Oddly, most commercial truck tires don't require anything like 3 ounces of weight for balancing. Something is Mos Def Not Right.
Illegitemi non carborundum est!
...would have required labor time, instead of "play with the neighbor dog time".... Throw stick inflate tire. SQUIRREL!!!
You get the idea....
Yep! Sure do!!
Lee
MB5+TW200+CRF250L+GTV300+INT650
XL883R w/Texas Ranger Sidecar
Zuma 50F + Burgman w/Texas Sidecar<Mrs. SwampFox
Short 30 mile to scrub the tires in a bit, and get an idea about the issue with the rear. I was hoping the rear tire would have bounced around like a vibrating spa chair. Nope. Smooth as silk. So the symptom has been addressed with all the weight, but not the root cause. Which bugs the heck out of me. More to follow...
We are fortunate to have some really nice maintained gravel/dirt roads for all the oil wells, so the ride started with a quick trip on a dirt road to get the rig drifting and power sliding. Get some of the oils out of the tires, and rough up the tread a bit. Then took the bike on some nice smooth back roads & freeway up to 65mph in stages. 40mph for a few miles, 50 mph for a few miles, 60 mph for a few miles, and finally 65 mph for about 5 miles. Feeling for any vibrations. Nothing noticed through the seat, pegs, knees squeezed against the tank, holding onto the pannier rack loosely with a hand. One thing of note is how crazy quiet they are. I was not expecting that. Will be interested to see how that lasts over the life of the tires.
Will get in a longer ride tomorrow. Then hopefully get my buddy in the sidecar on Monday, and have him watch the swing arm/wheel and see if he notices any vibration/bounce.
Front and rear tires "scrubbed in". Took a lot more effort to get these new tires sliding around than it did the old bald tires. lol
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See....it just goes to show that the McDonald's Quarter Pounder is SO popular, that even a BMW-GS Screaming Yellow Zonker is happier having consumed a McDonald's Quarter Pounder, than just sitting in front of a Starbucks.
Maybe that 3.25 ounces of lead weights was just what your SYZ needed. No one else could live with 3.25 ounces of lead weights on a motorcycle wheel, but.....no one else drives a SYZ sidecar rig.
Two Million Mile Rider
Exploring the World in Comfort
See....it just goes to show that the McDonald's Quarter Pounder is SO popular, that even a BMW-GS Screaming Yellow Zonker is happier having consumed a McDonald's Quarter Pounder, than just sitting in front of a Starbucks.
Maybe that 3.25 ounces of lead weights was just what your SYZ needed. No one else could live with 3.25 ounces of lead weights on a motorcycle wheel, but.....no one else drives a SYZ sidecar rig.
Must have yellow cheese on that quarter pounder. 🤣
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Well, now I suppose I must try some balance beads... for a test at least on my next (of course soon upcoming tire change._
I tend to like the brass weights that have set screw that clamps them on the spokes... have used them for years.
For what it is worth, I have installed quite a few Motoz tires on a couple of friends bikes (BMWs and KTMs), and they always seem to need a couple of ounces+ of weight when done, to get close to perfection. I just line the dots up with the valve stem. Maybe that is the heavy spot instead of the light spot? Who knows. My friends seem to like them; I would run one if I couldn't get a Mitas E07 Dakar.
The Mitas E07's typically take about 1.5 ounces sometimes a little less.
Well, now I suppose I must try some balance beads... for a test at least on my next (of course soon upcoming tire change._
I tend to like the brass weights that have set screw that clamps them on the spokes... have used them for years.
For what it is worth, I have installed quite a few Motoz tires on a couple of friends bikes (BMWs and KTMs), and they always seem to need a couple of ounces+ of weight when done, to get close to perfection. I just line the dots up with the valve stem. Maybe that is the heavy spot instead of the light spot? Who knows. My friends seem to like them; I would run one if I couldn't get a Mitas E07 Dakar.
The Mitas E07's typically take about 1.5 ounces sometimes a little less.
Interesting that they would show a picture of those brass weights, with the set screw, and have it shown mounted close to the center hub, rather than out closer to the actual wheel rim. Centrifugal force would dictate that the slide on weight would be secured at the end of the spoke closest to the wheel rim, rather than inboard near the hub.
And Dane, given the Mad Max style of riding you do with your Africa Twin rig in the AZ deserts, dodging attacks by Cacti, I am not sure that Ceramic Balance Beads would be an advantage for you, since your tires are bouncing like a cement mixer that has a week old load of dried cement inside.
Finally, Dane, We The People are looking forward to seeing YOU, and Black Betty, at the Flint Hills Sidecar Rally in Kansas, Sept 5 - 8, as all the cool sidecars, and kewl owners will be there.
Two Million Mile Rider
Exploring the World in Comfort
If Motoz comes back in the 1-2 oz area (for just the tire), I'll pull the tire, and do some investigative work on the wheel and tire. Find the best natural balance point, and then work with weights. From what I've read, Motoz is very responsive to customer questions.
Would be nice to change the valve stem to a 90 degree version. Not looking forward to removing the tire though. It has some pretty stiff sidewalls. Maybe I'll go beat it up on some trails first. lol
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Scott, all BS aside, you have a great attitude....which makes life oh so much easier.
