How to Change a Moped Tire

Although they feel like they will last forever, your moped's tires will eventual wear out. When this happens, you could take your moped to your local dealership and delegate the tire change to them at your expense. Or, you could tackle the challenge head on and possibly save a fair bit of money. Removing and changing the tires of most mopeds and scooters is a fairly simple task that can normally be done with a few basic hand tools and an air compressor. Read on if you feel up to the challenge.

Things You'll Need

• Socket wrench and sockets
• Wrench set
• Wooden blocks
• Core tool
• Tire irons
• Air compressor
• Tire

Instructions

1. Remove the front wheel. Park the moped on its kickstand and loosen the front axle lock nut with a long-handled wrench. Lift the moped onto its center stand. Loosen the front axle pinch bolts on the front fork using a socket wrench. Loosen the front brake cable with a wrench and pull the axle out of the front fork. Lower the wheel to the ground and roll it away from the moped.

2. Remove the rear wheel. Park the moped on its kickstand. Using a wrench, loosen the brake cable. Loosen the rear axle lock nut with a long-handled wrench. Lift the moped onto its center stand. Slide the wheel forward to release tension of the chain and pull the chain off of the wheel's sprocket. Unscrew the axle lock nut completely and pull out the axle to free the wheel. Lower the wheel to the ground and roll it away from the moped.

3. Place the wheel on a pair of wooden blocks for support. Remove the valve stem with a core tool and allow the tire's tube to deflate. Press the tire downwards to create a gap between the wheel and the tire.

4. Insert a tire iron into the gap and press the tire iron down towards the center of the wheel to stretch a portion of the tire over the wheel. Maintain pressure on the tire iron. Insert a second tire iron between the tire and wheel at the tightest portion of the gap. Press down of the second tire iron to stretch more of the tire over the wheel.

5. Maintain pressure on the first tire iron and move the second tire iron further along the tire. Press down to stretch more of the tire over the wheel. Repeat as necessary, working the edge of the tire off of the wheel until the tire is attached by one edge to the wheel.

6. Pull the remaining edge of the tire to the edge of the wheel and stand the wheel up on its side. Insert a tire iron between the tire and the outer edge of the wheel. Pull the tire iron upward to force the tire completely off of the wheel. Pull the tube out of the tire.

7. Hook the edge of the new tire over the wheel and push down to force the edge of the tire onto the wheel. Reinsert the valve core into the tube using a core tool. Inflate the tube partially with an air compressor and align the tube's valve stem with the wheel's valve hole. Insert the tube into the new tire. Push the tube's valve stem through the wheel's valve hole. Use a tire iron to pull the remaining edge of the tire onto the wheel.

8. Inflate the tire's tube fully, Filling the tire to your desired tire pressure. Reinstall the wheel onto the moped.

References

• "The Professional Motorcycle Repair Program; Professional Career Development Institute;" Prentice-Hall; 1995

Resources

• Youtube: How to Change a Tire