mpg and balancer tension adjusting

[ggranger]

Wow, 100 psi...holy crap. We just mounted an Avon Gripster rear to my buddies KLR last week and we could not get it to seat at 45-50 psi, we kept deflating it and putting more soap on where it would not go on the bead. Finally we decided that everything was OK and decided to go a bit higher on the air....it popped on at about 55-60 psi. I do not think I would go to 100 psi no matter what, to many horror stories out there. Thanks for the blanket tip, I will have to remember that next time I have one that will not seat at a reasonable pressure, at least if the tire or tube blows up i won't have it in my face. Gary Subject: [DSN_KLR650] Distanzia - Kneel and Surrender !! as some of you know I have had a hell of a time getting my new Distanzias to seat on the beads of my KLR rims - it has been a huge hassle . . . until now. thanks to all of you who posted some thoughts, ideas, and experiences with similar situations - it helped. so what finally worked? PSI my boys PSI. I knew I had lubed the pigs up enough so that binding wasn't the issue - but they just wouldn't go on. several people said that you may have to use a lot of pressure to get hem to seat. I thought I had enough pressure at 45 PSI (as high as my tire inflator pump would go) but not so. I went out and found a new/used tool / painter compressor at a garage sale that wen't up to 135 PSI. so I relubed the beads and rims, turned on the new compessor and watched the guage. 30, 40, 50, 60 nothing - kept going 70, 80, 90 - about here I could see the bead starting to slide up on the rim and by the time I hit 100 PSI it was finally all the way up and on - whew!! that was the front - the rear actually "popped" at around 85 PSI. so now they're both on and lookin' good. did a test ride of 75 miles and they are some sweet handling tires very stable and confidence inspiring - I highly recommend them for on road smokin' and ocassional gravel roading. they ROCK! so if you go this route be prepared for the difficult install - but enjoy the fruits of your labors. nedinboulder . http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=97359714&grpId=488385&grpspId=1600126262&msgId= 160368&stime=1154313539> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Robert Chay]

As a data point, I mounted Mefo MEF 99 Explorer's and they seated at around 40psi. I lightly sanded the rim with 800grit which probably helped. I've only gone about 200 miles so far so no comment on how the tires are. I had Sahara3 and Tourance on the bike before. Front was shot but the rear still has plenty of meat. -Bobby

> -----Original Message----- > From: ggranger > > Wow, 100 psi...holy crap. We just mounted an Avon Gripster > rear to my buddies KLR last week and we could not get it to > seat at 45-50 psi, we kept deflating it and putting more soap > on where it would not go on the bead. > Finally we decided that everything was OK and decided to go a > bit higher on the air....it popped on at about 55-60 psi. I > do not think I would go to 100 psi no matter what, to many > horror stories out there. Thanks for the blanket tip, I will > have to remember that next time I have one that will not seat > at a reasonable pressure, at least if the tire or tube blows > up i won't have it in my face. > > Gary >

[revmaaatin]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Norm Keller" wrote:

> > >turned on the new compessor and watched the >guage. 30, 40, 50, 60 > >nothing - kept going 70, 80, 90 - about here I >could see the bead > >starting to slide up on the rim and by the time I >hit 100 PSI it was > >finally all the way up and on - whew!! > >that was the front - the rear actually "popped" >at around 85 PSI. > > > I urge you not to use such high pressures again. There are tire

mounting deaths and injuries every year due to such practices. The forces involved in applying such high pressures to an unseated tire are beyond reason.

> > Just my $0.02, > > Norm >

Hi Norm, Death by tire--No thank you very much. Always the voice of reason, what is your 'upper limits' and what does Norm do when he has reached that limit when dealing with an abNorm-al, difficult tire? revmaaatin. going to heaven, but hopefully not during a re-tirement ceremony

[John]

My rear Gripster wouldn't seat at 30lbs, so I just rode it round the block for ten minutes at a slow pace and it seated perfectly after that. Never thought of taking it up to 50 or more. Changing the front this week, (stock got 9k miles on it), blanket tip is a great idea. --------------------------------- Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. Make PC-to-Phone Calls to the US (and 30+ countries) for 2 /min or less. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[fasteddiecopeman]

FWIW, when we were kids, my brother was filling his bicycle tires at a gas station and he forgot to check what pressure the machine was set at. His tire exploded and knocked him back several feet! And that WASN'T a big tire like KLRs have. Ed

[Norm Keller]

