a markedly different experience down here, and i don't have alternatives. peace of mind is nice but this is a stone cold hassle. i have always hated it, and I, like you, am changing tires maybe 3 times a year. possibly more when my wife's bike enters into it.

 

[peterbaron]

Nice tool, no doubt!

I make almost everything myself except the tires.
The $1,200 CAD, taxes in, not worth it to me, mainly because of the time spent removing the tires.
I average about 15,000+ miles a year, so I need at least one rear tire per season, usually two.
Let's assume a set of tires per season works out to about CAD 100 per replacement/hour of waiting, which gives me 12 seasons of replacements.
I'll take my bikes to the deler to have the tires replaced.

 

[pdedse]

use an independent shop. dealerships suck.

I was using an independent shop; but their policy became strict: I must buy tires through them--you guessed it, at prices 30% more than what I can find. Then it's $100 per tire to install. I'll take that back, they charge $125 per tire ($150 if on the bike) if I bring new tires to them...that's what I call crazy. Dealerships are 1-1.5 hours away from me, very impractical. So there are logistics that vary for all of us that help us to decide what's best.

I got my W's tire balanced and back on the bike. Now I just need to check chain slack and alignment and try it out.

So here's the real world experience for my using Rabaconda for the first time on a bike's rear wheel that I was removing for the first time:

Last two weeks: watch videos, read the Rabaconda manual, read comments on the W's rear wheel removal.

Sunday: removed the rear wheel...2 hours? Took my time taking notes and photos.
Monday: using the Rabaconda, broke the bead / removed the old tire: 1 hr
Tuesday: balanced and installed new tire: 2 hrs
Today: check the chain slack, alignment and oil chain, go for a test ride (est. 1 hr)

So I could have done all 4 steps in one long day, but at 61 years old, I get tired and need both physical and mental breaks. However, I'm feeling pretty good so far about the process. Again, I think it's something you have to want to do. Some of us have probably been through the tire-change hassle enough that it's totally worth it to have others do the job. Who wouldn't rather ride than "work on the bike"?

For me, I was never a mechanically inclined kid and so working on my own bikes as much as I reasonably can is fascinating and feels like I'm keeping my brain--if not my body--active.

 

[pdedse]

my local guy matches online prices. find a different shop maybe? look for a dirtbike shop. of course, i don't mow my own yard either, waste of my time.

Hopefully I won't need to look anymore.

 

[misterprofessionality]

use an independent shop. dealerships suck.

There's maybe one here in town that is willing to work on anything that isn't a Harley....and his prices are pretty much exactly the same....also the last time I tried to use him he forgot to balance the wheels.

Trust me. It's hopeless here.

 

[pdedse]

Well, I'm about as happy as a kid carvin' pumpkins.

Got the chain slack adjusted, checked the wheel / chain alignment and oiled it... and couldn't wait till tomorrow. The night is pretty chilly, but dry so I went out on a 15 mile ride to try out the new shoe. Even though I haven't changed the front yet, I could feel that the rear was no longer squared off.

Overall, I'd rate the changer and my first experience with it pretty high, say a 9.0 out of 10. The quality of the set-up and the individual parts is very good. It doesn't feel cheap or poorly thought out; on the contrary, it has the feeling of "this has gone through some trial and error--and now they got it right".

Perhaps the most telling thing I can say about it is that I'm kinda looking forward to trying it out again. My fear before purchasing was that it was still going to be next to impossible to break the bead, get the tire off and spoon on a new one, and that it would be a big waste of money. But now I think I can get much better at this. Influencing my decision to purchase was that I had the perfect storm of 3 bikes needing new tires, so the timing seemed like now or never.

Can't wait to go for a ride tomorrow! :biker:... :biker:..... :biker:....... :biker:

 

[peterbaron]

Nice to hear that you were able to replace the tire and that the tool worked well.
Well done , pdedse

 

[Cormanus]

A good story, pdedse. Look forward to hearing about tyre 2.

 

[the Ferret]

Good deal pdedse