Two Million Mile Rider
Exploring the World in Comfort
Thanks Miles. It's easy to be happy-go-lucky when life treats me so much better than I deserve! 😎
Took a fun ride up the mountain today. Fort Duchesne to Chepeta Lake in the Ashley National Forest. About 95 miles of which pretty much half is a beat up forest road, half is nicely paved back country roads. The forest service road sees a lot of traffic. Cattle trucks & cattle being driven down the trail to trucks waiting below, 4x4s, motor homes, 5th wheel travel trailers & horse trailers, etc.. It gets a lot of use. Also it hasn't been surfaced in a few years, so there are getting to be some pretty deep tire ruts, along with half exposed rocks. There is a lot of sharp 1/2" to 1-1/2" loose rock littering the road. The Forest service road climbs from about 8K' asl, to just over 10.5K' asl in that 20-ish miles. Plenty of opportunity to put some good power to the rear tire, and braking on the front tire.
Goal for the ride was to see how "tough" the knobs are. I was looking for two things: front edge wear, and tearing/chunking/slicing on the knobs. So this was a very aggressive off road "romp".
Starting up the off road climb, there is a nice observation point looking south east over the Uinta Basin. I like to stop here and see what new "progress" is happening in the megatropolis of Roosevelt, UT. Lots of smoke from the fires hazing up the sky today.
Once up into the forest area there is this absolutely huge-mungus river crossing. Not sure if this is spring fed, or if a moose took a leak, but in either case I was thankful that the bow wave kept the high water from flooding down through the airbox. 😉
Chepeta lake is very pretty, and has some great trails for non-motorized use surrounding it. I've seen people fish it, so might give it a go with the fly rod one of these times. It appears to have been a meadow that was dammed on one side to create it. Maybe a grilled trout on toast for lunch? 😀
Back in the garage, I got a good look at the tires. some slight edge rounding on the front and rear, but no slicing, tearing or chunking. I was pretty aggressive on the ride up with the power. On the way down I did multiple max front brake deployments in the nasty rock sections. Well as "max" as I could with ABS (forgot how to turn it off... lol).
Another pleasant note is the lack of front end shimmy. Managed to run out of gas on the way back right when i was being chased by two very aggressive pooches. Coasted as far as possible past their "territory" so as not to be eaten (it was lunch time by this point). From 50mph to zero mph, and the only wobbling was my knees from fear. Handlebars were rock solid. Front tire is brand new, so it is happily as expected. Will see how that works as the tire wears and eventually cups. Dumped in the reserve can of fuel, fired up the bike and headed home with all body parts intact, and no chunks missing.
Now that the front tire doesn't have the hum of being worn out and cupped, I get a somewhat higher pitched sound. Due to hearing loss, I can't tell if it is gear whine or coming from the front tire. Next job for my good friend, neighbor and part time "Monkey" to help figure out. Rear tire is so darned quiet and smooth, it's a bit spooky.
Noticed the bike doesn't roll around by pushing as easy as it did with the E705/ATR-K Ecoterrorist/Block-K combo. Not sure why that is. Will be watching fuel mileage to see what happens there. On the street, the front end doesn't seem to push as much as it did. So maybe softer stickier rubber????
Finally, I've noticed the tires do a very nice job of absorbing small harsh hits. Again, will see as the tires wear how that maintains. I would expect the rear tire to continue that trait due to the sidewall being 1/2" taller than the old car tire that was removed. Front tire the knobs are pretty tall, so wear may change. Tires are too new to talk about grip. Except to say that they grip as well as expected for new tires. Maybe the front is a bit of a happy surprise. I was a bit hesitant as it looks so close to the E705, and that tire even when new, slid around pretty good on the street.
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Read the Owner's Manual and figured out what I was doing wrong when trying to deactivate the ABS.
According to the instructions I was supposed to stand beside the bike, and click my heels three times while chanting: Es gibt Keinen ort wie Bayern.
Silly me, I should have known. 😉
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Today's ride was a loop up around Pole Creek lake. Probably half & half on/off road. Same trail that leads to Chepeta Lake, except instead of turning right to Chepeta lake, Pole Creek lake is off to the left. This loops down into Uinta Canyon which is tribal land. So there is an agreement between the forest service and Ute tribe for a trail easement. That is only the last mile or so of trail. The rest is Ashley NF.
Decided to try the short off-road test track loop, and almost flipped the rig. That was a bit spooky. Off camber with sidecar up top. Side car tire hit a rock and bounced up past the tipping point. Was able to steer off the trail & down the hill, which created some other issues. But eventually was able to get back on the trail. This time I got the bike going, and put most my weight in the sidecar tub. The other leg on the bike seat. Kind of sketchy, but got me out of the mess.
Forgot I had been crabbing the bike with the old street tire to get through that part of the trail. Pretty easy when the rear tire has little traction. But the new Motoz tire is very grippy off road. That makes for a more advanced maneuver with all the half buried rocks. I'll need to practice up on some less rocky off camber. Need to get a balance of front brake, power and body positioning to maintain a good crabbing attitude. Might wait until the 37/11 final drive is installed. That would help with a "snappier" power when the back tire is cycling between grabbing and slipping.
