Fall Maintenance: Tire and Chain

[motohorseman]

Fall is here and the local dealer had a NOS Avon on hand, albeit a "H" rated tire, I think I'll be OK.



Went ahead and replaced the rear wheel bearings while I had it off, AllBalls has that kit for next to nothing, all bearings and seals, a no brainer.

Also ordered a new chain, sprockets are good.



Tzubaki Sigma Nickle Plated, should hold up for a while.

Need to check the motor mounts and probably add Yamaha Fuel Conditioner and Stabilizer to the fuel, even though I'm going to ride any and ever chance I get!

Thanks all

[JMR]

Wow....that's a lot of weight on that rim.

[ninjamuder]

Wow....that's a lot of weight on that rim.

no kidding.....if i have a tire the size of this call for 3-1/2 oz of lead(from what i can see in the pic) id break it down, and spin it on the rim and then re-check........very rarely do i see modern tire on a alloy wheel call for this much lead without there being something else going on.....i.e., bum tire, bent wheel, bad set-up on the balancer....

food for thought...

[FJmonkey]

Wow....that's a lot of weight on that rim.

no kidding.....if i have a tire the size of this call for 3-1/2 oz of lead(from what i can see in the pic) id break it down, and spin it on the rim and then re-check........very rarely do i see modern tire on a alloy wheel call for this much lead without there being something else going on.....i.e., bum tire, bent wheel, bad set-up on the balancer....

food for thought...

Maybe he used them balancing beads??? Tiny Ceramic balls....

[ninjamuder]

gahh.....imho, balance beads have no place in a bike tire!!!

if memory serves right, they were originally developed in the 70's for installation in 18 wheeler tires....completely different set of physics at work here....besides, the profile of a motorcycle tire will funnel the beads into the center of the tire, and spread em out over the entire circumference of the tire......but as soon as you change speed, they will re-distribute themselves

i have spun tires on my balancer at work with beads inside......NEVER had it show the same ammount/location of im-balance twice

[motohorseman]

When I balanced the tire the first time, it was off almost 80 grams, so rotated the new tire on the rim to try and reduce that, to no avail.

That's how much weight that tire wanted, youch! I'm with you all on that.

It is what it is, "H" rated tires are a lot heavier than higher speed rated tires, I'm going to keep an eye on it.

[SlowOldGuy]

As long as it's not bouncing at speed, I wouldn't worry about it too much.  My old H rated Dunlop Harley rear tire had slightly less than a ton of weight to get it balanced and it worked just fine for many years (RIP).

DavidR.

[motohorseman]

As long as it's not bouncing at speed, I wouldn't worry about it too much.  My old H rated Dunlop Harley rear tire had slightly less than a ton of weight to get it balanced and it worked just fine for many years (RIP).

DavidR.

Bike felt fine at speed, no issues so far.

I can remember some spoked wheels with inexpensive tires and tubes also taking a lot to balance.

Modern sportbikes and V+ rated tires are another story. I've seen more than a few not require any weight. Some of the newest tires are so light, it is no wonder they do not last a long time - but they do offer performance!