not your normal tire dilemma?

[lsutley]

I have a conundrum concerning the installation of a new front tire on my 86. Part of the problem is probably of my own making and the remainder remains a mystery to me. I installed a new Dunlap E3 and put in 2 oz. of the Dyna Beads. Since this was my first motorcycle tire self-replacement I took my time and read the posts and even watched a video on tire changing.

 

Removed the old tire, polished the rim, removed all the old weights etc. Installed the new tire (MR90-18 71H) and put in the beads, aired it up and everything looked fine. Took the bike out for a ride and did maybe 100 miles. The front tire exhibited a noticeable hopping at low speeds and more so on starts from a standing stop. The the "hopping" disappeared when the speed was increased to above 10 mph or so.

 

The problem: took the bike out for another run and pushed it up into the 80+ mph range (fast for the curvy roads around here). No problems noted until some more vibrations of a much higher frequency developed at higher speeds.

 

When I returned home and was about to turn into my drive the front started a violent head shake. I was rolling right along at the time and was on the front and rear brakes to slow down and turn. The "hopping" was very noticeable and then the head shaking began. Could not turn into the drive and coasted to the neighbors drive and found that the front tire was completely flat and had come off the safety bead on one side. Naturally the Dyna Beads were all over the neighbors drive.

 

Walked home, picked up the air tank and returned to the bike and pumped up the tire, as if nothing had happened. It is still holding 40 psi this morning.

 

My part of the problem is that I put the 'light spot" opposite the valve stem, in reverse of the accepted method. Now what the heck is the remainder of the cause of the tire loosing all the air in a few seconds with no apparent reasons?

 

This experience is certainly not a confidence builder. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

PS: As this bike is normally ridden with a side car attached the rake of the triple tree has been increased by about 7 degrees. I was not riding with the car attached when this occurred.

[Kirby]

Maybe you didn't get the tire seated properly??

[darthandy]

Did you put in the Dyna Beads before seating the tire? I wonder if some of them might not have got caught between the rim and tire bead during the seating process causing the tire to seat incorrectly. That might also have caused an unbalanced condition leading to the "hopping" sensation you mentioned. I seem to remember reading somewhere that the beads should be put into the tire through the valve stem after the tire is properly seated on the rim. I'm not sure if mounting the dot to the opposite side from the valve would have caused that much of a problem.

 

Andy

[Squidley]

I have heard both sides of the story with Dyna Beads, some claim it's better than sliced bread, others hated it and went back to hanging weights. I personally have never used it, I may one day just to be able to compare apples to apples.

 

Both posters before me here have mentioned some good points, and ones I would agree with and check. I could be wrong, but I dont think the rake for the sidecar would screw with it that much, I may be wrong, but if it didn't do it with the hack on, probably not betting it's doing it without.

 

I would make sure the tire is absolutely seated, put good old fashioned weights back on it and see how it plays out. If it's good, and you want to play with the Dyna Beads again, take the weights off and dump in the beads...

[Carbon_One]

Maybe there was some lube inside the tire after mounting it and the beads sort of clumped together with it.. Another thought would be there was too much beads added for the tire to balance.

I tried the beads in the rear tires of the trike using the recommended amount, forgeting just how much at this time, but had a severe imbalance at 70 +. I kept thinking I had a u-joint bad or driveshaft out of balance. Finally I broke the tires down and removed the beads. Had them high speed balanced and all was good after that.

I also added the beads to the front tire and to date no problems whatever there.

Just my experince thus far.

Larry

[MiCarl]

Bead probably wasn't seated. Mounting the dot to the opposite side won't cause it to loose pressure.

 

That whole dot to the valve thing has to do with tube type tires, with the assumption that the valve and the reinforcement around it make that the heavy part of the wheel.

 

On tubless tires I find the heavy spot on the wheel and align the light mark on the tire to that. More than half the time the heavy spot on the wheel is nowhere near the valve.

[Ozlander]

I've always considered the weights on the rim to be there to balance the rim and consequently I have have never removed them.

 

I have never balanced a motorcycle tire and have never felt the need. But then I only buy Metzeler's or Michelin's who know how to make a motorcycle tire.

