Tire rotation??

[rkdrmr1]

Good morning all,

I have a small dilemma. I took my rear wheel in to the local bike shop to have a new B020 installed. When I went to pick it up I noticed a large amount of weight added to the wheel,(2 1/4oz). I asked the guy who balanced the wheel and his response was, "it is what it is, thats the amount it took to balance it". So, with that, I went home and was about to install the wheel when I noticed the arrow on the side of the tire was facing the wrong direction! I immediately called the shop and talked to the guy, he stated that because its a bias ply tire it really doesn't matter which direction it rotates. I told him I wasn't comfortable with that answer because, "why would the tire manufacturer indicate it on the sidewall". He said fine, but he would have to charge me for breaking it down and flipping it over! What do you guys think??? :confused:

[sheldan2]

if he did not do it right to begin with, and now wants to charge you to do it right, I dont understand why you want to go back to him. All you are probably going to do now if you already have not done it, is tick him off and he probably will not do it right again, so you will have to take it somewhere else and have it checked by another. Take your loss and never go back, let everyone you know never to go to him, heck put a sign in the front yard telling the world he is a moron.

[ferrasr]

Are you kidding me, a bias tire does not matter which way it rotates! Mention to him that having people like him working in the industry "is what it is" stupid and dangerous! Run do not walk from this dealer and let other's know to stay away as well. You may also want to talk to his manager or store owner if he has one and let him know of the situation.

Regards
Randy Ferras
k1200LT, 05'

[Wolfgang]

The guy is wrong on both issues:

1) The manufacturer marks it a directional tire for a reason. Most likely threat design. Whatever it is, it is not for Bubba to second guess.

2) 2 1/2 ounces are not normal. Something is amiss. Tire not seated, wheel bend, bad tire, whatever it is, it needs to be addressed.

[BMWWANDRR]

How about letting everyone else in on the name of the dealership so we can also avoid.

[rkdrmr1]

Its just a local yocal bike shop. They work on Harleys mostly, and sell on consignment. Guess its my fault but, the closest BMW dealer is about an hour away. I have no choice now but to have it checked out. That 2 1/4 oz thing has me concerned.

[hallzee]

I good tire man will balance the rim before putting the tire on, and then re-balance the whole thing (a really good tire guy will even clean the rim prior to balancing it, to make sure anything that can skew the balance is removed). Mine took a few GRAMS to balance last time.

The tire rotation is not even debateable; it has to go in the proper direction. It has to do not only with tire design (bias vs. radial), but tread pattern too.

Lesson learned about this guy; I'd pay a real professional to do it right, and take my loss...

[wacolt]

What a professional! Probably a former USPS employees, whose job was to make the arrows point DOWN on all parcels! Makes you wonder why this inde is in business? Or, is he biased against metric/Euro bikes?

He wouldn't get any more of my money.

[grifscoots]

And one of the things I do is to not seat the tire before balancing. This won't work with the fancy, electric jobs; I use a Parnes static balancer. After mounting the tire, it's easy to rotate the rim, especially with the lube still fresh. Mark where the heavy spot is on the rim before mounting (and scrubbing the bead to ensure a good seat). After mounting I mark, with a carpenter's crayon the light spot on the tire. I then know where the heavy spot is on the rim and the light spot on the tire. I rotate the tire till I find as close to balance as possible. Sometimes I never have to use a weight. It takes time to do this, longer than any part of the tire swap, but when you take the bike to a buck fifty, you purdy much want your balance spot on.

[Morley]

The rotation arows absolutely MUST point in the correct direction. 2.25 oz is too much. The MAX weight (according to BMW) is 2 oz to balance the tires.

[MikeERideWNC]

I am in Murphy, NC ride up here and I'll do it right for you.
It is about 135 miles straight up 575/515, but if you take the back roads it is a fun trip to the house.

Let me know...
I am close to US129.

[MikeERideWNC]

The rotation arows absolutely MUST point in the correct direction. 2.25 oz is too much. The MAX weight (according to BMW) is 2 oz to balance the tires.


Maybe for a static balance.
But if you have a tire that is crap, like an Avon a computer balance could take 5oz displaced all over the left and right sides of the wheel.

Trust me, if you don't mind 5 or 6 places where the wheel weights are stuck to the rim, you can feel the difference between static and a precise computer balance.

As a matter of fact I static balanced my front wheel two weeks ago and on Thursday I had 1.25oz bounce off of the road and smack me in the leg.
The bike immediately started vibrating.
When I got home I computer balanced the front wheel.
Even my wife said the bike was riding smoother.

I am fortunate enought to have a balancer that will static and computer balance. When I am lazy, I static balance.