Reshaping Quad and ATV Tyres

Below we have outlined some general tips to get yours tyres back into shape once you have taken delivery!

STEP 1

Once you receive your tyres,carefully remove the packaging bands holding the atv tyres together. DO NOT use a ‘Stanley type’ knife as if the blade cuts into the tyres they are never going to hold air! We recommend using a safety blade (as below) to minimise the risk of damage to the tyres.

Now the tyres can be separated and start the process of getting them back into shape… cue ‘Rocky’ training montage music…

STEP 2

Warm conditions are ideal for the next steps as the rubber will be much more pliable and easier to get back into shape. Bringing the tyres up to at least ‘room temperature’ beforehand will help.

Place the tyre on its side onto the ground. It will probably look quite out of shape and looking at the beads of the tyre would, never fit onto a rim. Have some faith… patience and a little bit of time here will save a lot of time and effort later on when mounting the tyre to the rim.

Working around the bead of the tyre that is facing up, pull the bead upwards whilst keeping the other side of the tyre against the ground. Once you have worked you way around the whole bead, flip the atv tyre over and repeat on the other bead. Heavy ply rated tyres can be quite tough and will need some force to get the beads to pull out.

STEP 3

The tyre should look a little better now, so stand the tyre up and look around the surface of the tread to look for ‘high’ and ‘low’ spots. Sometimes the tyres are fine after STEP 2 above, but if there are bits of the tread that look higher or lower than others, a bit more work could be needed. At this stage we usually work on the higher parts of the tread first. Push the high spots down and work the bead in or out accordingly, as you work your way around the circumference of the atv tyre. The flexing motion will soften the rubber and allow it to reform back into its original shape.

The tyre should now really be taking shape. Smaller low spots or dips in the tread are not too much of an issue, but if there are still heavily deformed sections, you can push the tread out from the inside of the tyre. Use something soft for this that isn’t going to damage the tyre. If the tyre is wide enough a rubber soled shoe with a foot in it is quite effective, just be careful not to twist an ankle doing it!

STEP 4

Your quad tyres should be looking pretty good now and much more in shape. With the tyre standing up, the beads should sit roughly parallel to each other and the tread surface should be fairly flat. If they are still not right you can either repeat the previous steps, or if you have an inner tube handy, you can inflate the tube up inside the tyre to push it back out into shape.

Next you are ready to fit your new atv tyres. Please read our next instalment on 'How to fit your ATV Tyres'