[Guest scarylarry]

I have heard both sides of the story with Dyna Beads, some claim it's better than sliced bread, others hated it and went back to hanging weights. I personally have never used it, I may one day just to be able to compare apples to apples.

 

 

I have used them and didn't like them...Like you I had to try them for myself..

 

It was a 12.00 gamble and I'm glad I did use them for my own peace of mind..

[lsutley]

Thanks for all the tips and information.

 

I removed the tire this morning and broke it down to inspect for damage and to move the "spot" to the valve stem position.

 

The beads were found to be fairly evenly distributed on the interior of the tire. They seemed to be stuck to the tire and were not rolling around. The beads would not come loose from the tire using a shop vac and I eventually used compressed air to blow them off. When I install a tire I use soap on a rag to lube the tire and rim to prevent excess water from entering the tire. The beads were just stuck to the rubber. How they relocate to find the light spot on the tire is a mystery to me?

 

I made sure that the beads both popped and were evenly seated (something that was not done previously). When I do race tires and they do not seat I dribble them off the garage floor to force a seat. Motorcycle tires are easier to dribble.

 

I did put in another 2 oz. of beads and will give this another try. I am out the door.

[Kirby]

Thanks for all the tips and information.

 

I removed the tire this morning and broke it down to inspect for damage and to move the "spot" to the valve stem position.

 

The beads were found to be fairly evenly distributed on the interior of the tire. They seemed to be stuck to the tire and were not rolling around. The beads would not come loose from the tire using a shop vac and I eventually used compressed air to blow them off. When I install a tire I use soap on a rag to lube the tire and rim to prevent excess water from entering the tire. The beads were just stuck to the rubber. How they relocate to find the light spot on the tire is a mystery to me?

 

I made sure that the beads both popped and were evenly seated (something that was not done previously). When I do race tires and they do not seat I dribble them off the garage floor to force a seat. Motorcycle tires are easier to dribble.

 

I did put in another 2 oz. of beads and will give this another try. I am out the door.

 

What concerns me is you left something sticky inside the tire for the beads to stick to. The other thing is, even with all the beads stuck together, you shouldn't have lost the seal. You may have had a very out of balance tire but that's no reason to lose the air unless you didn't have but maybe 10-15 lbs of pressure in there. Even with that amount it would have been difficult to unseat the beads of the tire. I just recently replaced a front tire on a GW that had run the tire almost flat and it didn't turn loose of the rim. What pressure did you inflate to after you thought you had it seated? If Dynabeads won't roll around freely inside tire, then the tire needs to be cleaned out before assembly! If you poured the beads in during assembly they could have possibly be blown up under the seating area of the tire bead and as a result you didn't get a good seal. When putting Dynabeads inside the tire, the company recommends that you either put them in through the valve steam or leave them in the bag and cut the corner off the bag so they can get out as the tire spins. Otherwise you may experience a poor seal.

Also when using Dynabeads make sure you are using dry air. Air compressors collect condensation which needs to be blown out before use. This keeps your air tank from rusting out prematurely and keeps you from blowing all that water into your tires or whatever else you are trying to fill. Hope you get this worked out.

[lsutley]

Those of you that suggested that the tire may not have been seated properly are probably on target. I just returned from a test ride and the performance of the tire was remarkably different.

 

There was no "hopping", at any speed, and there is no noticeable vibration, either.

 

When I checked the tire beads there did not seem to be any Dyna Beads imbedded in the rubber and there was was no damage from the tire irons. The Dyna Beads were inserted during the last portion of the tire bead being slid over the rim and were contained in the "pocket" formed by the sidewall. The tire is as supplied from the manufacturer and the various patterns of the interior ribbing seem to catch the beads and very few were loose.

 

I have not heard of anyone breaking down a tire, this soon after installing the Dyna Beads, to make a determination as to what the initial characteristics might be. Those of you that have seen the results from a lengthy installation might see a very different scenario.

 

An assumption and lack of attention to details, on my part, could have proved very costly. As luck would have it, a lesson was learned, without the hard knocks.

 

The jury is still out on the Dyna Beads.

 

Again, thanks for the advice,