Best home motorcycle tyre changing kit

Updated: 08 April 2024

Where major motorcycle servicing is a highly-skilled and daunting job in most cases requiring taking your machine to a dealer’s workshop, fresh motorcycle tyres can be fitted at home with a little tyre changing kit – and by so doing, save you £££s.

That said, although within the abilities of a home mechanic, changing your tyres at home shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Whereas you might have been able to swap the tyres on your childhood pushbike using some dessert spoons and forks and a bit of spit, successful modern motorcycle tyre changes require some special tyre changing kit, if only to avoid damaging your bike.

Tyre changing kit includes quality tyre levers, rim guards to protect from damaging your alloy wheels, a pump and a pressure gauge at the very least. Some lubrication is a good idea, you’ll need proper paddock stands for your bike (if you haven’t got them already) and if you’re considering regularly changing your hoops, a bespoke tyre-changing stand is worth considering, too.

With that all said, here’s our pick of some of the best motorcycle tyre changing kit around.

Sealey MS500 Tyre Lever

Best quality tyre lever

Price: £23.52

www.demon-tweeks.com

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Yes, there are cheaper tyre levers on the market (like the Draper ones we just mentioned), and most tyre levers don't need to be anything more than a metal bar with a hooked end to get under the bead of the tyre. But if you're going to be doing it a lot, you might as well get a good one.

This Sealey item stands out for not only being made out of tough chrome vanadium steel and being an extra-long 500mm for easier prying, but also for having a hard plastic moulding along the length of its underside, which is designed to reduce the risk of damage to your bike’s wheel rims when removing or fitting the tyre.

All in all it might seem like quite a lot of money for what is little more than an elaborately twisted piece of metal. But it's the high quality that makes the Sealey MS500 a solid choice, and it's likely to do the job for a long time to come. If you're just getting started with changing your own tyres, the hard plastic moulding makes a nice added safety-net too, so you can be confident you won't do any damage while learning how to do the job

Pros

Premium brand
Protective feature
Long length

Cons

More expensive than some

Draper 450mm Tyre Levers

Best value tyre levers

Price: $48.32

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A good tyre lever may be a vital investment if you're planning on changing your tyres at home, but most will tell you it's even more important to have two levers, to be used together. This is important for motorcycle tyres, since they can often be difficult to remove with just one tyre lever.

Using two levers allows you to break the bead in more than one place on the tyre at once, and will give you more purchase on the rim to break the tyre free from the wheel. And at the very least, it also means you have a spare in case you loose one in the depths of the garage draws, or it gets pilfered while you're out on an adventure.

With that in mind, quality tool brand Draper produces this handy twin pack of decent quality levers at an affordable price. They’re both 450mm long for plenty of leverage, and are made from hot-forged EN8 steel which is also hardened, tempered and zinc plated for extra long life.

Overall the Draper 450mm tyre levers are a good value set that should see you through many tyre changes. They offer a robust quality without breaking the bank

Pros

Buy two at once
Trusted brand
Quality build

Cons

Needs protectors

Sealey TC968 Tyre Bead Breaker Tool

Price: £72.76 (was £83.94)

www.demon-tweeks.com

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Ask any experienced or professional motorcycle tyre fitter about the tricky aspects of their job, and they'll often say 'breaking the bead' of the old tyre which is to be removed, or breaking it away from the rim, can be one of the most difficult to do without damaging the wheel.

Tyres are made to extremely tight tolerances, to make sure they keep attached to the rim of your bike, but that means they can be uncooperative when it comes time for some fresh rubber.
Although you can break the bead on your tyres with enough leverage and patience, the force required to do so can be huge. That can make it potentially dangerous and destructive to do without a specialised tool, designed to keep those massive forces under control.

Which is where this purpose-designed, bead-breaking tool comes in. It's long-handled and features a parallel linkage, both of which translate to extra leverage and more breaking force. It'll work on tyres up to 160mm thick, and with up to a 190mm sidewall, which should cover you for most motorcycle tyre sizes.

All in all it’s not cheap, and if your tyres co-operate you hopefully won't need one. But it's strong, simple to use, and absolutely vital with particularly reluctant tyres!

