Screwed up (Updated)

Okay. I tried to mount a CT for the first time last night. I picked up a Douglas tire from Walmart and it went on, with a tube, fairly easily. Mounted the tire on the bike and took a test ride around the block. Bump, bump, bump. I looked at the tire more closely and it looked as though the circular design around the rim wasn't concentric. Do you think the bead did not set properly? I'll take it off and try again tonight.

best way to tell if the bead is seated, is to look at the sidewall of the tire. If you see any low spots its a good indication the bead is not seated.

exlax wrote:best way to tell if the bead is seated, is to look at the sidewall of the tire. If you see any low spots its a good indication the bead is not seated.

Yeah, it was pretty dark. I finished around midnight when I went to the gas station to pump up the tire. I'll try again. Pretty anxious. By the way, is your bike copper? I really like it in your sig pic. I've got the same year and model, but metallic silver.

surfshrink wrote:

exlax wrote:best way to tell if the bead is seated, is to look at the sidewall of the tire. If you see any low spots its a good indication the bead is not seated.

Yeah, it was pretty dark. I finished around midnight when I went to the gas station to pump up the tire. I'll try again. Pretty anxious. By the way, is your bike copper? I really like it in your sig pic. I've got the same year and model, but metallic silver.

My bike was metallic silver from the factory, and i even still have the metallic silver tins in the basement. My dad purchased it new, and decided after a year or two that he liked the orange color that is available on the 1800's. He started looking around at colors, and settled on the color thats on it (i dont know the name, but its a nissan color that is painted on 350z's from the factory). He purchased new tins off ebay, painted them, and swapped them out. Fast forward to earlier this year and he bought a valkyrie interstate and sold me the vtx. I can probably find the paint code in the basement if you want it, but its a nissan specific color, not something you are likely to find on another vtx.

Did you hear two distinct pops???



.........................bobby

twin1300 wrote:Did you hear two distinct pops???



.........................bobby

+1 each side has to pop.

Sometimes a tire slips on easily with no pop - mine did both sides. If you can jack the bike up to spin the wheel, you
should be able to see the change in the sidewall markings position, meaning a bead isn't seated. I always check this before
bolting up the tire.
If it's irregular, you can let the air out and refill after spraying a little windex or other lube along the bead. If that doesn't work,
you can rebreak the bead and relube it.

Thanks for all the help. Here it is, 11:30PM and I just finished my test ride. It was great. After numerous attempts, I finally got both sides to "pop". The disc side popped at about 80lbs. Several hours, and several attempts later, the final drive side popped at just over 100lbs. I was just ready to give up. I started to take the hose off and "pop" it went. I snugged a ratchet line around the side opposite the area that just wouldn't set and that helped seat the bead. Officially a Darksider now. I'm on a diet, so no cookies for me.

surfshrink wrote:Thanks for all the help. Here it is, 11:30PM and I just finished my test ride. It was great. After numerous attempts, I finally got both sides to "pop". The disc side popped at about 80lbs. Several hours, and several attempts later, the final drive side popped at just over 100lbs. I was just ready to give up. I started to take the hose off and "pop" it went. I snugged a ratchet line around the side opposite the area that just wouldn't set and that helped seat the bead. Officially a Darksider now. I'm on a diet, so no cookies for me.

in the future, it helps a bit to set the tire out in the sun for a while to let it get hot. welcome to the madhouse.

twin1300 wrote:Did you hear two distinct pops???



.........................bobby

I have had a few that didnt pop. I just keep putting air in and thought to myself, what the He!! is going on then noticed I had 120 lbs of air in. let the air out and was good to go.

Just be carefull guys, and girls. Which ever you all prefer.

..so thankful that I'm a member of this group. Finally got around to working on getting my CT put on, and ran across the same issue with seating . I was a little apprehensive with how much air to put in, and was conservative with my 60 pounds, because, frankly, I was scared . Anyhow, I read the thread, and now packed with some insights on how to get this tire seated. I'll follow up on my progress. Thanks, again!