For those who mount their own tires ... important!

[pvd]

When mounting and balancing tires, here is a little trick.

Most tire manufacturers supply some sort of marking on the tire to show where the lightest part of the tire is. This is usually a red, yellow or white mark.

"Some METZELER tires have a red dot in the tire sidewall to indicate the lightest point which should be positioned next to the valve." Metzler (http://www.us.metzelermoto.com/product_info/pcare/safety/index.htm#16)

"Dunlop street tires have yellow balance dots in the bead or sidewall area to indicate the lightest point of the tire. All Dunlop street tires should be installed with these balance dots at the valve." Dunlop (http://www.dunlopmotorcycle.com/infocenter_tiretips.asp?id=7#tip)

DO NOT FOLLOW THIS ADVICE!!

I spent some time and balanced my rear wheel without a tire in place. I found that the heaviest point on the wheel was actually 90 degrees away from the tire valve. That would be the correct point to place the lightest point on the tire. I checked the wheel with the sprocket carrier in place as well, but it made no difference in the balance of the wheel. The red dot on the new metzler shown was very accurate as to the location of the lightest point on the tire.

Take some time and find the heaviest part of your wheel and mark it. I used some blue paint pen (my red paint pen was at work). you could also scripe the point with some sort of obvious mark.

This will make the wheel easier to balance and use fewer weights, sometimes, none at all.



This is how they would like you to mount the tire.

This is actually the heaviest part of the rim. The red dot should have been placed with the blue dot.

http://www.peterverdonedesigns.com/mctires.htm

 

[bxr140]

+1

I always find the heavy spot on the wheel.

 

[VroomVroomVroom]

my GS500 has such heavy wheels that I haven't found a tire that has needed balancing at speeds below 100mph,

flame on

 

[elskipador]

"Dunlop street tires have yellow balance dots in the bead or sidewall area to indicate the lightest point of the tire. All Dunlop street tires should be installed with these balance dots at the valve." Dunlop (http://www.dunlopmotorcycle.com/infocenter_tiretips.asp?id=7#tip)

DO NOT FOLLOW THIS ADVICE!!

and i wouldn't follow your advice either!! since you aren't an engineer, don't work for a tire manufactor, a race team, or anything in the motorcycle industry. follow the manufactors advice they know way more about there product than you do! if anything you could balance the rims, which is what we do for racers, of which pete isn't, after balancing the rim we still put the dot where the valve stem is, and then balance the tire. having mounted and balanced tires for the fastest folks in the AMA over the last 4 seasons has taught me a ton about tires and until you really know what you're talking about i wouldn't go spouting off about balancing procedures.

 

[Wannaduck]

El Skip...are you saying that you balance the rim (I'm assuming the wheel sans the tire) and adding weight. Add the tire, balance it by adding more weight to balance the entire thing?

 

[pvd]

Re: Re: For those who mount their own tires ... important!

Originally posted by elskipador
and i wouldn't follow your advice either!! since you aren't an engineer, don't work for a tire manufactor, a race team, or anything in the motorcycle industry. follow the manufactors advice they know way more about there product than you do! if anything you could balance the rims, which is what we do for racers, of which pete isn't, after balancing the rim we still put the dot where the valve stem is, and then balance the tire. having mounted and balanced tires for the fastest folks in the AMA over the last 4 seasons has taught me a ton about tires and until you really know what you're talking about i wouldn't go spouting off about balancing procedures.

skippy, you usually have something worth reading, but that is about the most stupid thing you have ever printed.

if anything you could balance the rims ... after balancing the rim we still put the dot where the valve stem is, and then balance the tire.

take a minute to think about what you are saying. funny. you are obviously not an engineer.

 

[pvd]

Re: Re: For those who mount their own tires ... important!

and i wouldn't follow your advice either!! since you aren't an engineer, don't work for a tire manufactor, a race team, or anything in the motorcycle industry. follow the manufactors advice they know way more about there product than you do!

having mounted and balanced tires for the fastest folks in the AMA over the last 4 seasons has taught me a ton about tires and until you really know what you're talking about i wouldn't go spouting off about balancing procedures.

Ok, tire change boy, maybe you could explain why the lightest part of the tire should be mounted at the valve? you must know or you would not be trying to shove this issue up my ass! call your bro's at dunlop. have them tell you, so that you can tell us.

and, maybe you could explain why you balance a racers tire twice? get real.