Any way, the tires did really good through the downhill ruts and washouts. Plenty of grip to skirt the edges of the washouts without slipping in, so the rig was able to maintain a faster pace than previous trips through.
After that bit of fun, the rest of the ride was relaxing. Traveling up along the ridge line of the mountain a bit over 10.5K' asl, before descending into Uinta Canyon. Temps were beautiful T-Shirt weather up top. 😎
Pictures: *Looking back up the ridge line around Pole Creek lake. * Looking west into Uinta Canyon.
About 250 miles now on the new tires, with lots more to come. 🤩
Side note: Haven't heard from Motoz yet on balance weight. Looking forward to their input when they get a chance to reply.
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Thursday's ride was definitely not "full of grace". It was, in a word...
Extreme beauty, extreme terrain, extreme fun, extreme weather. All mixed in to about 4 hours of fun, excitement and adventure.
I wanted to explore the Seventy Seven Flat area, as it is an ATV/OHV recreation area. According the MVUM only one trail is designated for 50" width and less. That actually turned out not to be the case, which is a good thing for motorcyclists. Mom's and Dad's with kids on 85cc & smaller machines get some trails not torn up by the 170HP Turbo Side By Sides, driven by overzealous throttle jockies.
The ride started at the Chevron station in the megatropolis of Roosevelt, to get some good super-duper ethyl with Techron. 😎 Picked up some lunch supplies from the local market, and headed out.
Pavement is good up until it ends at Ute Rd 7. Looking NNE across Uinta Canyon (yesterday I was looking SSE towards this point when I took the picture in the post above of Uinta Canyon).
This is the start of cross country adventure in Ute owned land all the way to Ashley NF. Hands down this is the worst worn out road I've been on. The top soil is a very sandy loose soil that is pretty shallow. Doesn't take much traffic to eliminate the top soil. Below that is rocks in size from 1/2" to 2' in diameter. Different compositions (I'm not a geologist, so I just call them sucky rocks, because they suck lol). Was moving at a fairly good pace, when I hit a dip about the same time the sidecar hit a half sunk boulder. Sent the whole rig in the air and off the road. Somehow I managed to clear one big rock, before slamming into another.
Here's the rock the rig cleared:
Here's the one the rig moved about a foot (thankfully the soil is loose sand, or that would have been much worse). Have to say with ABS turned off the brakes, scrub brush and finally the rock arrested the forward travel very quickly.
Rolled the rock out of the way, got back on the track, and did a damage assessment. No damage at all to the rig. Some scrub brush was manicured, but that was it. Back on the trail, come around a corner and see this beautiful gal. From the size of her head, she's a Mustang, but taller than most I've seen, and looking very healthy. I stopped shut off the engine to see what she'd do. Settled back to a mid morning snack-out. Wary, but not interested in investigating.
Finally made it to Ashley NF ATV area. All the sudden the path well worn, is also a path well maintained.
Did some exploring around the area, and was pretty worn out from all the excitement of Ute Rd 7. so stopped for lunch. Just the cows mooing, the breeze blowing, the thunder clapping and a bit of rain falling. Hid under a big pine tree and enjoyed lunch.
Lunch pale fits perfect on its side. A couple of Therapy Gell packs out of the freezer to keep things cool without a mess.
Far west side of the ATV area drops down a ridge into the Crystal Creek area which has some beautiful primitive camp sites.
Once down the mountain and across the valley, it was just beautiful ag land, and ranches back to the Megatropolis of Roosevelt. I would like to go back and explore the ATV area more, but not back across Ute Rd 7. It was brutal. That wrote, it had a lot of elements; Loose deep sand, more sucky rocks than Gibraltar, some good climbs over loose rocks, deep ruts, plenty of horse poop to dodge, etc..
Was a good ride, but exhausting. Amazed how well the rig is doing. No damage to the frame, sub-frame, wheels or tires.
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Today was "International Adjust the Lean Angle Day." At least it was in this garage.
Beside the light pull to the right, the last rear tire was wearing to the right side. I had been meaning to do this adjustment for a while, and today was the perfect opportunity to make things happen. 👍
Drives very neutral now. For the test ride the sidecar shock preload was cranked up all the way (how it has been run on the street). Tomorrow the preload will be set to a more normal sag. Think the vertical struts will get replaced with longer units, as they are pretty much maxed out on adjustment now. Maybe some racy ones with left/right hand clevises from Speedway Motors. Ooooohhhhh, Aaaaahhhhhh! 😍
Re-checked toe-in, and still at that approximate 1/2" mark.
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This just in...
Reports are surfacing of an air blister in the sidewall of a certain new rear tire.
Sheath is standing by on location.
"Yes folks, it appears an air blister has formed in the sidewall of the new Motoz rear tire. This new development may go hand in hand with the earth deforming amount of weight being used to keep from breaking the planet in half."
Back to you Jim!
😉
Will contact the supplier to get their thoughts, and post up.
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