For those who burn through tires like crazy and are handy in the garage, a home tire-changing setup should be a serious consideration. Tires are expensive enough on their own, but then add on the dealer’s labor and it can typically tack on another $200 to the bill. We have an excellent professional hydraulic tire-changing machine in the Cycle World shop in California, but that does little good all the way out here at my home office in Colorado.With our long-term Africa Twin testbike, one of the things we really want to evaluate are different tire options, but don’t want the hassle of making a dealer visit every time they need to be changed. Rabaconda just released its new Street Tire Changer, which works with just about any tire and wheel combination, from alloy sportbike rims to spoked enduro rims and everything in between. The one setup that this changer can’t do is bib mousses, for those the Dirt Bike Tire Changer is the right option.We opted for the Ultimate ($783) kit which includes a variety of accessories that work with a wider range of wheel types and axle diameters. If alloy wheels such as those on a streetbike or a street-oriented adventure bike are your primary mission, the standard Street Bike Changer ($649) will probably work great for you. But the cross-spoke wheels on the Africa Twin, BMW GS, Triumph Tigers, Aprilia Tuareg, and others require a special “duck” head (we’ll explain what that is shortly) and a different means of securing the wheel on the stand to remove the beads from the rim.

The first thing we need to talk about is assembling the stand. One thing that we really like right off the bat is the fact that all of Rabaconda’s tire changers are designed to be portable. So taking it to the racetrack or to a buddy’s house just requires pulling a few of the stand’s pieces apart and placing them in the provided carrying case. Setting up and breaking down the changer is very simple and only takes a few minutes at most, which also means you can pack it up so it’s not taking up floor space in your garage when not in use. The fit and quality of all the pieces are very good, and appear to be very durable in their construction. Our Ultimate kit came with everything needed to jump straight into a tire change.

For those with experience changing tires on a professional machine, or even manually with tire irons and a stand, the Rabaconda’s process is straightforward and intuitive. Even so, we watched the YouTube video on how to do so and carefully read through the directions. In the case of our Africa Twin’s cross-spoke wheels, they require that you use a different duck head to remove and place the bead on the rim. The duck head is the funny shaped nylon piece that runs along between the bead of the tire and the rim to pull the tire over the rim. With the spokes so close to the edge of the rim, the standard head would damage the spokes. The special duck head included in our kit eliminates this issue by providing a bit of additional clearance around the rim’s edge.The tutorial video also points out a few tips and tricks that will make the process as streamlined as possible, such as wheel positioning on the stand (location of the valve stem) and best practices for getting the duck head under the tire’s bead to start the process, and how best to use the included tire irons to do so.

Our first objective was to remove the Africa Twin’s stock tires, as we’ll be trying some Dunlop Trailmax Raids, and also some Metzeler Karoo 4s. After removing the wheel from the bike and placing it on the stand, line up the rim protector blocks to eliminate the threat of scratches or damage to the rim’s lip. The kit comes with a variety of stepped axle spacers that center the wheel on the changer’s shaft. On spoked rims you need to secure the included tie-down strap to the changer’s frame and around a spoke so that the wheel won’t rotate as you ratchet the duck head around the stationary wheel to remove the bead. On an alloy rim there is a peg that can be inserted into the changer’s frame that accomplishes the same task, but it would damage wire-spoke wheels.

The next step is to get the duck head under the bead. First, use the bead-breaking arm to get the bead down into the tire’s channel on each side of the wheel. With this done, a tire iron is used to help get the duck head under the bead. Before going any further, one of the most important steps that can be done is to liberally lubricate the tire’s bead. Our kit came with a bucket of tire lube (that is super easy to clean up) and a brush that makes getting the substance down onto the bead easy. Once the duck head is properly seated, the bead-breaker arm is inserted into the ratchet mechanism. Then simply ratchet the head around pulling the bead off the tire. As mentioned, with our Africa Twin wheels, we used the included nylon strap to keep the wheel from spinning. On an alloy wheel you use the aforementioned wheel-stop peg. Once the first bead is removed, the tire iron is slipped under the second bead, then pried up on the head and the process repeated.

Installation is pretty much the reverse process. However, experience has taught us that while doing the tire removal, having the new tire baking in the sun is key to an easier installation. It makes the rubber much more pliable and helps getting it onto the rim much easier. In most cases, after liberally lubing up the bead, slapping the first bead onto the rim without any tools is usually possible. Once the first bead is on, simply reverse the removal process to get the second bead onto the wheel. Look for the balance marking on the tire (usually a yellow or red dot) that you will align with the valve stem.Next, pay attention to the instructions here, as the manner in which you align the bead over the duck head differs from when you removed the old tire. Like removal, the bead-breaker handle is inserted into the ratchet mechanism and then the duck head is cranked around until the bead is fully onto the rim. The last step is getting the head out from under the bead, either by using a tire iron or the edge of the bead breaker to make enough room for it to slip out.

Now inflate the tire and pop the beads into place. Lastly, especially with tires that will be ridden on the road, the wheel needs to be balanced. We also ordered the portable Motorcycle Wheel Balancer ($189), which comes in a nice carrying case. The balancer, like the tire changer, can be quickly assembled and disassembled for storage or transport, but also comes with a nice wall mount on which it can be hung out of harm’s way. If unfamiliar with balancing a motorcycle wheel, watch the tutorial video carefully. It’s a quite simple process, but not doing it properly can make the wheel dangerously out of balance. The balancer stand is of very high quality with roller bearings on the top stanchions where the included adjustable axle is placed. Wheel weights can be ordered from Motion Pro or can be found at the local dealership or accessory store. Once balanced, put the wheel/tire back on the bike, inflate to the recommended pressure and ride!

The Rabaconda Street Tire Changer is very intuitive to use. Our very first tire change took about 45 minutes, and that was simply because we took our time and made sure that we were following all the steps properly. After getting more familiar with the process we easily cut that time in half. Our biggest tips with the system are to be prepared. Tricks like letting the tire warm up in the sun make a huge difference, as does not being afraid to lube the heck out of the beads. With a little practice you can easily change both tires in around an hour and save a trip to the dealership (which in our case is more than 30 minutes away), and save the equivalent of the price of a tire in labor charges.