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ATV tires wear and get damaged easily with frequent use. At this point, you will have to change your ATV tire because doing otherwise can be very dangerous for you. Tires in ATV are one of the most important components as your safety greatly depends on them. They need to be immediately replaced if need be.
You can take your ATV to a car shop to do the work for you, but that can be very costly. So why not do it yourself? At some point in your life, you will have to stop depending on the mechanic and change an ATV tire yourself. In this article, I will guide you on how to remove an ATV tire from the rim and replacing it.
Remove the Wheel
Firstly, you have to remove the wheel from your ATV. Park your ATV on flat ground or surface, like your garage or driveway. Use a tire jack to lift the ATV so that the wheel is in the air and can easily be removed. Use a lug wrench to remove the tire bolts. Deflate the tire using a core removal tool. Take out the wheel and place it on the ground.
- Suggested Read: How to Repair ATV Seat Foam
Break the Bead
On the inside of the rim of a wheel near the lip, there are bumps called ‘bead retainer’. These bumps go all the way around the rim. On the edge of the tire, there are ‘tire beads’. These also go all the way around a tire. These tire beads are pressed over the bead retainer and rest against the inside lip of the rim. This prevents the tire from sliding sideways on the rim and keeps the tire in place.
You have to break these beads to remove the tire from the rim. There are quite some ways you can do this, but I’ll be discussing the easiest ones.
Using a Portable Tire Changer
This tool is easily available in almost every hardware or supply store. They are very cheap and work superbly on many types of tires. However, some people may still struggle to break the bead as the bead may just slip and slide down the rim. If this happens, you can spray the bead with soap water before breaking the bead. This will instantly break the bead.
Using a BeadBuster
BeadBuster is a tool that clamps on the rim and forces and wedge between the rim and the tire. This forces the tire bead down and over the bead retainer. It does not press down on the sideway of the tire but directly on the tire bead. This reduces any chance of damage on the tire or rim. This tool may be a bit expensive but is the easiest and the most effective method of all to break the bead.
Using Tire Plyers
Tire plyers are just as effective as portable tire changers. These also force a wedge between the tire and the rim but uses a long lever handle to force the wedge. This tool is very cheap and is available in every hardware store.
Remove the Tire from the Rim
You need two tire irons for this step. Place one of the tire irons between the rim and the tire and lift the tire over the lip of the rim. Use the other tire iron to continue the same process on either side of the first one. After the tire is lifted over the rim, remove it completely from the tire using the tire irons or your hands.
Conclusion
After removing the tire from the rim, you can install a new tire or the same tire after fixing its beads. During this entire process, make sure to prioritize your safety, especially while removing the tire from the rim using your hands, as it can give you a bruise.
