| Author | Message | ||
     Thefleshrocket |
My Pilot Pures are done for and since Michelin decided to stop making them, I'm switching to the Q3s. One thing that struck me while mounting the front Q3 is how much weight it takes to balance it properly. 5 x 0.25oz weights isn't quite enough and 6 is too many. That strikes me as a lot of weight to balance a front tire. Before mounting the Q3, I tested the wheel's balance. There's a white dot and the number 02 or 20 written next to it, and that's definitely the light spot on the wheel. The Q3 has a red dot on it and it's definitely the heavy spot--I clocked the tire in at least 10 different positions and the red dot always either went directly to the bottom or +/- a couple inches from bottom. My old Pilot Pure was a pain to balance too--it took 8 or 9 x 0.25oz. However, with that tire, I don't think I had the tire's heavy spot lined up with the wheel's light spot. (I don't recall for sure.) But what's really surprised me is that the Q3 I mounted on my Speed Triple's front wheel balanced perfectly with no weights. I'm open to any comments or suggestions. Those of you who've used Q3s on your 1125s, how many weights did it take to balance them? | ||
| Sprintst |
Sounds like you have it backwards, which is why you need all the weights. The dot is the light spot, not the heavy spot 7 - Tire Installation (see also Tire Mounting) Dunlop street tires have balance dots in the bead or sidewall area to indicate the lightest point of the tire. All Dunlop street tires should be installed with these balance dots at the valve. http://www.dunlopmotorcycle.com/info-center/care-a nd-maintenance/ Michelin tires don't have a balance dot (Message edited by sprintst on June 25, 2014) (Message edited by sprintst on June 25, 2014) | ||
| Thefleshrocket |
Thanks for the response, but my testing seems to suggest that the red dot on the tire represents the heavy spot. No matter how I clock the tire, the red dot always goes to dead bottom, or +/- an inch or two of dead bottom. If the dot represented the lightest point on the tire, surely my results would be the opposite. Does that make sense? | ||
| Scarpent1 |
I just talked with the Motorcycle Product Development Manager at Dunlop and he said the balance dot is the light spot. | ||
| Jimustanguitar |
they should put a + or - on the dot to indicate which. | ||
| Crowley |
I'm with you about the problems I had balancing the Pures. It took me about 5 remounts to get the tyre into position where I could fit minimum weights, and even then it took more lead than I was comfortable with! | ||
| Thefleshrocket |
I balanced my front and rear Q3s. The front tire took 6 x 0.25oz weights and the rear took 7 x 0.25oz weights. I clocked each tire at least 6 different ways and those were the lowest numbers of weights I could get to balance the wheels correctly. I balanced the rear tire by itself and it took more than 1 but less than 2 x 0.25oz weights, so the rear Q3 itself needed between 5-6 weights to properly balance. 6 weights up front and 7 weights in the rear was slightly less than what was actually required to balance the tires, so I added 1oz of Dynabeads to the front tire and 2oz to the rear tire. Both tires feel smooth up to ~130mph, which is as far as I've tested it thus far. | ||
| Sprintst |
Update - I just mounted my Q3 and confirmed the dot is the LIGHT spot, NOT the heavy. Well I have a balance point on my wheels that I found myself and marked I lined up the dot (light spot, per dunlop) on my Q3 with my heavy spot. PERFECT balance, no weights needed (Message edited by sprintst on July 10, 2014) | ||
| Thefleshrocket |
Sprintst, that coincides with my experience and what I've heard--that some Q3s balance perfectly or with almost no weights (as in with my Speed Triple) while others require a lot of weight (like my 1125R). That said, I'm literally positive that the dot on my Q3s marks the heavy spot. In the 500 or so miles that I've lived with Q3s, I've been happy with their performance, but it's kind of disconcerting that there seems to be some very large manufacturing tolerances. I just "feel better" about the tires if they balance with little to no weight. (Message edited by thefleshrocket on July 12, 2014) | ||
| Ernie579 |
Sorry if this is covered already but I noticed on my rims there is markings inside the rim showing the weight imbalance. this does not correspond with the valve stem location. I discounted this and payed in weights while balancing the wheel. | ||
| Robertb1958 |
My Pilot Pure rear on the 1125 is pretty much done, also. Front still has meat. The Pures seemed to be great sticky tires. Guess I will replace both with Q3's, but are there other good options? | ||
| Sprintst |
If you want a stickie tire and can live with the shorter life, I don't think you can beat the Q3's. They are inexpensive and right now, I'm buying breakfast with my $40 rebate Dunlop visa | ||
| Cravacor |
I just got new shoes, rear apparently balanced up with no weight. Front took 1.25 or 1.5 oz. Don't remember which. I got Pilot Road 4s. Was planning to go with Power 3s but the guy at the bike shop talked me into these. I just got done flogging the pi$$ out of the bike in WV and I can truly say the Road 4s feel as good as the old Power 2CTs I had. Now that you mention it though, I wonder if my bike shop lined up the tire heavy spot 180 degrees from the wheel light spot not knowing that mark is for the light spot. They are a Kaw/Suz/KTM/Polaris dealer, so they prolly didn't know about the balance marks (and neither did I until I was reading the manual when reinstalling the wheels...) | ||
| Sprintst |
Michelin tires don't mark a light or heavy spot, so no worries | ||
| Cravacor |
Thanks Sprint, I was looking for one and couldn't find it. The shop marked the rotation direction arrow with chalk or something, but I guess that is just for their own verification. Also, yes the Road 4s aren't cheap but the shop claims significantly better wear. We shall see... |
