Best Motorcycle Tyre Changer For The Home Mechanic

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If you’re anything like us, you get through motorcycle tyres like some people go through cartons of milk – fast and occasionally leaving it slightly too long before picking up a replacement.

It’s a job that most people will let the professionals sort out – but if you’ve got the space and the inclination, changing your motorcycle tyres is a piece of cake, as long as you’ve got the right equipment.

Once your bike’s up in the air – either on the centre stand or raised on a paddock stand – it’s just a matter of whipping off the wheel and then getting to work with a bead breaker or tyre lever to remove the old tyre, ahead of slipping on your shiny new one.

Read on for our top picks for tools to jimmy off your old tyre in a flash.

Our Top Pick
Sealey TC965 Motorcycle and Mini Tyre Changer Sealey TC965 Motorcycle and Mini Tyre Changer

Professional level kit

The Sealey has everything you need to quickly and efficiently change out all sorts of tyres with minimal fuss.

Cheap and Cheerful
Bike It Deluxe Tyre Lever Bike It Deluxe Tyre Lever

Simple, strong, cheap

If you’re happy working on the floor – nature’s workbench – the Bike It Tyre Lever can’t be beaten. This will prise your tyres off, and not much else, for a few quid.

Top Motorcycle Tyre Changers Reviewed

These are our top six tyre changers to suit every rider.


Sealey TC965 Motorcycle Tyre Changer

A manual type tyre changer that works on bearing or hub-centred wheels and comes with two centre posts, plus its own bead breaker and tyre bar.

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Pros

  • plus iconHas everything you need
  • plus iconFits into a relatively small space
  • plus iconWorks out at around the same price as paying someone to change two tyres

Cons

  • minus icon Relatively expensive
  • minus icon Needs secure bolting to the floor before it will work properly
  • minus icon Tyre bars have a soft feel as if they won’t take much pressure

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Bike It Deluxe Tyre Lever

These tyre levers have a hook-shaped head, perfect for prising off tyres – as long as you don’t need a bead breaker.

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Pros

  • plus icon Cheap and cheerful
  • plus iconForged steel can take a tremendous amount of force

Cons

  • minus icon Might not be able to do everything you need – big rear motorbike tyres will be a struggle
  • minus icon Can leave rims scratched unless you have protectors

Rabaconda Motorcycle Tyre Changer

Another complete set with all you need to change yours – and every bike-riding mate you have’s – tyres. The brand even claims to have set the world speed record of 44 seconds for changing a tyre with it.

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Pros

  • plus iconIt’s got all you need for professional-level work
  • plus iconCan be dissembled and bagged for easy transport
  • plus iconHas a really comfortable height setting

Cons

  • minus icon Incredibly expensive
  • minus icon Garish paint job might not be to everyone’s taste

Bike It Tyre Crush / Bead Breaker Tool

If you’ve got a tyre lever but nothing to unsnap a tyre from around a rim, you’ll need a specialised bead breaker. This one has super-long handles, giving excellent leverage.

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Pros

  • plus iconEasy to use no matter your size or strength
  • plus iconFits any size wheel/tyre combo

Cons

  • minus icon You might not always need it
  • minus icon Quite expensive for what it is

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Rim Protectors

Not something that will help change your tyre, but it will protect your rims when you’re using levers or bead breakers – it’s well worth having a few of these around your garage.

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Pros

  • plus iconFor the price, you’d be mad not to have some around
  • plus iconReplacing these is much cheaper than replacing entire wheels

Cons

  • minus icon Durable, but don’t last forever

What kind of motorcycle tyre changers can you get?


Getting a motorcycle tyre off a rim needs one thing – pressure applied and forced outwards.

However, it’s not that simple – fortunately, motorcycle tyres have a lot of safeguards in place to keep them attached to the rim unless very specific forces are applied.

The inner diameter of the tire that connects with a wheel is called the bead, which is often made of a thicker rubber or braided steel reinforcement.

This creates a tight air seal between the tyre and the rim, which can also become ‘frozen’ to the rim in the event of rust or corrosion. In this instance, you’ll have to use a hell of a lot of elbow grease or a bead breaker.

Usually, what you’ll buy to remove motorcycle tyres is a straightforward set of tyre levers or a more complicated set-up that includes clamps, bead breakers and levers.

How much do they cost?


This is one of those bits of motorcycle kit where the price can vary wildly.

If you’re looking for a metal bar with a narrow end, you could probably fashion one for yourself or buy it cheaply.

However, if you want a bit of kit to hold the tyre in place at a convenient height and without the risk of damaging your rim, you could easily spend a lot of money on professional-level equipment.

More on motorcycle maintenance