 

[Kameron808]

I think the fact that Skippo hasn't responded yet because he's busy professionaly mounting tires for racers speaks volumes.

 

[Jackal]

I have marked the heavy spot on my rims, too. I change my tires on track days and when i ask a tire guy to align the light spot on a tire with marked spot on the rims i always get a giggle and the same explanation as Elskipadors' reply.

Doesn't stop me from asking...

 

[TWF]

this is why I buy michelins,no dots
tire is same weight all around.

 

[ALANRIDER7]

 

[Wannaduck]

I'm curious too as to why position it over the tire valve for reasons other than it's heavier, in general, over that spot due to the valve. I've replaced my tires too, and have first looked at where the heaviest spot is on the wheel regardless of the valve location. Mount the tire with the dot (lightest part) over the heaviest spot, then balance. I've had no problems...then again, I am slow

 

[elskipador]

El Skip...are you saying that you balance the rim (I'm assuming the wheel sans the tire) and adding weight. Add the tire, balance it by adding more weight to balance the entire thing?

yup, but by balancing the rim then the rim and tire together you often end up with less wheel weights than on an unbalanced rim.

maybe you could explain why you balance a racers tire twice? get real.

get real? oh i'm about to...... pete when you have a super fast rider like the pros in the AMA things happen that you street guys can't even imagine. like how the pros can spin the rim inside the tire during practice or a race. we fit the tires dry, no lube, the rims often have grit or a pattern put onto the wheel where it meets the tires bead. however when you have a over 200hp gsxr1000, with a super grippy tire, in the hands of 1 of the most winnest racers in AMA history strange things can happen, like spinning the rim inside the tire. if we only balanced the tire and wheel together and this happens its big, big deal. if however the rim is balanced and it spins inside the tire its not near as big a problem since we're only dealing with the tire being out of balance and not the tire and wheel together. maybe if you actually raced or worked with a team you'd know about this, its a pretty common thing @ the pro AMA level.

I have marked the heavy spot on my rims, too. I change my tires on track days and when i ask a tire guy to align the light spot on a tire with marked spot on the rims i always get a giggle and the same explanation as Elskipadors' reply.

Doesn't stop me from asking...

i giggle cause most of the trackday/club racers aren't going fast enough for it to even matter, let alone spin the wheel inside the tire.

 

[thump]

Re: Re: Re: For those who mount their own tires ... important!

Ok, tire change boy

Dude, you really should ask the charm school for a full refund.

I'll trust Elskip's first hand experience over the second hand cut & pasted pseudo-engineering you post on your self aggrandizing website any day of the week.

Have a nice day.

 

[ALANRIDER7]

Re: Re: Re: Re: For those who mount their own tires ... important!

Dude, you really should ask the charm school for a full refund.

I'll trust Elskip's first hand experience over the second hand cut & pasted pseudo-engineering you post on your self aggrandizing website any day of the week.

Have a nice day.

 

[ALANRIDER7]

If I've had 1 or 2 tires in the past 15 years that I had trouble balancing and had to rotate 180 degrees on the rim, it would be a lot. As it is, 4 or 5 out of 100 new tires that I do don't need any weights at all. The remainder usually get balanced out with 10 to 30 grams, which is fairly average for what comes out of Japan on brand new bikes.

Stick to flux capacitors, McFly.

 

[budbandit]

OK, so now that the purse fight is over, if not for weight then why does it matter where the valve is in relation to the heaviest part of the tire? I can see balancing the wheel first and then the wheel/tire combination if the wheel is actually rotating inside the tire, but how does the position of the valve come into play?

 

[pvd]

good work skippo. it took you some time but you came up with just enough BS to make it look like you arn't on crack, but you are.

1. regarding why position the lightest part of the tire over the valve stem vs. any other position, you never answered. why? you have no answer.

2. regarding balancing the rim, then the tire. it all sounds great and i belive that the tires spin on the rims when at extremes, but take a look at what you are saying: a balanced wheel becomes an unbalanced wheel in both cases. do you have a way of showing that one is worse than the other? no? i didn't think so. and anyway this would be a problem for all of us pushing a 200+HP motorcycle to it's limits, right.

when you are in a hole, stop digging.

 

[Sane_Man]

Al Gore invented the Internet.

 

[TWF]

we fit the tires dry, no lube,

is this for moisture or spinning?