Yamaha WR250R Mega Thread

[BigFeet]

Hey, Scotty/Rydnseek,

Here I am askin' for more info on the Shinko 244's...

A former acquaintance told me that ALL motorcycle tires have an O or 0 molded into them that is an alignment marker where the tire should be lined up with the valve stem. I did some research and found out that may not be correct. Probably not even "usually", actually. I guess this is where the manufacturer thinks best balance will be. I think he referred to D606's as a tire that definitely has them. Confirmed by Curtis and GSXRMike.

I looked the Shinko 244's over today for any such marker. I found only one marking that isn't recurring around the perimeter. It looks to be about 1/3" in diameter, round and has a K in it (for Korea?) that kinda' looks like the symbol for a diode (triangle pointing at a flat line). It's within a few inches of the "Made In Korea" wording, so that's why I wonder if it's relevant at all.

Do you look for any alignment marker on the Shinko 244's when you are installing them in order to try to avoid or minimize imbalance?

Ever heard of this marker? If yes, what's it look like on the Shinko's?

This was all news to me, but my background is automotive, not motorcycle.

Thank you very much once again for all your valued input!

BigFeet - formerly Artoo

[BigFeet]

Originally Posted by Clayjars

I don't know how well dynabeads are going to work with goop in the tube.
I balance my tires with sticky weights i got from pepboys. Just put the wheel on the axle and set the axle on 2 jackstands. Slowly spin the wheel and watch which part goes to the bottom. Add a little weight at a time to the opposite end. After a few spins and adding a bit of weight, you will have it down. Sometimes I have to snip a weight in half with a pair of dikes to get it just right.

Clayjars and Tonymorr,

Thank you for the input. I will give that a try if the dynabeads don't give significant improvement. They're on the way.

I will not run sealer with the dynabeads since they recommend against it.

I will also check for tire out of round and rim runout. If I do the driveway balance, I'll either do as Tony suggested or just pull the caliper if I can't get rid of all the drag.

Artoo

[BigFeet]

I was just reading the Dyna Beads website. One of their motorcycle related FAQ's made reference to lining up a mark on the tire with the valve stem.

They called it "Match Mounting". I'm surprised I had no clue of this, but again, I'm no motorcycle expert. Learn somethin' new every day pretty much!

If the mark I looked at today is it, then the motorcycle shop tire tech had no clue either... it's nowhere near the valve stem. Or he just blew that off too like he did my request for wheel balance.

"...oh yeah, I checked 'em but they didn't need any weight... they were REEEEAL close...". Horse hockey.

I just read Neduro's tire changing class thread and next time I'll do it myself. Extra tubes on the way for the learning curve...

Artoo

[rickypanecatyl]

Totally random question guys...

Does anyone know if they sell the WR250R in Singapore, Malaysia or Thailand?

Thanks Rick

[deerHater]

Originally Posted by Artoo

FMF Q4 muffler, megabomb header, EFI programmer using HighFive's settings - WORKS GREAT!!

What are the numbers for those settings?

My Q4 and megabomb ahould arrive this week!

[DreamBig]

hello hello friends! i cannot figure out how to make an entirely new post! Can anyone help me out? :)


cheers!

Aemi

[QuietEagle]

If you go to list of threads in any forum and look at the top or bottom left, you will see the 'new thread' link. It is in the same location as the 'new reply' link that you see when in a thread...about 4-5" from top of screen. Or you can use the 'post new thread' link in the Forum Tools drop down on the upper right (just below the page numbers).

[deerHater]

Originally Posted by Artoo

Or he just blew that off too like he did my request for wheel balance.

"...oh yeah, I checked 'em but they didn't need any weight... they were REEEEAL close...". Horse hockey.

With the original BT090 my X rear wheel had no weights - zero handling issues right up to top speed. Thursday I had a BT023 installed (150/70/17 is smallest available.) I watched him spin it up on the balance machine, which claimed it ballanced. Again, zero handling issues right up to WFO top speed, and I'm still running the BT090 on the front too.

[Chadx]

Originally Posted by Artoo

...reference to lining up a mark on the tire with the valve stem.
They called it "Match Mounting". If the mark I looked at today is it, then the motorcycle shop tire tech had no clue either... it's nowhere near the valve stem. Or he just blew that off too like he did my request for wheel balance.

Most shops are aware of this and mount the tires taking the sidewall stamp into consideration. Of the tires that I've mounted on my WR, I've always lined up the sidewall stamp and valvestem and not bothered to balance (thought I'd be curious to do so) and they have all run smooth as can be up to top speed.