Pros

Works well
Avoids damaging rim
Quality brand

Cons

Not the cheapest

Bikeservice Rim Protectors

Price: £9.56 (was £10.26)

www.demon-tweeks.com

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Yes, that's right, they're under ten quid for a set and are little more than bits of shaped rubber with some string attached. But wheel-rim protectors can be invaluable when it comes to changing your bike's tyres - just ask anyone who's ham-fistedly scarred their bike's alloy rims when trying to change their tyres without them.

You can help avoid such a terrible fate by grabbing some of these - they only have one job, but they do it well. They’re simple to use – just place on the rim where you’re using your lever – cheap, easy to replace and a must-have when changing your tyres. They might not light your world on fire, but they are worth their weight in gold.

These ones are supplied in a pack of three, and are coloured red to make them obvious enough that you won't forget to take them off when you're done. They have an overall length of 150mm, making them more than wide enough for any tyre lever, and the attached piece of string makes them easier to remove, or you can tie it to the other end of the rim for an extra secure fit while in use.

Pros

Bargain price
Does the job
Comes as a set

Cons

May need replacing over time

Bike-It Pro Clean Tyre Lube

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When fitting a new tyre (after removing the old), it can be difficult to get your fresh rubber onto the rim. This can be frustrating if you come unprepared, as the natural grip of the tyre rubber on the dry metal rim makes it reluctant to easily 'slide' into position.

This is where purpose-made tyre fitting 'lube', or 'creams', such as this one from Bike-it, come in. It’s a purpose-made, low-friction lubricant specifically formulated for fitting tyres.

You apply it all across the length of the bead of the tyre to lubricate it, allowing you to easily slide it over the rim and lock it into position. But it’s quick-drying, and without any residue left behind (to prevent tyre rotation on the rim afterwards), and also helps to protect by keeping the flexibility of the rubber.

With enough patience and cunning, you can probably get a tyre on without needing this stuff. But you'll be making your life a whole lot easier at a rather low cost. This 2.5 litre tub should see you through a lot of tyre changes, and the amount of blood sweat and tears you'll save is certainly worth the investment.

Pros

Does what it says
Quality reputation
As used by pros

Cons

Can be a little messy

Draper Twin Cylinder Footpump

Price: $32.14

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Alternative Retailers

Walmart

$74.28

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There's no point fitting a new tyre if you can't pump it up afterwards, and although there are plenty of options out there - including more basic pumps, electronically powered, or even petrol compressors - this robust foot pump with built-in gauge from reputable tool brand Draper is one of the best options.

Suitable for all kinds of tyres from bicycles to cars, it’s idiot-proof, dependable, good value and is highly rated – to the extent of being an award winner.

Weighing in at 590 grammes and measuring 30cm long it's relatively compact, and easy to stash away in the garage. The gauge will go up to 100psi, which makes it more than capable of pumping up any motorcycle tyre.

Yes, more technologically advanced options can get the job done faster, with higher precision, and some extra features to boot. If you need the latest and greatest for speed and precision out on track, then this might not cut the mustard. But for home use, street riding, or any other kind of riding, the Draper twin cylinder foot pump fits the bill, and it's likely to stand the test of time.

Many reviews state the gauge isn't very accurate, so you may want to consider a separate tyre pressure gauge for the utmost precision.

Pros

Trusted brand
Award-winning reputation
Ease of use

Cons

Requires physical effort!

Bike-It Adhesive Wheel Weights

Price: £0.79

www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk

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The final, but vital task, whenever fitting new motorcycle tyres, is balancing the wheel and newly-fitted tyre. This needs to be done to make sure the wheel doesn't vibrate when riding, which can cause damage over time, and will affect your bike's performance.

Even though modern motorcycle tyres are made to incredibly tight tolerances, there will still be some tiny variances between the tyre you're taking off vs the tyre you're fitting on. That means you'll need to balance the wheel every time you change tyres, even if it's the same model of tyre from the same manufacturer.

To balance the wheel, you need to counter-balance any natural imbalances by sticking wheel weights on the rim. Simply place a wheel weight opposite any heavy spots, all across the rim, until the wheel will turn straight and smooth without vibration. To do this, you need a variety of wheel weights, which are usually made of lead to keep them effectively heavy yet compact.

These ones are typical wheel weights, usefully self-adhesive, and come in a combination of 5 gramme and 10 gramme weights. At the price of entry they're a no-brainer, and it doesn't take long to fit them either.

Pros

Finishes the job
Great value
Self-adhesive

Cons

Tricky to get 'just right'

Sealey Portable Wheel Balancer

Price: $232.36

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While balancing the wheel with its new tyre fitted relies on stick-on weights to ensure there are no heavy spots, finding the right location to add those weights is essential. This portable balancer will help to do just that.

