2004 Stella 2T Tire Removal

Mike Zero · Post by **Mike Zero** » Tue Sep 08, 2015 2:39 am

I've watched a couple of vids on changing the tires on a Stella and they make it seem easy enough. Unscrew the bolts, the two halves separate and voila the tire comes off..... Well I've taken the bolts off and the two halves will pull apart but they won't come off the tire. It's like the tire is under some kind of lip or something. I know I must be missing something.... Any suggestions?

Thanks

fisher1 · Post by **fisher1** » Tue Sep 08, 2015 4:11 pm

Tire's bead is just stuck like glue on the rims .... bead seal needs to be unstuck.

jimmbomb · Post by **jimmbomb** » Tue Sep 08, 2015 4:12 pm

It is not under any kind of lip, it is just stuck. The rubber of the tire is stuck to the metal of the rim. You going to have to lay it on the ground and stand on it on the rubber to get it to separate from the rim. That's what they call breaking the bead. And they can be hard as hell to get off.
You may have to loosely put the two halves of the wheel together with the bolts in order to stand on it or clamp it into a vice to get the rubber to separate from the metal.
good luck.
ps, i had to take my last 2 to the m/c shop and they used their bead breaker. Lucily, they did it for free cause they thought it was funny that they did a 10 inch wheel.

Mike Zero · Post by **Mike Zero** » Thu Sep 10, 2015 6:41 pm

Thanks for the help. With a little bit of elbow grease I managed to get the tire off the rim. It wasn't very much fun though! LOL

BuddyRaton · Post by **BuddyRaton** » Fri Sep 11, 2015 2:02 pm

Continentals are the worst for that!

JohnKiniston · Post by **JohnKiniston** » Fri Sep 11, 2015 4:56 pm

In extreme cases we have had to use our big bench vise to squeeze the tire until it came free of the rim.

If you have a vice it may be something to try.

BuddyRaton · Post by **BuddyRaton** » Sat Sep 12, 2015 12:31 pm

After you get it off check inside the rim for rust or anything that could puncture a tube.

az_slynch · Post by **az_slynch** » Sun Sep 13, 2015 4:35 am

All good advise here. Notes on vice usage:

Remove schrader valve from the tube first so you know the tire isn't pressurized at all.

Leave it bolted together, and try squeezing the tire sidewall in the vice, then rotating it by a jaw width, untill you've covereded the circumference of the tire. Thus will help loosen things up.

Unbolt the rim halves and pop it in the vice again. Push/pull the tire away from the shallow half of the rim; it's easier to pop that half free. Once that's off, remove the tube and inspect the rim innards.