Bottom line... when replacing tubes and tires, you have to know what you are doing, there is no substitute for that knowledge and experience. You can't use brute force in place of technique and without experience it's hard to understand the techniques. I have replaced a few tires on my KLR650 over the years using (3) short tire irons and a bead buddy. It was never fun, or easy, just frustrating. Every time I swore to give up and take it to the local dealer before taking a break, rewatching some youtube tire changing videos and than going back at it with a better mindset. I do so few changes over long periods that I keep forgetting the necessary techniques. First suggestion... LUBE!!! Lots of options, do the research, figure out which one you want to use. Second suggestion... watch some videos and plenty of them to dissect the differences. If you don't have a stand, don't watch a video where a guy is using a stand. If you are replacing MC street tires, don't bother watching a dirt bike tire change and vice versa. You have to watch videos where they are using the same stuff you are or at least pretty close. Some techniques change slightly depending on the tools and tires. Changing street tires is far more of a challenge because you don't want to scratch the rims in most cases. Dirt bikes are less of a concern, the rims get pretty beat up anyway, so certain techniques aren't as critical.
Now for the Baja No Pinch.... This tool did it's job nicely! Let's get something straight again... this tool is not a substitute for technique! You don't buy this thinking you'll muscle everything in to place with it. It doesn't have that kind of leverage. If you are forcing things, you are doing it wrong and need to go back to thinking "TECHNIQUE". Lube... keep the bead in the center, etc... (watch the videos). If done properly, the Baja makes putting the tire back on a lot easier. It's more awkward installing a tire with tire irons than removing a tire. When removing, you typically aren't as concerned about pinching a tube, and the motions involved are straight forward... stick spoon in, pry it up, go to the next. Not the same when installing. You don't want to catch the tube, the motion is different, it's just awkward. It really is hard to explain why, so watch the videos of people installing using tire irons and than the Baja. The Baja pushes the tire out and down on to the rim instead of a tire iron that has to pry it up and over the rim and than gets wedged between the rim and bead and has to be yanked out, but that's why you need 3.... watch some videos! The Baja takes away all those issues because it doesn't do any prying. It just pushes out and down and never gets wedged between the rim and bead so you just keep going around the rim pushing the bead on. Getting the first side on was so easy, I couldn't believe the difference. Don't forget about clearing the first side of any bead locks before continuing with the second side. Second side works very much the same as the first. The tire will go on easily for the first 2/3rds or so. After that it's critical to keep pushing the installed part of tire down in to the center and using the lube on the final 1/3rd. If you don't do this, the Baja can't make up the difference and you will struggle with the final 1/3rd of the tire. The Baja does not have endless leverage and I think it's purposely done that way to avoid people destroying the tire bead. You have to keep down pressure on the device for it to work and if you can't hold it down, your doing something wrong and trying to use too much leverage. Rethink your technique, check the location of the tire section already on the rim. This is where it can get demanding and very frustrating when nothing seems to be working, but this where the Baja really shines!!! You can decide to take a tire iron and really go to town and use leverage to force it on, but it's risky. With a tire iron, you can easily apply more leverage than the tire can handle and rip the bead or whatever else. You cannot substitute the Baja if you choose to use brute force, it won't work. The Baja saves you by being and indicator that you are doing something else wrong. Once you get the tire back down in the groove, add more lube, whatever the problem.... the Baja will go back to working properly and push the final 1/3rd of the tire on.
I used a bead buddy to assist with the second side. Normally you only need one bead buddy when using tire irons because the tire irons do the rest as you walk them around. However, with the Baja I used a tire iron as a makeshift second bead buddy. When you get the first 2/3rds on, you need something to secure each end since you aren't using spoons. A spoon works, but I think a second bead buddy would be better in this situation.
All in all... the Baja does it's job! It's no substitute for technique, but it clearly wasn't meant to be. If you get it right, it makes everything so much easier.
| Brand | BAJA NO PINCH |
|---|---|
| Wheel Size | 16 Inches |
| Item Weight | 2.5 Pounds |
| Item Diameter | 16 Inches |
| Vehicle Service Type | Dirt Motorcycle |
| Rim Width | 1 Inches |
| Manufacturer | BAJA NO PINCH |
| Item Weight | 2.5 pounds |
| Item model number | 01 |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Manufacturer Part Number | 01 |
