New Front Tire Bounce

I just had some brand new Bridgestone Spitfires put on my bike by a shop, ordered the tires from bikbandit.

The bike is an 81 xj650 maxim.

Took it for a ride and the front bounced like crazy. Got home called the shop and raised my bike and spun it. My observations and the shops both agreed, the tire was out of round (don't know why they didnt tell me before I rode it!).

Anyhow, got a new one from BB and a put it on bike and still a little out by eye and you can feel it, not as bad but you can feel it.

It is not my fork oil, did them 2 years ago and you can see up and down when you spin the wheel with the front off of the ground. The rim looks fine to both my eyes, the shop and the neighbor up the rode who has been his own Harley mech for 35 years.

Could it be the axle? The bearing felt fine. Any ideas??

 

Most tires are not perfectly round, you will see some out of round when they are spunn. The tire shop should be able to ballance them. Every bike I have has some out of round in the tires, can't ever feel it but you can see it if the tire is spinning. Let the tire shop try ballancing them again.

 

the first tire was really screwed. This second one is not as bad but will a balance fix something that I can see with my eyes? It is not a wobble but and up and down in the tire? Maybe I dont know what a balane does?

 

and I can still feel bounce that I did not have with my crappy many year old Kendas.

 

I wonder if they're getting the bead fully seated. The 90-100 tire can be tricky to get all the way on, especially with a wheel that has almost 30 years of crud on it.

Look closely where the sidewall meets the rim. There should be a small ridge on the tire. Its purpose is to provide a gauge to make sure the bead is seated. The ridge should be a uniform distance from the rim all the way around.

 

well I just looked at the little gauge strip. it looks maybe a LITTLE different in some spots, but not by much. how should I help reseat the bead? just take it back? also, could the axle be messed up?

 

FWIW, I just mounted one of these on the front of my XJ, and there is a fair amount of lateral runout.

 

The axle wouldn't do it, but, to check an axle, roll it on plate glass, like checking a pool stick.

 

huh? can you explain please?

 

Ditto on the bead not being fully seated.

They may not have cleaned up the rim good or didn't used enough soap to get it to seat properly.

 

For myselfnjit lateral runout, side to side wobble exists that I never had with IRC's on it. I'll check the bead for sure now, this makes sense.

 

A little probably doesn't indicate a problem. Tires aren't exactly precision things.

 

right, so what could be the problem then???

 

Pull it off. Suspend the wheel/tire on the axle on a couple chair backs, two sawhorses - anything that will get the tire off the ground and the axle level.

Once the tire stops turning rotate it 90 degrees and let go. It shouldn't move. If the same spot keeps dropping to the bottom it's out of balance.

 

cool. do Ihave to pull it off or can I just jack it up?

 

Friction from the brakes, speedo drive and oil seal will keep it from turning. Off it comes.

 

If the only change from no bounce to bounce was the new tire, that points to the new tire being an issue.
Your observations of the rim is further logic pointing to the new tire or mounting & balancing of the tire being the issue. If the rim spins level on the bike then its likely either bad balance or bad tire. (Yes a small out of round can be compensated with balancing – but it’s still a compensation)
As you wrote, the shop you are using put the tire on and did not notice or did not tell you of an issue till you brought it back. Although we all make mistakes, that points bad for the shop. You may want to take into consideration that you brought a tire bought elsewhere to the shop to install instead of buying the tire via the shop. Now the shop has no interest in the tire and you don’t have one point (shop only) to blame. (And visa – versa, BB has no interest in the mounting and balancing).

Tires are made in lots. If the lot in stock at BB all have the same issue, you will keep getting the same issue shipped to you.

I have had best luck buying tires from a shop I trust to do good work. Then if something is amiss, they (the shop) are all in.

 

oh believe me, this is the first time I have bought bike tires but I will NEVER do it via the internet again!!

Still, I have to fix this so back I go to have them check it!

