Fitting motorbike tyres

With fitting, you have two options: You can either purchase and fit the tyres yourself or get your local garage to source and/or fit the tyres for you. It’s worth checking a few places so you know the best prices for both the tyres and the fitting service that you need, as these may vary from place to place.

If you don’t want to fit your tyres yourself and don’t know a reputable fitter in your local area it’s worth asking your mates if they can recommend a garage that does a good job. You want to deal with someone who you can trust.

You should always change your tyres as a set, rather than just the front or rear on its own, as having one new and one worn tyre can have an adverse impact on handling.

Let the professionals fit them for you

You can get tyres fitted at most bike shops and garages that service bikes. In most cases this is a very straightforward operation and it doesn’t take too much time or money, but some bike manufacturers make removing tyres more difficult than others, so it’s worth checking with your local garage if they can fit your tyres for you.

There are also ‘mobile’ tyre fitters that can come and fit the tyres at your house, which takes a fair bit of the hassle out of the whole thing. Any professional that fits tyres should also balance the tyres as part of the service but it’s always best to check that everything you need is included.

Fit the tyres yourself

Fitting tyres is not complicated but you do need specialist tools to do the job. If you think you have the inclination to do the job yourself it’s a good idea to work out how much the tools will cost and how many sets of tyres you can get fitted at the local garage for that amount of money. That way you can see at which point you’ll start to make a saving.

The exact tools you need depend on the bike that you are fitting tyres for, but at the very least you will need a torque wrench, a set of tyre levers, a tyre valve key and a balancing kit.

If you’re unsure about how to mount tyres on your bike, the owner’s handbook or a relevant Haynes manual will give you all the details of the tools and processes you need and YouTube has a whole load of tutorial videos to talk you through the process.