[skierd]

I found that in addition to lining up the balance dot with the valve stem (or rim lock in my rear's case), not having a worn the hell out 4000 mile old knobby on helps a lot with how smooth the bike runs at speed. I swapped the IRC VE39 I've been running all summer for the stock deathwing in preparation for the lost of pavement I'm going to be riding the rest of this year and its like I completely revamped the front end, soooo smooth now. Last bit to do is finish burning off the rear tire, then swap back on the stock rear along with lubing the suspension one last time before it gets cold, swapping to a 14T to compensate for the shorter OE tire, and raising the shock back up (I liked it better at the stock ride height, especially now that I do a lot of 2up).

[BigFeet]

Originally Posted by clapped_r6

i've noticed that if i put a tube on the wheel with no tire and balance them (gotta little marc parnes unit, very nice) i don't need to balance them again. i always check, but it's always right on.

i think that since the spoked rims are heavier than their tubeless counterparts, the tire has less influence on overall balance.

ymmv, but this worked on my last dr650 through multiple tire changes, and it also seems to be working on my wr. (mt-21's and mt90-at's)

C R6,

Thank you very much for the suggestion. I may give that a try.

Artoo

[BigFeet]

Originally Posted by deerHater

What are the numbers for those settings?

My Q4 and megabomb ahould arrive this week!

deerHater,

The latest numbers I was able to find from HighFive's 2nd round of dyno testing were:

3-5-0.5-8-4-4


I went ahead and half baked a theory (can't remember my reasoning now ) and modded the numbers slightly to this:


3-5.0-0.5-8-3-4


I think it emulates "accelerator pump" a tad sooner set like this. In any case, it runs GREAT with no flat spots anywhere.



By the way, this bike is modded about like HF's bike was during the 2nd dyno test except it has the HF ultimate airbox mod instead of many holes and has an FMF megabomb header instead of the powerbomb. I suspect it may not flow quite as much without all the holes, but can't prove it.


Relevant mods from memory for posterity:


FMF Q4 muffler, FMF EFI programmer, FMF Megabomb
HF Ultimate Airbox mod (flapper removed, snorkel gutted, etc)
AIS removed. Krabill plate kit.
EXUP removed, obviously. SheWolf resistor. No CEL light harassin' me.
TwinAir filter (not sure what filter HF was using... K&N??)


I have a spare airbox door on the way. I'm going to mod it for more airflow and see if I notice it on the butt dyno. Doubt I will unless my imagination is active that day.


So that's the setup as best I can find for ya'.


Artoo
"am not"

[BigFeet]

Originally Posted by skierd

I found that in addition to lining up the balance dot with the valve stem (or rim lock in my rear's case), not having a worn the hell out 4000 mile old knobby on helps a lot with how smooth the bike runs at speed. I swapped the IRC VE39 I've been running all summer for the stock deathwing in preparation for the lost of pavement I'm going to be riding the rest of this year and its like I completely revamped the front end, soooo smooth now. Last bit to do is finish burning off the rear tire, then swap back on the stock rear along with lubing the suspension one last time before it gets cold, swapping to a 14T to compensate for the shorter OE tire, and raising the shock back up (I liked it better at the stock ride height, especially now that I do a lot of 2up).

Skierd,

Thank you very much for the input! Both tires are new Shinko 244's. Is the balance dot inked on or molded in or..?? What's it look like?

Been meaning to say: Read your TAT RR from back when. Excellent! That's probably something I won't get to do, so I sure enjoyed it vicariously.

Artoo

[BigFeet]

Originally Posted by clapped_r6

weird, me too. my rear wheel needed exactly no weight to be perfectly balanced, the front needed just 1/4 oz.

I'm going to check the rims and tires for runout before I do anything else. I think it's too much shake to just be balance. It's a used bike, so who knows what some hooligan did to it? I know what this hooligan has done to it...

Ar2

[BigFeet]

I found this in e-How, so I don't know how accurate it is.

It devolves to gibberish in the last 2 lines.

The attached appears to be focused on autos, not bikes. Still trying to find out what the markings look like on motorcycle tires...

Artoo

"Match-Mounting

Match-mounting a tire is a recommended procedure that many qualified tire technicians are aware of. Many quality tires come with small painted indicator marks on them that should be aligned to marks on the rim or the valve stem of the tire. Although not all tires use match-mounting indicators on the sidewall, when they do, it is recommended that they be employed when mounting the tire. Yellow marks indicate the weight balance of the tire and should be aligned to the valve stem of the tire. Red marks indicate the uniformity of the tire and should be aligned with a marking on the rim indicating the minimal run-out of the rim.

Unidirectional tires, also known as directional tires, need to be mounted onto the wheel rims by application to the direction of the tread. This might be the only time where match-mounting is ineffective to mounting at least two of the tires because the indicators will be painted on the opposite side of the sidewall and difficult to align properly to the valve stem or rim marking.

Properly balancing the tire after mounting will help minimize the inability to match-mount properly, but may require more weight on the wheel rim.

When match-mounting, the painted indicators on the sidewall of the tire should be facing upward in order to successfully match-mount the tire."