DUNLOP TYRE CHANGING CHALLENGE

If you ride a bike with knobbie tyres, then you really ought to know how to change the things. In fact, tyre-changing is a badge of honour in dirt bike circles; a rite of passage. So, at the recent Transmoto 6-Hour, we got together with the guys from Monza Imports to stage the inaugural “Dunlop Tyre-Changing Challenge” – a race against the clock to remove a rear tyre from the rim and then re-fit it.

At first, people were a little hesitant to showcase their skills (or lack of them) on the tyre levers. But with the winner taking home a fresh set of Dunlop Geomax tyres, they were soon queuing up to have a crack. And when the serious contenders came out to play, it was on for young and old!

“Mate, I have to dedicate that win to the Geoff Ballard School of Tyre-Changing!”– Matt Dymock

Josh Green, Mitch Bowen, Myles Bowen, Kye Anderson, Sam Mason and Matt Dymock all managed to removed and re-fit the rear Dunlop tyre in less than two minutes during the afternoon’s heats. And when the finals rolled around, the boys dropped their times significantly. But it was Matt “The Maltese Warrior” Dymock – a Clubman and Expert-class Thumper Nats and enduro champ from back in the day – who upstaged everybody when it mattered. Despite a hiccup with the rimlock in the finals, Dymmo stopped the clock in just 55 seconds – narrowly ahead of Josh Green (57 seconds) with Kye Anderson in third – and proudly took home his Dunlop rubber spoils.

“Mate, I have to dedicate that win to the Geoff Ballard School of Tyre-Changing,” said Dymock in the wake of the win, slightly tongue-in-cheek. “The bloke taught me everything I know about the gentle art of changing tyres and I’ll take that knowledge to my grave.”