Tire Changing at home
 

Hey all,

For all your folks who does their own tire change, how do you find the heaviest part of the tire before it is mounted on the rim.

I purchase a set of Pilot Powers for my new RC51 (PP 2cts out of stock) and was going to have it installed by a local shop and they want......$70 per tire. Are you kidding me? So I youtubed it an found various videos on how to.

Now I shouldn't have much problem mounting it but I am not sure how to balance it properly without finding the heaviest part of the tire. I am going to get a static balancer but just wondering anyone know how to find the heaviest part of the tire before mounting.

thanks

There is a painted dot on the sidewall that indicates the lightest part of the tire. You align it with the valve stem which is supposed to be the heaviest part of the wheel. Pay attention to the directional arrows on the sidewall also.

I believe the later michelins don't have a spot anymore. If I recall there is a tiny bar code near the bead surface that should serve the same purpose (lightest spot). Also, while we usually assume the valve stem is the heaviest part of the wheel, its not always so. You could check first with just the rim, I.D. the heaviest spot and then put the lightest spot for the tire right there.

This is also what I do. While the valve stem my well be the "heavy" spot on a bare rim, once you bolt on the rotors it does tend to change. ;)

Thanks guys....I didn't see the spot but does notice the sticker. I will begin the install probably tomorrow. Got all the tools I need today and might get a little adventurous and build my own tire changer.

Thanks for all the help.

My wife's SV650S is on its 4th rear, and the last 3 tires (Qualifier and 2 BT016s) have all had the weights in the same location, coincidentally next to the valve stem. I know because I've had to remove the old adhesive. It's always been 1 ounce of weights too. That tells me that her tires were pretty well balanced from the manufacturer, but the wheel is out approx 1 ounce. Oh, and they always line up the dot with the stem.

I know I'm a little late on this thread, but for what it's worth.

Michelins specifically; IIRC based on their documentation from their website, does not say what the heaviest part of the tire is. For the most part Michelins are pretty well balanced. 5 out of 6 times i've shoed new rubbers on the rim, placing the bar code in various places, the wheel always drops to the valve stem.