Tips on getting a tire to seal?

[makenzie71]

I've been trying to get a tire to seal on a SV650 rim...there's a bit of corrosion inside the wheel on both sides.  On one side the tire seals all the way around.  On the other it leaks...all the way around.  It's really starting to piss me off...immensely.  No matter how I mount the tire...leaks all the way around one side.  I'm pretty sure it's leaking around the same side of the tire, too, but I haven't confirmed it yet.

Any suggestions?

[tt_four]

I know they make tire sealant for that kind of stuff. Otherwise you might have to pull the tire and sand down the rim well so it's smooth again.

[Jared]

How much corrosion? +1 on polishing it --as far as a liquid sealant...nothing I'd put on there- maybe spray some silicone or a soapy water based cleaner on it maybe.

It's seating correctly but just leaking?

[JB848]

Yeah I'd have to agree with Jared. While using sealant my work it is definitely a short term fix. Cleaning up the inside of the rim is a rather easy process with some sand paper. Good Luck getting it sealed I know that would irritate the heck out of me if it didn't seal too.

[sledge]

Scrap it!!

Even if you can tidy up the rim and get it to seal it will never be 100% reliable. The prospect and consequences of it suddenly deflating at speed would be far too much for me for me to be comfortable with.

[tt_four]

Stuff an innertube in it!

[redhenracing2]

If you know there is crap in the inside of the rim, why wouldn't you clean it before putting a tire on it?

[Firstoni]

+1 clean it

+1 soapy water to help seal (think we used dawn in the water ... fairly heavy mix)

[makenzie71]

There's some corrosion...not "crap"...you don't just brush it off.  I took a lot of it out, but it shouldn't be an issue.  I've mounted chewed up tires on much worse wheels with no problem.

I'm going to try some dish soap.  I've had that suggestion a few times now.

[badguy]

If you think something will seal it, I've heard good stuff about RuGlyde.

[Jared]

How much air are you hitting it with initially?

[makenzie71]

dumped 40 psi in at first.  I don't care much for inflating motorcycle tires past that point, but I will be trying teh soap (I have some thick stuff) and hitting about 50 before I give up.

[JB848]

There is always the WD40 trick if all else fails. I wouldn't ride something I couldn't seal myself with soap and water. I have done WD40 on farm equipment tires and it works great..just watch your eye brows

[trumpetguy]

Mak, I had a similar problem with a GS1100E wheel.  I had boogered the rim with huge tire irons mounting/dismounting over and over (because I can't mount a freaking tube without pinching it, apparently).   Eventually I decide to mount it tubeless, as many people have done it without incident.

I cleaned the big scars with a file, then 400 grit sandpaper, then a nylon scrubby with detergent.  I personally like to use Murphy's oil soap (about 1:1 with water) as a lubricant when seating beads.  It was recommended to me and works well.  Incidentally, the small tire irons worked much better than Harbor Freight's big ones.

End result: bead seated easily (40 psi) and holds air tightly.  Much better than the front, which still has a tube in it!  Next time I change the front, it goes tubeless as well.

[JB848]

Thanks trumpetguy now we know. I was just scared for him. about 2 months after I bought my gs in Monterey, Ca  I ran over a board in the middle of traffic coming on post. I had two choices, swerve intto oncoming traffic or eat the bean. I decided in a split second to eat the bean and I did. The bad thing was I saw it so far out but I was not thinking like I do now. Yeah I did the tube thing cause I am a cheap bastard but ;We all are being GS500 instead of GSXR people.

Bottom line is you have to trust your equipment...I do

[johnny ro]

Try removing tire, clean the rim thoroughly, then go to NAPA or tire store and buy a small can of tire bead sealer which is made to do what you want it to do. Don't use oil or soap or snot. Use bead sealer, reinstall and inflate and ride. 

[Jared]

Can you dial your air pressure up more for your initial hit?  Try 80+ if you can-might just need that extra oomph to send it home...Speed/volume of air is usually the key here tho...gotta get a lot of the big hit in at once-- say without the Schrader valve in it ( love the tire machines  at the dealer...clip on air line .pedal operated valve to hit it with air...) to get that forceful expansion to seat them sometimes. I've mounted car tires a bunch of times ( Job when I was younger)- I always take my tires and have them done for the bikes...that may be changing tho..local dealer is hurting bad...but I digress.


Hope it works or you.

WD40...Yeah I've seen that done before once....

[danielarms76]

if all else fails try this.what isnt wd40 good for?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNVXHbja0cE

[JB848]

if all else fails try this.what isnt wd40 good for?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNVXHbja0cE

Well I am glad to bring a trick from 25+ years ago to your attention. Great video. Those of us that new that thought everyone new it?

[trumpetguy]

So after I replied to this thread, a friend asks me to help him mount tires (Avon Venom Strykes) on his Ninja 250.  We get the old tire off the front and the new one on the rim.  Can't get the bead to seat.  The tire edge is down in the drop center and won't seal air enough to push the tire up on the rim.  We fart with it for a few minutes and it goes pop-pop, seats both beads and holds air well.

Now we move to the back tire.  We mount it with some difficulty (16 inch rims have to be the worst), and in order to get the tire levered over onto the rim, we have to squeeze the opposite tire edge into the drop center.  Once again we can't get it to hold air well enough to seat the bead.  We tried a ratchet strap around it VERY tight, in several locations around the tire.  We bounced the tire.  We sat on the tire and bounced.  We dismounted it and tried again (twice).  I took it to a service station that mounts car tires (it was Sunday, not much was open).  They smeared some goop into the crack and tried to hit it with air -- no dice.  I tried dismounting the tire and stuffing some rope inside, hoping to pull the rope out and pull the bead up a little in the process.  Nope.

On the way home, I had stopped at the Auto Parts store and bought a can of starting fluid.  We went out on the driveway and had the fire extinguisher handy.  Sprayed some starting fluid in the tire, tried to light it, small flame, and nothing.  Squirted a buttload in there, tried to light it, and inside the tire it did not ignite, but the part which had run onto the driveway lit like a bonfire.  I thought it would quickly go out, but it caught some of the fluid on the tire on fire, and I had to hit it with the fire extinguisher.  This starting fluid was only part ether, apparently not nearly as flammable as it needed to be.  We tried WD-40 with no joy, either.

Finally, just before deciding we would take the @#$% thing to the stealership, we decided to dismount again. This time, we decided to lever it on without pushing the opposite bead into the drop center.  Really hard to get it on the rim that way, but it was our last option.  It still wanted to leak, but a little prying on the lowest spot with the tire irons finally got it to hold enough air to pop-pop and seat the beads.  Pain in the A$$.

Not the exact problem you're dealing with, Mak, but a new one for me.  Freaking Kawasaki.....