Rabaconda tire changer
- Thread starter Gaoler
- Start date
You lost me at “sweet brown hole”.
You should do some tire changes for a fee to recover some of the costs of the Rabaconda. Mind you, it might be tough to deal with some of us here.
edit: or charge us rent to change our own tires on your machine
edit 2: make a YouTube video showing how even a newb with instructions can do it.
The spare wheels for the new trackbike were delivered yesterday, so this morning I swapped the Dunlop rain tires from the spare wheels of the old bike to the spare wheels of the new bike. And I timed myself, since all the cool kids are doing it. It was about 40 minutes including workspace setup (getting the conventional bead breaker/stand off the wall and bolting it to the workbench) and cleanup, but not counting the 10 minutes I spent looking for my spare valve cores. The rain tires are super soft and easy to mount and dismount though. I spent more time cleaning and lubing the rims and tire beads than I did mounting or dismounting them. I also didn't have to install or remove the wheels from the bikes this time.
FYI, when you do have to reinstall the wheel on the bike, sticking one of those airbag wedge/shim things under the tire makes the reinstall 75% less frustrating. You can lift the wheel with the airbag perfectly to axle height while guiding the rotors and spacers into place. Captive wheel spacers are also totally worth it.
FYI, when you do have to reinstall the wheel on the bike, sticking one of those airbag wedge/shim things under the tire makes the reinstall 75% less frustrating. You can lift the wheel with the airbag perfectly to axle height while guiding the rotors and spacers into place. Captive wheel spacers are also totally worth it.
I just watched this comparison of the Rabaconda and the Constands tire changers. Having done countless tire changes over the last 40 years using various means and having previously owned a NoMar set up these are my thoughts.First, the Constands. Looks like it would be great if you were on a tight budget and portability was an issue like bringing it to the track. However, being down on your knees bent over on the ground in the dirt is a dealbreaker for me and this thing does not really look that solid. Better than using tire irons but not by much. Now the Rabaconda. Definitely the superior of the two, also great if space is an issue. Also, looks like it would be better if you needed to change a sport touring or cruiser tire which are much stiffer, the level of difficulty is much higher with those than softer sport bike tires. It’s the more expensive of the two.Neither of these are secured to anything which may be become an issue if you are changing a cold, stiff tire and you really have to put some weight and muscle into it. I have no personal experience with either of those changers but that’s just what jumps out at me. Now, if it were my money and space was not an issue, I would get the NoMar Classic Model all day long.All your work is done with the tire at waist level, it’s solid as a rock when secured to your garage floor or trailer hitch if portability is an issue for the track. It just flat out works, you cannot scratch your wheels, an 800 pound gorilla cannot break this thing or wear it out. Even if he did he can buy replacement parts directly from NoMar. They currently have a Memorial Day package deal that includes a balancer, weights, lube etc. for $759 US. That may be more than some people want to invest but I had a large circle of friends that rode and I enjoyed wrenching so it was more of a social thing to change tires over a couple of beers on a Sunday. If you are racing or do a lot of track days you will recover your money in 2 or 3 seasons. Better yet, get all your riding buddies to pitch in $100 each and they will recover their money in 2 tire changes. Hope that helps anyone thinking about buying a changer but like I said if it were my money my choice would definitely be the NoMar setup. The only reason I sold mine was because I just wasn’t riding as much, neither were my buddies and my wife made me. I sold it to a guy on this forum that was doing track days and I’m sure he’s still using it. One last thing , the secret to changing bike tires is lube and lots of it in the right places. NoMar sells tubs of a vegetable based gel that works really well.
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Totally agree. I watched the video before reading your comment and my first thought was that working on your knees sucks, and needing to brace the Constands with your body to keep it from moving sucks even more. You can fix one of those things by bolting it to the floor, but it would be awkward to bolt the Constands onto a workbench near a wall because of the long horizontal arm that swings 360*. The Rabaconda could be bolted to a low workbench near a wall because of the ratcheting arm action.
Change Your Own Tires!
www.nomartirechanger.com
The insurance is normally what hurts these otherwise seemingly good ideas. Unless the co-owners also throw in 50-100K for a part share in the garage, the garage owner is holding a ton of liability without much compensation for that liability.
EDIT:
If the no-mar is mobile and members take it to public property or private property they own to use it, that cleans up a lot of the liability issues. Maybe trailer mounted?
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If we do it at my place, the wife and I could work out a package deal- new tires and a divorce in one trip, you get to keep both tires.
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Here is someone selling a Nomar for 550. I have no connection to the seller. Price seems decent and would pay for itself quickly for some people.Change Your Own Tires!
www.nomartirechanger.com
Track Fanatics Canada | New cost approx 1200.00 used only a few times. | Facebook
New cost approx 1200.00 used only a few times.
www.facebook.com
I sold mine for $500 including a real nice balancer, lifetime supply of weights and lube.Here is someone selling a Nomar for 550. I have no connection to the seller. Price seems decent and would pay for itself quickly for some people.
Track Fanatics Canada | New cost approx 1200.00 used only a few times. | Facebook
New cost approx 1200.00 used only a few times.
The rabaconda is portable. Comes with a carry bag. It does not need to be bolted down and can change a goldwing rear tire.
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Props to granny!
But I really hate these videos with brand new, soft, clean, just came off the production line tires, in the nice clean, climate controlled environments.
I want a video that's like:
"This is Joe, and this is his janky 1996 Honda Goldwing with 20,000 km on the original tires. They were mounted almost 30 years ago.
Today we're in Joe's crappy, uninsulated, methlab-looking garage, while it's 30 degrees celcius out.
Joe hasn't eaten all day, and we won't let him take a sip of water or a bite to eat until he's figured out how to change his tire using our product.
Joe, you've signed the waiver. Are you ready to start?"
Because... that's kind of how changing tires goes for a lot of us. We just end up doing it where we are, with what we got, whenever we manage to find the time to it ourselves, in less than ideal conditions, with less than ideal rubber.
Also, I'd put Joe in the video, rather than a granny, because I don't want any grannies to fall over and die in recording.
But I really hate these videos with brand new, soft, clean, just came off the production line tires, in the nice clean, climate controlled environments.
I want a video that's like:
"This is Joe, and this is his janky 1996 Honda Goldwing with 20,000 km on the original tires. They were mounted almost 30 years ago.
Today we're in Joe's crappy, uninsulated, methlab-looking garage, while it's 30 degrees celcius out.
Joe hasn't eaten all day, and we won't let him take a sip of water or a bite to eat until he's figured out how to change his tire using our product.
Joe, you've signed the waiver. Are you ready to start?"
Because... that's kind of how changing tires goes for a lot of us. We just end up doing it where we are, with what we got, whenever we manage to find the time to it ourselves, in less than ideal conditions, with less than ideal rubber.
Also, I'd put Joe in the video, rather than a granny, because I don't want any grannies to fall over and die in recording.
I mounted my first Michelin with no circle/dot indicated on the sidewall of either side of the tire a couple weeks ago... Not going to lie it felt weird and confusing and concerning...
Then the friggen thing balanced pretty quick and easy! I don't know if that's more attributable to the tire or to the rim on that Ninja 300, or both, but whatever the case I was impressed.
Friggen Michelin man.
Then the friggen thing balanced pretty quick and easy! I don't know if that's more attributable to the tire or to the rim on that Ninja 300, or both, but whatever the case I was impressed.
Friggen Michelin man.
I was told by someone who knew a bit about m/c tires, to put the bar code opposite the valve stem when mounting Michelins. (rip 'reciprocity')
I did both on my bike last week that way.
