I know we have talked about cutting beads before here on MLU, and I have had to do it with many varieties of tire to get them on those 15cwt rims. I find that a common untility knife with a brand new blade does the job nicely. And don't get cheap with the blades. They are good for one, maybe two beads, then you turn the blade around and use the other end. If you don't cut into the cords, I don't believe yo are affecting the integrity of the tire.
I used M-series non-directional tires (had to shave them a little bit) and ferret run flat (had to shave them a lot), and towed them on the KL (a 11000 lb cmp) from Moose Jaw to Winnipeg at 90 kmh several times. Never had a problem.
Might I also suggest the use of a vegetable based grease as a rim slip. It will allow the beads to slip onto the rim without turning over themselves. Michelen makes a 5 lb yellow icecream pail of the stuff which works great.With the ferret tires, I often had to count on the airpressure to fully seat the beads.
These are great looking tires. I know you guys will solve the problem of mounting them.
Any chance the manufacturer could be talked into making the different bead available in future runs, or would that require a new mold?
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