tired of tires

[Bopi]

I just mounted a 130/90 bridgestone spitfire to the back end of my 78 gs750.
The rims are wire spoke and seem to run fairly true.

The problem I'm having is that the tire seems to be lumpy for lack of a better description. Once mounted, and when spinning, the tire appears to wobble due to fat and skinny spots around the diameter. The bead is fully seated but also seems to be higher on one end by 1/8-3/16 inches. This is a tubed tire.

Anyway, can this be fixed or did I put too much arm into it when mounting and distort the bead/rubber. Will it eventually roll out with use or do i have to remount or reseat or worse.

Any ideas.

[Nessism]

Sounds like the tire bead is not seating evenly around the rim. Try some more air pressure to see if you can get the rim to seat, don't go too high though. It it doesn't seat at 60psi or so you might try letting the air back down and breaking the bead loose again and slathering some more tire soap on the rim/tire and trying again.

Good luck.

[ptm]

Sounds like the tire bead is not seating evenly around the rim. Try some more air pressure to see if you can get the rim to seat, don't go too high though. It it doesn't seat at 60psi or so you might try letting the air back down and breaking the bead loose again and slathering some more tire soap on the rim/tire and trying again.

I agree, the bead is probably not seated. Most tires have a very small raised ridge that runs around the tire on both sides about a 1/4 inch from the rim. It should be a uniform distance from the rim all the way around on both sides. If it's not then the bead is not fully seated.

Here's more info on DIY tire changing...

http://www.clarity.net/~adam/tire-changing-doc.html

[sharpy]

bead?

Have you caught the tube under the bead as you fitted the tyre. When fitting tyres u need a little air in the tube to hole its shape to stop this happening and causeing wrinkles. just enough air to make the tube not touch its other side thats all.

[bwringer]

Yup, sounds like the tube is out of place and/or wrinkled up somewhere.

You need to deflate it most of the way, unseat one bead, and see what the problem is.

Did you put a bit of talc in there so the tube can slip around a bit as it inflates? Very important.

[ryder60]

is it the wheel?

Sometimes a rim can have a bit of rust on the inside that stops the tire from beading in properly. I've had to use a Dremel tool to sand a rim down as smooth as I could and then with tire lube I could get the tire to bead in.

[mortation]

I agree, the bead is probably not seated. Most tires have a very small raised ridge that runs around the tire on both sides about a 1/4 inch from the rim. It should be a uniform distance from the rim all the way around on both sides. If it's not then the bead is not fully seated.

Here's more info on DIY tire changing...

http://www.clarity.net/~adam/tire-changing-doc.html

That was a great article, question for you though. Would something like this be ok instead of trying to make all that?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=34542

[Tom MLC]

That was a great article, question for you though. Would something like this be ok instead of trying to make all that?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=34542

You gotta get the motorcycle attachment too. Both pieces put you out $110 bucks. Why not just take your wheels to a local shop? I'm all for doing my own work, but I get two tires mounted and balanced for $45 bucks if I bring the wheels in. It's just about the only thing I let a shop do on my bikes.

[rkubik]

[QUOTE=Would something like this be ok instead of trying to make all that?
[/QUOTE]

No joy - specs on that says it handles only up to 16" wheels, yours are bigger diameter than that - 18" I think.

Another thing you can do with a tube-type tire is put the bike on the centerstand, let off pressure, moisten the beads, pressure up again, and while you slowly spin the wheel, whack the tire hard with a big rubber hammer or stick. The shock often pops the bead into place.

If the wheel were dismounted, bouncing it vigorously up and down on a hard suface would have a similar effect. Useful on dirt bike tires when changing in the boondocks.

[bwringer]

You gotta get the motorcycle attachment too. Both pieces put you out $110 bucks. Why not just take your wheels to a local shop? I'm all for doing my own work, but I get two tires mounted and balanced for $45 bucks if I bring the wheels in. It's just about the only thing I let a shop do on my bikes.

Don't forget the masonry drill and anchors you'll need to permanently mount this thing, and the space you'll lose in your garage. And by all accounts, it's still not any easier than using a car rim and tire irons.

Around here, no one (except perhaps CRC2, but they may have changed this policy) will mount tires unless you buy the tires through them at full markup. This adds $75 - $100 to the cost of a set of tires, plus the added inconvenience of another trip to the shop.

Plus, the "perfeshunal" tire monkeys don't do it right, either. They never take the time to clean the old rubber off the rim, and twice I've gotten tires back that weren't seated correctly. Gee, thanks for trying to KILL me, you morons... And I get much better results and no wheel damage by static balancing with stick-on wheel weights. The dynamic balancers are faster, but nowhere near as accurate, and I don't like the damage done by the bang-on wheel weights. Plus, none of them EVER bother to check the balance of the bare wheel, so you end up needing a lot more weight.

Last year, I finally got an air compressor and started mounting my own tires. I wish I had done this years ago. I find it's much cheaper and more convenient to have my pick of the world's best tires delivered to my door, plus I know for a fact that the mounting and balancing are done correctly.

Maybe I'm just picky...

[ptm]

You gotta get the motorcycle attachment too. Both pieces put you out $110 bucks. Why not just take your wheels to a local shop? I'm all for doing my own work, but I get two tires mounted and balanced for $45 bucks if I bring the wheels in. It's just about the only thing I let a shop do on my bikes.

I looked in to getting one before I did my first tire. At $45 per set to have a shop do it, you could recoup the cost pretty quickly. The main benefit would be getting the new tire on. I use a large C-clamp to break the bead and (the few times I've done it so far) getting the tire off isn't too bad. Getting the new one on can be a b!tch and that's where the tool would really come in handy. Rather than permanently mount it on the floor, I'd probably mount it on a 4x4 sheet of plywood. Standing on it should make it stable enough. If not there are other ways to hold it down. But for now, I'll just do it by hand, as long as my back and shoulder can take it...

[mortation]

No joy - specs on that says it handles only up to 16" wheels, yours are bigger diameter than that - 18" I think.

Na, with the Motorcycle attachment it does up to 22" wheels.

[ptm]

Na, with the Motorcycle attachment it does up to 22" wheels.

Yep, 22" with the attachment: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=42927

[prxbadger]

had a night mare with my bak tyre this week

got a punture, changed it no problem, then next day went again!!!!!

i thought ok, bit of bad luck but could have been worse, i coulda been goin fast......

took the wheel off and took it to a garage who refused to do it stating the tyres sidewall was knackered in one spot.

this left me having to do it myself at work just so i could limp home.

several hula dancing miles later it blows out again!!!!! this time i had to cut in front of traffic to stop and theres now wire hanging out of the side

so now its back at the garage leaving me 70 quid (around $130) out of pocket for a metzeller 4.60 x 16

just waiting for the next puncture!!!!!!