Anyone used this? For $50 it seems like a great deal. 'course a few 2x4s are a lot less, but. www.tireqwik.com for more info, prices on stuff M
You can get the whole Harbor Freight machine (which includes a darn good bead breaker) for 70 bucks on sale until June 13. Not readily portable, but do you really need it to be?
I have the TireQwik setup. I've changed at least a dozen tires on it. Sometimes it does feel a little small. But overall it works well. That JC Whitney one looks pretty good, like it has a little more leverage from the longer arms and that larger press-in part should work nicely.
The clamps for the rim don't seem to do any damage. I haven't even padded them with anything, although I may when I do the polished Akronts on my Triumph. Just saw that you have a GS. They say the clamps don't grab the GS rims right without some modification. I don't use the big lever bar to get the tire on because the ends don't have the nifty plastic guards of the more expensive machines. The curve is too complex on the "mount" end to fashion a guard, but I was able to duct tape some plastic from a milk carton to the straight "de-mount" end. 3 good tire irons work well enough though. I use some of the snap on plastic rim protectors and/or some milk carton plastic to protect the rims. I used to be really anal about balancing, but I've been able to get good results by just suspending the wheel on the bike's axle between 2 jack stands. Worked fine on my SV650 track bike up to 125 or so. YMMV. The Harbor Freight deal ain't perfect, but for 70 bucks just the bead breaker and a secure stand that holds the rim at a good working height are worth it IMHO.
This unit seems like overkill. I use the beadbreaker that Aerostich sells. It is $10 more, but is compact and easy to operate.