NEW Front tire - weird damage, safety issue?

[Guest]

I just had a new front tire put on about a week and a half ago. It's a Shinko 230 Tour Master. I just noticed tonight while looking over my bike that it has this weird chunk missing from the sidewall near the where the lip of the tire makes contact with the wheel. Here's a pic:



I have only ridden about 100 miles or so on this new tire. Certainly don't recall hitting anything that would do this kind of damage, so I'm thinking it was either a pre-existing problem on the tire or happened during installation (I had a local cycle shop install it).

So the most pressing question - does this look dangerous? Should I not be riding on this? And if it is a problem then where do I go from here? Tire was purchased from Motorcycle-Superstore through Amazon. But I have no way to prove whether it happened during installation or was already there. I didn't take a good enough look before or after to notice it.

Thoughts?

[Nessism]

The shinny spot in the damaged area suggests it's not a manufacturing defect. Most likely caused during tire installation. I wouldn't ride it, although you may want to look closer than we can see from the photo, and make a more informed decision.

[exzachtly1]

The shinny spot in the damaged area suggests it's not a manufacturing defect. Most likely caused during tire installation. I wouldn't ride it, although you may want to look closer than we can see from the photo, and make a more informed decision.

Inclined to agree with that assumption. I guess I'll be taking it to the shop that installed it ASAP. Hope they don't give me a hard time but I think it's fairly clear what happened.

[almarconi]

If you are in doubt, don't use the tire. Better be safe than sorry, you don't want a blow out while riding.

[exzachtly1]

If you are in doubt, don't use the tire. Better be safe than sorry, you don't want a blow out while riding.

I agree. I'm going to ride it to the shop today... only a few miles at low speeds. Just hoping they will be willing to fix it for me. Showed it to a buddy and he said it was pretty obvious that it happened during install.

[lurch12_2000]

I would put my $ on damage from improper installation, probably didn't lube tire bead properly and muscled it on at the end. Could be tricky getting them to admit it and buy you a new tire even though the Shinkos are inexpensive...oh and if you hit a curbing or something then I would expect to see some gouges on the rim too.

[almarconi]

If a shop damaged the tire and let the customer ride on it, what does that say about the shop?

Wonder what else f?*ked up they would do to a customers bike without saying anything. Maybe
leaving the axle nut a little loose or perhaps no brake fluid in th MC. I wouldn't let them go near my bike.

[rustybronco]

They would have had to have ripped the rubber off the bead when they mounted that tire.

Normally you find that sort of damage on a rotating bar style tire machine, such as on an old coats 2020. The tire bead would get caught between the bar and rim and get ripped off. You can clearly see the corded bead in that picture.

[gsgeezer]

Motorcycle Superstore does have recommended installers, you might try one of them.

I have never had anything like this happen at a shop installing tires for me (at least on a bike) but I don't think I would take it back to the original shop that installed/damaged it to have any tires mounted again!

[exzachtly1]

If a shop damaged the tire and let the customer ride on it, what does that say about the shop?

Wonder what else f?*ked up they would do to a customers bike without saying anything. Maybe
leaving the axle nut a little loose or perhaps no brake fluid in th MC. I wouldn't let them go near my bike.

I feel the same way. This leaves a really bad taste in my mouth and I won't go back there for anything after they fix it.

They would have had to have ripped the rubber off the bead when they mounted that tire.

Normally you find that sort of damage on a rotating bar style tire machine, such as on an old coats 2020. The tire bead would get caught between the bar and rim and get ripped off. You can clearly see the corded bead in that picture.

It looked like that's what they have, or something like it.

[exzachtly1]

Motorcycle Superstore does have recommended installers, you might try one of them.

I have never had anything like this happen at a shop installing tires for me (at least on a bike) but I don't think I would take it back to the original shop that installed/damaged it to have any tires mounted again!

Yes, but my hope is that they will replace the tire since they messed it up. I'm expecting NO charge for new tire or mounting... we'll see.

Edit - interestingly, mc-superstore does list this shop as a preferred installer.

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/PreferredInstallerLocator.aspx?ZipCode=44313

See number 3 - State 8 Motorcycles in Peninsula.

[chuck hahn]

Let us know how they react and the final results...very interested here to see what they use to wriggle around it.

[exzachtly1]

Well, here's the deal. I took the tire pressure the other day and it was right around 25. This morning I took it again and it was LOW. Like 10 PSI. Then when I pulled the bike out a couple hours ago, it had gone completely flat.

SO I pulled the wheel and drove to the shop in my car. They put it up on the mounting machine and inflated it, and sprayed to check for leaks. No leaks coming from the visibly damaged area. It had all leaked from the valve stem - either a bad or loose core. I'm thinking it got knocked loose when I checked the PSI the other day and slowly leaked out of the valve stem.

The guys at the shop think that this damaged happened during manufacturing; maybe an issue with the mold. I expected them to say this even if it's not the truth... but I am slightly inclined to agree, especially since there is also some weird EXTRA rubber near the lip on the other side of the tire. I'll post a shot of this later.

They showed me the machine they mount on and how it works. Seemed very unlikely that it would have caused this type of damage. They also seemed to think that it was not something to be concerned about; two guys including the manager looked at it and said the same.

I expressed my concerns and they recommended contacting the vendor for a possible warranty if I wanted to. He wrote a note for me on my original receipt stating his assessment of the tire in case MC-superstore has any suspicions. We took some pictures while it was nice and clean, here they are:





My plan is to contact MC-superstore to see if there is someone I can send these pics to for a second opinion. If they think this is a mounting issue then I'll go from there. I also want to know if they think this is a safety concern or bad enough damage to justify a warranty / refund.

[rustybronco]

I just happen to have a new unmounted Shinko 230 out in the garage. I'll take some pictures a little later on this evening and post them for you to look at. But, I don't think Shinko's tire molds have the best in quality going for them.

[exzachtly1]

I just happen to have a new unmounted Shinko 230 out in the garage. I'll take some pictures a little later on this evening and post them for you to look at. But, I don't think Shinko's tire molds have the best in quality going for them.

Wow, intriguing! Maybe there is a bad batch going around? Very interested to see this.