Lasertec Front take 2

[weasel01]

I bought a new rear Metzler Lasertec and had it installed a few weeks ago no problems.
Then got a new front took it over to the mc shop and the installer ruined the bead trying to install it he aslo popped my new inner tube.

He said the tire was defective and would not fit on the rim.

Dennis Kirk said they had no problems reported with the tire but replaced it with a tire from a different production code at no cost?

Which seems cool enough or was that CYA move? I dunno.

I should receive it today but now I'm a little gun shy...

You guys every had situation like this?

[Bengt_Phorqs]

Probably just good PR on the part of Dennis Kirk.  Have you ever used that shop to mount your tires before?  

[weasel01]

Yes, they are good people and are the local airhead hang out.

They mostly do New KTM and used BMW.

The tire guy has an R60 and recently had an R65 (sold it to buy an engagement ring...Yes, I know bad move).

[weasel01]

So I got the 2nd new tire 100/90-18 lasertec and this time the tire went on easy enough but this one wont bead out on the rim there are 5" sections on each side of the tire 180 degrees apart that wont seat?

The manager at the dealership said he suspects the tires I am getting have been warehoused for a long time and they are not a plyable as they should be?

He suggested to leave it on the rim with an overinflated innertube over the weekend and it should settle into place....I've never run into this kind of trouble with a new tire in my life....I really dont know what to do?

Any suggestions?

[MrRiden]

To discover how long the tire has been in a warehouse you can check for a date of manufacture code on the sidewall. Typically there is a four digit code. The first two digits indicate the week. For example 06 would be the 6th calendar week.
The second two (2) digits indicate the year. For example 08 would indicate 2008. so the code would look like 0608 for this example. I have had tires that were difficult to seat properly. A combination of Murphy's oil soap, over inflation and if this failed remounting in a different position worked.

[montmil]

Set that puppy out in the sun... it'll likely pop when it softens a bit in the heat. 103 here yesterday [smiley=bath.gif]

Monte

[Justin B.]

Bead seating problems seem to be the norm for me.  Never used to have these problems back when the tires were actually "tube-type".  I'm thinking that these new-fangled tubeless tires are just stiffer and harder to seat...  I had to put over 100 PSI in the front on the Junkyard Dawg to get it to seat!

[Bob_Roller]

I had a Metzeler rear tire that wouldn't seat on the bead, I removed the valve core on the valve stem, loosened the tire on the bead, lubed the bead area on both sides with liquid dish washing detergent, inflated the tire to 100 psi, and it seated with no problems .

Setting it out in the sun wouldn't hurt at all, if it's sunny there .

 It's 114 F. (46 C.) out on the back patio at 1600, that would get the tire softened up a bit !!!!!!!!! .

[weasel01]

Overcast for the next 2 days ...of course.
The new tire looks so good especially since the tire being replaced was a wrong size dry rotted shame.
The bike feels totally different stancewise with the new tire ...l just wish I could ride it...

Guess I'll give it till monday

[weasel01]

The date code is 4108 so thats not too old?

The sun came out for several hours this fine Sunday so I wheeled my
bike lop sided tire and all out into the direct sunlight for hours and no luck.

Took it back off the bike deflated lubed and over inflated over and over with no luck.

Do you think a 90/90 would stand a better chance?

Also this is a v rated tire could that have anything to do with it?

[Barry]

Can't see how the speed rating would make any difference. I had a struggle seating a Metzler on the front so maybe they are harder to seat than others.  

Is the the inside of the rim clean and free from corrosion?  Ideally it should be highly polished.

[montmil]

Barry makes an excellent point regarding the clean rim.

Last tire change on my '81, I spent some tire detailing the bead area of the rim. Even without going completely overboard on the buff job, the rim was very smooth.

I had 100psi in the tire when the bead seated on a lubricated rim.

Ain't tire work fun? :-/     Monte

[msbuck]

Yep, my last tire took 100psi to seat as well.  A little scary -  glad I wasn't the one doing it!  

[weasel01]

Well I brought out to the shop today it's sunny again and the air compressor out here at work is capable of lot of pressure.
The bummer is the guage that will fit in the mag is a 50lbs.
The higher guage wont fit so I dont have a clue how much is in there....
I dowsed it in dish soap filled it more than ever and threw it on top of my pickup topper for full sun exposure....

[Justin B.]

I have found out the hard way (against counsel from a couple of forum inhabitants) that dish soap probably should be avoided.  I have used a strong Dawn mixture in the past and always thought nothing of it.  The last front tire I put on my '95 RT developed bead leaks after a while and when I de-mounted it the rim bead surface was extremely corroded and pitted.  It took a lot of wire brush and Scotch-Brite work to get it to seal again.  The last few tires I've used WD-40 as a lube and I think I'll order some genuine tire mounting lube for use in the future.

Oh, the last tire I mounted was a Macadam 50e 90/90-18 on the front of the Junkyard Dawg and it took over 100 psi to seat.  I clipped on the tire chuck and stepped outside until I heard it pop!