 

"well I just looked at the little gauge strip. it looks maybe a LITTLE different in some spots"
define LITTLE, 1/8 inch is a lot, 1/16 i could live with but it could be better

 

Rather than quote him again, mdee may have given you your answer.

If BB has a whole batch of tires that have an issue, they will probably keep shipping you another problem.

HOWEVER-- that being said, how exactly is this shop balancing the tire? High speed spin? Did they pay attention to the "dot" on the new tire, being sure to line it up with the valve stem?

If it's a bike shop you've been taking it to, find a TIRE store that has motorcycle expertise and let them have a look.

 

balance and out of round are two completely different things, no amount of fixing one is going to fix the other
why hasn't anyone suggested Dynabeads ?

 

that is what i thought, well except the beads!!!

I am going to have them take another look at it though. after that i guess ill just ride it=(

 

well went back and it is mounted and balanced just fine so now onto another shop where they will put my wheel on a stand for truing (not to true mine though) and tell me if it is the rim, bearings, axle or tire. this is gonna cost me....

 

Put about 50psi in it and leave over night. Then let it down to correct pressure aqnd see if the bead marker looks better.

 

As I read-over this thread there's a few things that deserve to be looked at a little closer.

Very few New Tires leave the Manufacturing Plant: "Out of Round"
There are too many Quality Control Inspections done by sophisticated systems, and Final Checks done by inspectors, that reject imperfections, looong before they reach the Shipping Dock.

If you have developed a NEW Front-end "Wheel-Hop" ... I run a check on the WHEEL.
YOU would not be the first guy to have had an Aluminum Rim deformed by a Pneumatic Tire Service Machine.

Jack-up the Bike and Spin that Front Wheel.
Don't look at the TIRE.
Keep an eye on the Wheel.

If the Rim had been squeezed; its going to appear like the TIRE isn't fully seated at the point where the WHEEL is Out of Round.

The possibility exists that YOU are the guy who bought an "Out of Round" Tire that escaped the many quality control inspections on the day the lasers and X-rays and spinning tests failed and a reject got shipped.

Something ain't right.
Who knows what you're going to find.
All things considered, ... my money's on the tire's good and your wheel got bent.

 

Unfortunately, this is also a very good possibility.

 

Wouldn't be the first one to have a brake disc bent either. Have a look at that too.

 

Visit to another shop is a good idea. It sounds like the shop that mounted the tire is not helping as well as it should to (in the words of BP) ‘make this right’.
If the shop that mounted the tire damaged the wheel (either knowingly or not) you are not going to get them to admit to it (if they were, they would have already). They may (for other reasons than you do) just want the issue to go away. So do that – go to another shop.

 

You needn't be afraid of buying tires online. Its the only way I will purchase them as I save $160 on a rear tire and $120 on a front tire. The local dealers sell at retail (obviously) which they need to to stay in business but they can sell them to their doctor and lawyer clients

I use a local mc dealership, Yamaha Suzuki to mount my tires. Never a complaint mounting a take in tire. No appt on a Monday take it in at 10:00 am and they are done at 2:30 in the afternoon. Outstanding service and open Mondays!

Loren

 

The tires obviously come from the same manufacturer no matter which re-sales route they came to you. Ideally both the product and the service is quality (and I would hope most times both are). I try to think ahead of time, what is my recourse if/when things go wrong.

The last time I bought tires, the savings off retail was a reasonable % difference I was happy to give the shop for their (good) service. (Maybe my shop was not charging full retail). The same shop suggested a reasonable tire for my 25 year old bike and I am pleased with the results.

 

IF YOU CAN find an honest, local tire store with motorcycle capabilities, that is indeed the best.

The place I use matches most internet pricing (they were within $1 on my Avons) and offers a lower price for mounting and balancing if you buy from them.

The biggest advantage is having a single point of contact for tire or balancing warranty issues.

 

Hi, I'll email you this, too, but hree's a suggestion.... ride up to my house and I'll take a look at it , too. Everything thing else that I would have suggested has already been mentioned.

Dave Fox