My new tire is defective..correct?

[mharrington]

This is for the front of my XS650. I bought the tires online and installed the front today with my tire levers. It went on surprisingly easy (first time doing motorcycle tire) The tire is crooked- wavy. Is this a chord defect? I couldnt have damaged it- it went on OK.

Wavy:



White letters are to close to the rim edge- the bead is fully seated.


I can return it within 60 days- 60 days will be wed the 25th!!

[daveyg]

Looks wacky. I wouldn't hesitate to send it back.

[mharrington]

Im probably gonna get screwed. I just spoke to a customer servcice lady and she faulted me for not seeing the defect before the tire was mounted. I told her most times you cant see problems until the tire is aired up. I bought the tires 2 months ago and they sat until I got them mounted a few days ago- then went to put them on today. I have to ship back on my dime to the MFGR for warranty. I hope I dont get slammed.

[crazy steve]

You don't have the tire fully seated on the rim yet... you might think you do, but I can see that it's not.

Look carefully around the rim/tire edge; there's a small 'line' molded into the tire that should be perfectly even all the way around if the tire is seated properly. That line disappears by the lettering....

[BA80]

You don't have the tire fully seated on the rim yet... you might think you do, but I can see that it's not.

Look carefully around the rim/tire edge; there's a small 'line' molded into the tire that should be perfectly even all the way around if the tire is seated properly. That line disappears by the lettering....

+1 I saw that first thing too.

[mharrington]

I noticed it too and aired it up to 40psi and beat on it with a rubber mallet- removed the valve stem and beat on it some more- really lubed up that area with dish soap- stood on the tire wall....re inflated to no avail. No matter what I did I could not get that defect out. Visually the tire was up tight against the rim edge- Should I let a shop mount it and see what happens?

[James England]

You need to put at least 60psi in to get that tyre to mount correctly. As has been commented, it is quite obviously not seated properly. Put washing up liquid along the difficult bit when the tyre is deflated. Then inflate, hold the wheel opposite the bit where the line disappears. Face the incorrectly seated bit downwards. The, holding the wheel at either side, bang the wheel against a hard surface (eg road) and kind of pull towards you when it hits the road. Do this several times, taking care that you don't angle the wheel so steeply that the rim can hit the road.

Doing the above, along with lots of pressure, usually 'pulls' the incorrectly seated area out of the rim where it's stuck. You'll find that several of these bangs accomplishes it. Just make sure you grab the wheel and don't let go when the tyre hits.

It works on tires too

[jayel]

You need to put at least 60psi in to get that tyre to mount correctly.

agreed but don't go over the 60 lbs. also leaving the tire set overnight at pressure will allow the bead to slowly work it's way out

[crazy steve]

40 PSI won't be enough.... start adding more in 5 lb increments until it seats. Do lube the bead, that makes a big difference. These can be very stubborn, more so than car tires....

[Rasputin]

Try reducing the tire pressure to about 10 or less pounds. Then bounce the tire on the floor to get it to the right position to seat. If the line Crazysteve is talking about is not even around the tire keep doing it untill it is. I would not ride to the end of my driveway with a tire that looked like that.

[MaximPhil]

I recommend you remove the valve to totally deflate the tire and break the bead on at least that side of the rim. LEAVE the valve OUT and inflate until it "bangs" into place (or60psi). You need compressed air to achive the shock value it requires.
If this sounds like a "do over" that is because it is
Phil

[WSL91]

I recommend you remove the valve to totally deflate the tire and break the bead on at least that side of the rim. LEAVE the valve OUT and inflate until it "bangs" into place (or60psi). You need compressed air to achive the shock value it requires.
If this sounds like a "do over" that is because it is
Phil

Valve core maybe?

[MaximPhil]

Valve core maybe?

Yes. The part of the valve that goes in the Valve Stem so you have a 10mm hole to blow air in a big rush.
Phil

[TopCatGr58]

Hey there Harrington,

As everyone has stated, the bead is NOT seated. This was explained and shown in the front tire replacement tech tip! Just did this with a big rear tire, lubed it up, filled it to ~15 psi, and then bounced it against the garage floor until the bead worked it's way out to the edge, then was able to inflate to full pressure, nice and smooth. Just like Michael Jackson said.......
'bead it, bead it"!

[b.walker5]

No matter what I did I could not get that defect out.

Aint a Defect... as everybody else has said, it aint seated properly.