• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

GS450T Replacement Tire Bead Won't Seat Evenly

  • Thread starter Thread starter jjensen
  • Start date Start date
J

jjensen

Guest
Good Morning, All.

I have an '82 GS450T with alloy wheels and original tires. I bought replacement tires from my local shop and decided to put the front tire on yesterday. The old tire came off with no problems, but the replacement tire seems to be slightly smaller in diameter and refuses to seat on the rim at an even depth. Approximately opposite the tire stem, the bead is about 1/4" deeper into the rim that the rest of the tire.

I've broken the bead and reseated the tire several times, I've lubed the bead with soapy water, I've used a strap around the diameter of the tire to squash the tire into place, I've tried to keep the bead from seating on the "normal" depth side of the rim, but with no success. As soon as I put air into it, the low side stays low and the rest of the tire rides higher.

The alloy rims had inner tubes and I am using inner tubes with this new tire. The new tire is a tubeless type. Both the old tire and the new tire are marked as the same size.

Original Tire: IRC Grand High Speed GS11 AW, 90/90-19 52S
New Tire: Bridgestone Spitfire S11, 90/90-19 52H

I've read the forum posts about the wisdom of changing your own tires, but I'm in the middle of it, and now its personal. I want to find out what the H**L is up with this first and hold the option of taking it to a shop if necessary.

Any thoughts about

1) What is going on?

and

2) What to do to solve the problem?

Thanks,

Jeff
 
I found that you have to use a lot of soapy water to get the tire to slide around the rim as it is inflated. I have used wd40 to get tires on straight. I spray enough on the bead to get it dripping off and then inflate. Not sure if it is real good for tire and make sure you clean off residue before riding.
Another member had suggested scuffing tire surface with fine sandpaper before riding off. I recommend this as new tires are usually slippery for first few miles. Good luck, with patience you will get it.
 
Hi,
I went through that several times for the last 2 weeks, had 4 new tires to install on my GS650 and Yamaha XS650, like you, removal was not too hard, but trying to have them seat properly was a big pain ( They are all tubeless ). I ended up going to a tire shop and was able to have the tires seat properly with their slippery stuff . Soapy water was not enough ( you don't want to put lots of water in your tire.. ).
Once the beads were lubricated they popped right away and the lines were even along the rims.
I did my 4 tires in a row and gave 5.00 to the guy for the use of his slippery stuff and compressor use. :-)

P.S. Be careful with the strap around the tire...

Sylvain
82 gs650
80 XS650
 
The beads generally won't seat until you have enough air pressure to force the beads into place. The incoming air also needs to inflate fast enough to overcome any 'leaks' caused by incomplete seating. In other words, you need serious air. Try taking to a gas station with compressed air and inflate as fast as you can. Some guys take the valve out of the stem so air can get in faster.
 
Last edited:
Head to NAPA and get a lifetime supply (1 gallon) of Ru-Glyde tire mounting lubricant for $13. There's no substitute for the Right Stuff.

It's amazing the silly crap people will slather on their expensive and safety-critical motorcycle tires just because they'd rather trust their lives to some homemade potion or they're too lazy to find a NAPA store.

Soap, soapy water, WD-40, bear grease, spit, and KY Jelly do NOT belong on motorcycle tires. I do not understand why so many people think they do.
 
Also, get a scotch-brite pad and scrub all the old rubber and bear grease off the rims and beads. This will give a better seal and help the tire bead seat smoothly.
 
I just mounted two tires tonight and had no problems getting the beads to seat. I decided to go tubeless and installed metal valve stems.

I did clean the bead area of wheels very well with a wire brush to remove all the junk.

The beads of the tires seal easily on the rim and I just inflated them and then bounced them a bit to until the it was completely seated.

P1010081.jpg


I will have to visit napa for the slime though when I pick up some wheel weights. I did use some soapy water and applyed using a paper towel so that it didn't get inside the tire.

Allen
 
I was under the impression 1980 450S wheels were not of the tubeless variety...

BTW the last time I had a tire mounted they had a hard time seating the bead as well. Took the shop nearly 1/2 an hour to do it. I'll pay the extra to let someone else have the pleasure :)
 
I too let the shop mount my tires. I view them as THE most important safety feature on my bike, so I don't mess with them. The shop has the right tools and experience. Paying over $200 for new Metzlers I feel the little extra for the professional mount and balance is worth it. Plus, if there's a problem, they stand by the work.
 
bgmart450 said:
I was under the impression 1980 450S wheels were not of the tubeless variety...

BTW the last time I had a tire mounted they had a hard time seating the bead as well. Took the shop nearly 1/2 an hour to do it. I'll pay the extra to let someone else have the pleasure :)
Click to expand...

They are not stamped either way and after reading Earl's post I went ahead and installed metal valve stems in the wheels and mounted up the tires. The beads look great and seated with no problems took me less than an hour to do both wheels.

I still need to balance them.

Allen
 
And The Answer Is....

And The Answer Is....

OK, I gave in and took the new tire already mounted on the rim but not seating right to my local cycle shop. The parts desk guy suggested I "nut-up" and put more air pressure in the tires. I pointed out I had already gone 2x the rated max pressure, but he seemed to think there was no problem going over 100PSI.

I decided at that point that the advice I was getting wasn't umm, er, acceptable. I walked the tire and wheel down to the service department and they took the risk. The shop tech said his tire gauge only went to about 100PSI, so he didn't know how much air pressure it took. I stood at least one wall and 50 feet away during this precision procedure.

They did the deed at no charge, so I took the rear tire in today and had them do it all -remove, replace and balance. $25 well spent.

There you have it. Nut-up. Or find someone who will.

Jeff
 
Better them than me. I need to check again with the dirt bike shop. I didn't ask their rate after they told me they didn't have balancing equipment. If they can mount I can balance.

They may be cheaper than the regular shop.

Allen
 
katoranger said:
They are not stamped either way and after reading Earl's post I went ahead and installed metal valve stems in the wheels and mounted up the tires. The beads look great and seated with no problems took me less than an hour to do both wheels.

I still need to balance them.

Allen
Click to expand...

Ive heard if they are not stamped "tubeless" then they are not. However, I have read that only spoked rims need tubes, and any cast alloy/ mag rim will work tubeless.
To each his own. I run tubes in both alloy and spokers, and had the similar problem with the bead on my GS's alloys. So, I "nutted up" and put about 70- 80 psi in them and bounced it like a basketball. It only took 1 bounce.
 
I aired mine up to about 60psi and bounced them. It worked fine. I just checked with a local dirt bike shop and they will mount my tires for $15, but can't balance them. I will do that at home.

The wheels are mags and so far have not leaked any. I have to enlarge to valve stem hole slightly. They look the same as the newer mags that are marked for tubeless.

To balance the tires get some stick on weights, two jack stands and some patience. Place the wheel and tire on the jack stand using the axle to hold it upright. Make sure that the tire is no rubbing on the stands. Give a light spin. The tire will come to a stop at the heavy spot. Do it twice to make sure. add a small amount of weight 180 degrees from this spot. Spin wheel. If it again stops at the heavy spot you need more weight. If it stops at different points it is balanced.

Not the full version, but good.

Allen
 
Do a search for tire balancing. This was just discuss recently. Some links wer posted with good pictures and step by step instructions.

Allen
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top