Simply 'hang' the wheel on the two pivots and it will settle with the heaviest spot at the bottom. Add weights opposite and continue until there are no heavy spots, and hence, no vibrations on the bike.

We've chosen Sealey's offering for the best portable wheel balancer, as it makes an ideal choice for precise wheel alignment and balancing. It will fit almost any motorcycle wheel, from dirt bikes to race bikes, and claims to be accurate enough for the needs of high speed riding too. It features height adjustable feet to make sure the surface is level before starting, and it's a robust quality product from a trusted brand.

Overall you could spend a lot more money on a wheel balancer. There are professional grade automatic units for the highest levels of accuracy. There are options that have wheel truing capabilities for spoked wheels too. There's also some cheaper options on the market, that share much the same design. But if you're looking to change tyres at home, this option will serve you well for many years to come.

Pros

Essential for balancing wheels
High quality
Portable for carrying in a van

Cons

Quite expensive

Dr Roc Tyre Changing Kit

Best tyre changing kit for dirt bikes

Rrp: $20.99

Price: $18.99

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If you've got a dirt bike or motocrosser you're even more likely to regularly want to change your own tyres, which is where this Dr Roc all-in-one kit makes a tempting buy. It comes with three tyre-changing 'spoons', all the same 11 inches in size. Tyre spoons are like tyre levers, but designed more for dirt bikes. They're curved so you're less likely to pinch the tyre while prying it off, which would cause an annoying puncture. Two rim protectors also come as part of the package, which we've already covered are very useful to have around.

You also get a valve stem set with accompanying tools, which can be particularly handy in a pinch. The valve stem caps are great to have as spares too, since it's all to easy to loose them when changing tyres.

All supplied tools come in a durable fabric bag, to round off the package.
Keep it all together in your van or garage and you're sorted. Although it’s not necessarily all you need for road-bike tyres, it's a great pick that makes a complete and compact package for taking out on the trails, just in case you need it.

Pros

Comes as a kit
Self-contained bag
Lots of features

Cons

Best suited to dirt bikes

Sealey TC965 Tyre Changer

Best professional tyre changer

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Alternative Retailers

Walmart

$707.37

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If your budget can stretch for it, and you plan on doing lots of tyres regularly (for your biking mates perhaps), or simply want the ultimate in-home tyre-changing kit, then how about getting a proper, semi-pro standard tyre changing stand?

Designed for mini cars and motorcycles, it makes bead-breaking and tyre removal not just easy but a workshop joy, and also reduces the likelihood of damage to your wheels – or yourself!

It's very simple to use, and doesn't require any electricity or air supply. Simply place the axle hole of the wheel through the centre post, mounting the wheel to the bench. Then you use the integrated side-mounted bead breaker to get the tricky bit out of the way, quickly and simply. Then, you clamp the wheel to the bench, and use the supplied tyre bar to swiftly take the tyres off. After that, just go in reverse order to fit the new tyre on.

Overall it is a specialist piece of kit, but there's good reason to consider having one in your home garage. It does its job incredibly well, and considering how quick and easy it is to use it could more than justify its price if you change tyres on a regular basis.

Pros

Fabulously effective
Easy and pleasing to use
Reputable brand

Cons

A sizeable investment

Other things to consider when looking for tyre changing kit

If you’re looking to change your tyres, we’ve covered a comprehensive list of kit you’ll need to get the job done, whether its your first time or your hundredth tyre change. But there’s some extra things worth mentioning, that will help make your tyre changing experience a good one.

As a general rule, you should always invest in good tools wherever you can, and that applies to tyre changing kit too. There’s plenty of cheap equipment out there that claims to get the job done, but bad quality tools can damage your bike more than they help you fix it – it’s not worth saving a few quid on tools if they start eating into the value of your ride through damage. You will save that money in the long run by not having to go to the garage as often (if at all), so quality tools make a great investment for your future self.

It’s worth considering some miscellaneous kit to help with changing your tyres too. It’s all too easy to loose your tyre valve caps while changing tyres, so it might be worth picking up some extras just in case. If you get a puncture when you’re out on the road, you might be able to avoid changing your tyre altogether by using a puncture repair kit, so also consider stashing one under your seat for emergencies.

How MCN tests products

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