Greenhorn seeks help with tyre change on Commander Mini.

[SkyHive]

I will admit that I am embarrassed to have to ask for help, but here I am, on bended knee. 

To catch you up, I bought my first PEV (EVER) in October, the COMMANDER MINI. I loved it immediately. I dreamed about riding when I wasn't actually riding.....I am sure you all know what I mean.

I live in West Virginia so winters can be very harsh, so my riding slowed down near the end of November. The last time I took it out I noticed my tire was losing air fast, long story short my tube needed to be changed.

I ordered multiple tubes from E-Wheels, bought all the tools needed to do the change and then the more I thought about it the more intimidated I became!  

 

I have watched multiple videos on changing the Commander Mini tire and each one is different. The video from 2Cells1Pack is really well done, but the video is incomplete. I have the left side of the EUC stripped down to the wheel. I thought my next step was to remove the tube from the tire and rim, but now I have been told that I have to strip down the other side of the unit.

There has to be others out there who are as clueless as I am with this type of tinkering....anyone? Bueller? 

Do I have to take apart both sides of the unit to change the tube? 

Any tips on breaking the seal of the tire ? I have heard that when you put in a new tube you should partially inflate it, is that accurate?

 

I just joined this community today and I look forward to getting to know you all.

Once I get this job done and I get to the point that I could do it with my eyes closed I will pass on the information.....PAY IT FORWARD as they say.

 

Any help is greatly appreciated!!!

 

Skyhive

[Tep]

1. Take apart both sides, it's easier with the motor completely removed. Some try to cut corners by doing tire change with one side removed, it's more difficult than just taking the motor out because the valve hole is on the opposite side.

2. Get a motorcycle tire spoon set, cheap plastic tire spoons won't work. The rim lip of the Mini is pretty long, I think 1.5x as long as other wheels in the past, so it's harder to get tire on/off it. You can use tire spoons to help debead the tire, given that the tube is already punctured.

3. Inflate the new tube ever so slightly, squeeze it inside the tire as evenly as you can by hand, fish the valve stem through the hole on the rim, then inflate it just enough so that the tube don't look flat anymore. Make sure no area will potentially pinch, then put soapy water around the edge of the tire and push the tire back in by hand. This will be hard, due to longer rim lip, but once the tire is seated, there's basically no chance it'll come out on its own. 

[UniVehje]

Tires on 12” rims can be hard work to change. Get the motor completely out and have good tools and use lubricant. You can also take the opportunity and change the outer tire completely if you’ve ever been thinking of a street tire etc. Especially if you want a different tire, you could take the whole motor to a tire shop and they’ll install the tire they sold for a small fee. That’s what I did last time. Changing a stiff motorcycle tire is not fun even with right tools. 

[OldSolo]

May I suggest something I have found useful from fighting tubeless motorcycle tires?  These are the tools to buy as they are not only good tire levers, but they make breaking the bead extremely easy.  As I have been documenting elsewhere (Commander Mini Suspension Teardown) I took mine apart as soon as I received it.  First order was mounting a Shinko SR241 tire that I subsequently found was a bit too large for this wheel.  The tire come off easily with the Motion Pro tools.  A recent video from 'across the pond' showed a tire change on the Mini which was interesting to me as they didn't disconnect the battery packs, just spread both sides wide on blocks.  

Honestly, compared to swapping motorcycle tires, these things are easy.  It is a little bit 'fiddly' getting the valve stem through the hole.  Without having spokes but instead a solid wheel, they actually need a different sort of tube.  The tubeless setup on my A2 makes tire changing MUCH easier, and seems to do just fine.  The street tire on the Mini is tubeless, if I decided to run it I would likely drill the hole out a little and put a tubeless valvestem into the wheel.  An added bonus of running tubeless, I used tire beads in the A2 and it spins perfectly.  I became convinced after running through a couple of tires on my Yamaha FJ09 on the road.  No balancing weights and it is PERFECTLY smooth.  Dynamic balancing from beads is much better than any static weight can provide.  Obviously you cannot use them with tire sealant, but that is a worthwhile tradeoff to me.

[Bigkidneys]

34 minutes ago, OldSolo said:

May I suggest something I have found useful from fighting tubeless motorcycle tires?  These are the tools to buy as they are not only good tire levers, but they make breaking the bead extremely easy.  As I have been documenting elsewhere (Commander Mini Suspension Teardown) I took mine apart as soon as I received it.  First order was mounting a Shinko SR241 tire that I subsequently found was a bit too large for this wheel.  The tire come off easily with the Motion Pro tools.  A recent video from 'across the pond' showed a tire change on the Mini which was interesting to me as they didn't disconnect the battery packs, just spread both sides wide on blocks.  

Honestly, compared to swapping motorcycle tires, these things are easy.  It is a little bit 'fiddly' getting the valve stem through the hole.  Without having spokes but instead a solid wheel, they actually need a different sort of tube.  The tubeless setup on my A2 makes tire changing MUCH easier, and seems to do just fine.  The street tire on the Mini is tubeless, if I decided to run it I would likely drill the hole out a little and put a tubeless valvestem into the wheel.  An added bonus of running tubeless, I used tire beads in the A2 and it spins perfectly.  I became convinced after running through a couple of tires on my Yamaha FJ09 on the road.  No balancing weights and it is PERFECTLY smooth.  Dynamic balancing from beads is much better than any static weight can provide.  Obviously you cannot use them with tire sealant, but that is a worthwhile tradeoff to me.

I was where you are 2 weekends ago.  Oldsolo gave me the courage to open my Patton up to do a tire change.  Never did it before so went off his instructions and got it done.  A really good set of tire irons like he recommended are perfect.  You have tools on both ends of the tool which is helpful.  Getting the valve stem through the hole was the hardest part.  You need some needle nose pliers to pull it through the hole.

[OldSolo]

On 3/6/2024 at 2:07 PM, Bigkidneys said:

I was where you are 2 weekends ago.  Oldsolo gave me the courage to open my Patton up to do a tire change.  Never did it before so went off his instructions and got it done.  A really good set of tire irons like he recommended are perfect.  You have tools on both ends of the tool which is helpful.  Getting the valve stem through the hole was the hardest part.  You need some needle nose pliers to pull it through the hole.

It is this kind of thing where the internet is at its best: normal people sharing information, encouraging & supporting each other.  It has been good getting to know you electronically & helping you along the way.  It is the same kind of activity that has given me the courage to rebuild the transmission in my Excursion.  I was always TERRIFIED of automatic transmissions, yet after reading extensively on forums and watching some videos on YouTube, I know see that I can do it - essentially build a $6k bulletproof transmission for under $3k.  I confess I am intimidated as within the next hour or two I will begin to actually remove it from the vehicle, but now see that as the HARDEST PART of the entire process.

This is why that after tearing into the Mini suspension for my own edification, I posted a few photos.  Then I set up a YT account and began shooting video.  It is not for $ or fame (duh!) but TO HELP OTHERS, to share what I have figured out.  I was about to make a comment about "not needing to reinvent the wheel" but the irony hit me: I SUPPOSE that "reinventing the wheel" is what this community is all about!  Alright, no further pun intended.

As an aside, after building the table to do the teardown, I have had suggestions to post info about it as well, so I will do a brief video.  I guess I should have shot a bit during construction - man, it takes TIME to do that, and then to edit it.  I have really come to appreciate what goes into doing it, and without a second person to actually hold the camera it is pretty tricky.