Tire issue

[BaldRider]

I balance my own tires when I mount them. It isn't that complicated and glue-on weights are easy to use. Balancing doesn't have to be perfect. Also, Yellow dot gets lined up with the valve stem. Red dot goes opposite side.

 

[dmonkey]

The tire can also seat unevenly on the rim. If that happens you can break the bead, reset the tire position by using a mallet to tap around the outer circumference of the tire (center contact patch), then re-inflate to seat the bead, spin the tire and recheck its position to the rim.

 

[SLO]

Also,on the first set of 3/0 in rear,they are gonna rub the inside of fender for a short while. It isn;t much,but the fender has to rub/wear at first on inside in spots. Second set,no issue. You can look inside of fender( rubber) and see shiny spots.I also moved wheel over when aligning chain/sprockets. I put a dab of vaseline on the spots the tire rubbed,issue was gone quickly after that. Actually slowed bike down when off throttle coasting. Could feel it grabbing. Get thru it,it is very much worth it. Mass produced plastic parts with variable tolerance. Ride it,it will fix itself.

 

[CTExplorer]

Also,on the first set of 3/0 in rear,they are gonna rub the inside of fender for a short while. It isn;t much,but the fender has to rub/wear at first on inside in spots. Second set,no issue. You can look inside of fender( rubber) and see shiny spots.I also moved wheel over when aligning chain/sprockets. I put a dab of vaseline on the spots the tire rubbed,issue was gone quickly after that. Actually slowed bike down when off throttle coasting. Could feel it grabbing. Get thru it,it is very much worth it. Mass produced plastic parts with variable tolerance. Ride it,it will fix itself.

I put a 3.0 Shinko on the rear of mine and never noticed any rubbing. I also have the 13t front sprocket. Wonder if it's possible the tiny amount of extra chain length you gain by going fron 14 to 13 is the difference?

 

[SneakyDingo]

The tire can also seat unevenly on the rim. If that happens you can break the bead, reset the tire position by using a mallet to tap around the outer circumference of the tire (center contact patch), then re-inflate to seat the bead, spin the tire and recheck its position to the rim.

Almost assuredly this is the problem I have, and was fairly close to the solution I was going to take. Because I went from no issue with the old tires, to big, noticeable issue with the new tires. I think the major difference was I was contemplating taking the tire off, bouncing it on the ground (same effect as the mallet), and putting it back on. I normally do it when I swap tires (especially tubeless) but this time I didn't because it was too early in the morning and the surface I was bouncing it on was noisy. Also it was raining when I was putting it back together so once again, hurrying is now costing me more time.

 

[TRF90]

Probably not the same problem, but I put Shinko 244s on my Kawasaki KLX 250 a few years ago, and the bike never felt planted going down the road. Regardless of the tire pressure, it always felt as though one of the tires was going flat. Since I was slanting the bike more towards the dirt anyway, I put on a pair of DOT approved knobbys. Problem solved.

 

[SLO]

I put a 3.0 Shinko on the rear of mine and never noticed any rubbing. I also have the 13t front sprocket. Wonder if it's possible the tiny amount of extra chain length you gain by going fron 14 to 13 is the difference?

Could be! I think I did put the 244's on before I changed the front sprocket. HUH?

 

[SneakyDingo]

Almost assuredly this is the problem I have, and was fairly close to the solution I was going to take. Because I went from no issue with the old tires, to big, noticeable issue with the new tires. I think the major difference was I was contemplating taking the tire off, bouncing it on the ground (same effect as the mallet), and putting it back on. I normally do it when I swap tires (especially tubeless) but this time I didn't because it was too early in the morning and the surface I was bouncing it on was noisy. Also it was raining when I was putting it back together so once again, hurrying is now costing me more time.

Forgot to follow up on this. Took "Gentle Persuasion" (my rubber mallet) and applied liberally to the tire after deflating it somewhat, popping the bead, then re-seating it. It improved the situation substantially but didn't completely fix it. I reckon the tire is just not completely round, just round enough to get the job done off road. Good enough!