Usually I start by calling it rude names (VBG) and if that doesn't help I resort to WD40. Going beyond 60 psi is beyond my courage and even that is likely beyond the limits one should use. Most wheels have a raised ridge parallel to the wheel rim, called a "safety bead" which is intended to help in preventing the tire side wall from separating from the wheel rim. So long as the tire remains in firm contact with the wheel rims the tire will usually operate in a reasonably predictable manner. If the tire separates from the wheel rim, it will roll and bunch so as to cause it to steer the wheel in unpredictable ways. If that happens you're likely going to be sliding rather than riding. I read an article recently in which the writer recommended grinding a section of the safety bead to allow the tire to be more easily broken away from the rim for easier off road tire repair. He did not recommend this practice for on road use. I would not resort to the practice at all. When mounting or dismounting a tire it should be quickly evident that the bead area of the tire is not elastic. The area is reinforced by steel wire, nylon, Kevlar or some other fibre to prevent the tire from stretching so as to loose its grip on the wheel. In order to force one section of the tire over the wheel rim, the opposite side of the tire will have to be in the drop section in the centre of the wheel. If anyone hasn't noticed this area, have a look at any bike or cage wheel and you will notice a ring of wheel which is of smaller diameter than the bead area next to the wheel's rim. The drop section is usually near the centre of the wheel and the spokes typically depart from the drop section. Sometimes a ham fist type would succeed in forcing a cage tire over the wheel rim without placing the opposite section of the tire into the drop section. The force required to do this would often bend the steel wheel rim over or break an alloy wheel. If that were not enough, the tire's bead reinforcement would sometimes be broken so the tire would blow off when attempting to inflate. Really nice for the next of kin..... In order to seat the bead which is to say, "force the tire's bead area over the safety bead such that the tire is in firm contact with the wheel rim, quite a lot of force is required. Remember, the tire will not stretch so the relatively thin rubber between the bead reinforcement and the wheel must compress/deform enough to allow the tire to slip up over the safety bead. The more ridged the tire, the safer it is likely to be in resisting separating from the wheel in the event of driving while flat. The more ridged the tire, the more difficult to seat the bead. Add to that friction due to deposits on the wheel or rough wheel surface........ A basic principle of tire mounting has always been that a mounting lubricant must not damage the tire or wheel, and that the lubricant should become inactive after mounting so that it does not encourage the tire to rotate on the wheel. If a tube type tire rotates on the wheel the valve stem is most likely to be torn from the tube which will result in a flat. Perhaps this will result in a very rapid deflation.... Fast Eddie Copeman advocates that the valve stem nut be run out against the valve cap so that the valve stem is free to cock if the tire rotates on the wheel. Pre-ride inspections would make it obvious that some movement has occurred, hopefully before damage. If some movement were to occur the tube would need to be deflated and reinflated to allow the tube to relocate so as to remove the strain. I have adopted this practice as it seems to be so logical with no real downside. WD40 would seem to be less than ideal as a mounting lubricant however I finally had to eat crow and resort after 3 hours of fighting a Kenda 270 on my KLR. Long term listers will recall the debate over this practice but will (hopefully) have forgotten the position I took. (VBG) The practice is so wide spread with users who are more than credible so I've joined. WD40 dries readily and inspection of my own tires indicates no detectable residue so the proof seems to be in the pudding..... Warming parts is an almost ignored possibility but works very well for many things. I don't understand the concern over conservatively riding on a difficult tire to encourage seating however it goes without saying that seating should occur quite soon or the tire must be assumed to be defective. It amazes me that so many people seem to ignore the need to inspect and clean the wheel and tire to encourage mounting. If anyone does not accept the risk of having a tire come off the wheel during inflation, a simple experiment can be set up. Select a rubber soled sandal and hand it to your ex-wife. Now tell her you never loved her and that her butt is hideously large....... Consider how that sandal would feel with about 5,000 pounds behind it rather than the 400 pounds of the ex-wife...... The defence rests....... Norm

>Hi Norm, >Death by tire--No thank you very much. >Always the voice of reason, >what is your 'upper limits' and what does Norm >do when he has reached >that limit when dealing with an abNorm-al, >difficult tire? >revmaaatin. going to heaven, but hopefully not >during a re-tirement ceremony

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[kestrelfal]

The Rubber Manufacturers Association has a procedure on its site, http://www.rma.org/ Demounting and Mounting Procedures for Motorcycle Tires (Pub #: TISB-05/02) Searching the internet for "tire bead lubricants", and similar, is also interesting. Fred

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "ned" wrote: > > as some of you know I have had a hell of a time getting my new > Distanzias to seat on the beads of my KLR rims - it has been a huge > hassle . . . until now. > > thanks to all of you who posted some thoughts, ideas, and experiences > with similar situations - it helped. > > so what finally worked? PSI my boys PSI. > > I knew I had lubed the pigs up enough so that binding wasn't the issue > - but they just wouldn't go on. several people said that you may have > to use a lot of pressure to get hem to seat. I thought I had enough > pressure at 45 PSI (as high as my tire inflator pump would go) but not > so. I went out and found a new/used tool / painter compressor at a > garage sale that wen't up to 135 PSI. so I relubed the beads and rims, > turned on the new compessor and watched the guage. 30, 40, 50, 60 > nothing - kept going 70, 80, 90 - about here I could see the bead > starting to slide up on the rim and by the time I hit 100 PSI it was > finally all the way up and on - whew!! > that was the front - the rear actually "popped" at around 85 PSI. > > so now they're both on and lookin' good. did a test ride of 75 miles > and they are some sweet handling tires very stable and confidence > inspiring - I highly recommend them for on road smokin' and ocassional > gravel roading. they ROCK! > > so if you go this route be prepared for the difficult install - but > enjoy the fruits of your labors. > > nedinboulder >

[theoneandonlyhoppy]

> so if you go this route be prepared for the difficult install - but > enjoy the fruits of your labors. > > nedinboulder >

Harley tires have always been a bear to install. The rims are designed to retain the tire on the rim should it lose air while riding. 80lbs to seat isn't uncommon at all. Hoppy

[Jud Jones]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "kestrelfal" wrote:

> > The Rubber Manufacturers Association has a procedure on its site, > > http://www.rma.org/ > > Demounting and Mounting Procedures for Motorcycle Tires (Pub #: > TISB-05/02) >

Oh yeah? That site is tought to navigate. Even with that info, I couldn't find it.

[kestrelfal]

I agree. This should do ya. Select: Publications, Tire Service Professionals, Tire Information Service Bulletin, Motorcycle, Demounting and Mounting Procedures for Motorcycle Tires (Pub #: TISB-05/02), Download File Now Fred

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Jud Jones" wrote: > > --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "kestrelfal" wrote: > > > > The Rubber Manufacturers Association has a procedure on its site, > > > > http://www.rma.org/ > > > > Demounting and Mounting Procedures for Motorcycle Tires (Pub #: > > TISB-05/02) > > > > Oh yeah? That site is tought to navigate. Even with that info, I couldn't find it. >