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.
