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NO-MAR CLASSIC TIRE CHANGER AND WHEEL BALANCER
How many thousands of tires has the CW staff changed on the Coats 220? You remember that machine, right? Every motorcycle shop had one. The Coats 220 is still for sale at $1,295, but our 25-year-old unit has finally been retired...so to speak.
The significant difference is the mounting of the rim on the machine. Rather than metal clamps, the NO-MAR CLASSIC (nomartirechanger.com) holds the rim with plastic. More specifically, it’s Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene, a superlight and strong material. These pieces clamp the rim securely with a unique cam that takes only moments to tighten. No metal touches your rim.
The tolerances of the rim clamps are tight, and it takes a bit longerto fasten the wheel in place than it did on our Coats; the operator has to be sure the rim is pushed all the way into the two receiving clamps or it won’t fit down into the plastic cam clamp. Our No-Mar came with an instructional DVD that showed us howto use our hip against the longtire iron and use ourfree hand to help keep the tire in the rim valley. Our Classic came with tire-mounting lube, a spray bottle, and No-Mar’s bead-keeper. The plastic-covered bead-keeper
clamps on the rim and helps the changing process by not allowing the tire to rotate around the rim while leverage is applied.
We also sprung forthe No-Mar balancing stand, a $120 item that replaces ourwell-worn homemade balancer. We’ve balanced two sets of racetrack tires and are impressed with the ability to get the weight exactly right.
Having spent 25 years working our Coats 220, we were understandably slower on the No-Mar, but each change got easier.
The biggest challenge was putting 190 Dunlop slicks
on a 5.5-inch-wide Yamaha rim, but the instructions helped and the job was done. We only swore twice.
We mounted ourchanger on a heavy wooden pallet, but there is a trailer-hitch mount if space is a concern. The system adjusts to wheel sizes of 10 to 21 inches and includes a bead breakerthat works with the wheel sitting on top of the changer, giving the user adequate leverage to pop the bead into the rim valley.
The $545 price might seem high, but the Classic is less than half the cost of a new manual Coats 220.
-Nick lenatsch
