new front tire on backwards?

[DMAN999]

The Speedo is Definitely on the Left side (when sitting on the bike) on my 2000 and every other Gen 1 Vmax I have ever seen.

 

[dannymax]

This is what I did. I followed the arrows on the tire, and yes, the speedo cable will swing to the wrong side. I had the cable guides off the bike at the time, so I missed that clue. Anyway, took it back to the dealer and raised hell. They fixed it after apologizing all over the place. They said the installer will be written up with a warning.

I can see how that could happen with the tire mounted backward and no other clues....too bad but it seems like it's not all that uncommon to get a backward mounted wheel from a shop....I paid for one 6 or 7 years ago on my '99, went right out and bought a Cycle Hill tire changer after that, done my own ever since. Now I can mount my own tires backwards....for free!! :clapping:

 

[carnut108]

I'm just amazed that you were able to fit the wheel back to front without realising something was wrong...
Yes the tyre guy screwed up...I've had it done before too....but seriously...

I did sense something was wrong but trust me, you can mount the tire backwards and everything will bolt up. I relied on the arrows printed on the tire, not thinking the rim itself could be reversed. My biggest clue was that the speedo did not work. ( because it was just pegged on 0) I did not pay close attention to which side I took off the sending unit off so yes, I screwed up too.

 

[Traumahawk]

I did sense something was wrong but trust me, you can mount the tire backwards and everything will bolt up. I relied on the arrows printed on the tire, not thinking the rim itself could be reversed. My biggest clue was that the speedo did not work. ( because it was just pegged on 0) I did not pay close attention to which side I took off the sending unit off so yes, I screwed up too.

You know...I would be willing to bet that EVERYONE on here has screwed up at some point in time....and it was something simple too. I know that I have...

 

[Tex85]

You know...I would be willing to bet that EVERYONE on here has screwed up at some point in time....and it was something simple too. I know that I have...

Nope, pretty damn perfect here.

unk:

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[dannymax]

Yup yup....no screw ups here either....but I know someone who did screw up once....that count? :rofl_200:

 

[Rusty McNeil]

I've had the speedo drive apart to change the gear ratio in it. From the looks of it I do not think it would hurt a bit to spin it backwards.

If its on the other side of the wrongly installed wheel the cable will spin in the opposite direction.
That would not hurt the magnetic drive of the speedometer needle either.

But the odometer is mechanically coupled and not knowing what the gears for the odometer look like it is possible to damage the odometer gearing.

I ask again;

Are all speedo drives on the left side of the bike?
If the shop did not pull the wheel how would they know it goes on the left, therefore dictating tire installation direction.

If they ARE all on the left I would expect the shop to know that.

 

[davesax36]

It does...

How is this not the most interesting post? Bueller? Anyone?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[Fire-medic]

There are even some tires which face one way mounted in the front and the opposite way mounted in the rear. Obviously this isn't going to be the case w/a sportbike.

Speaking of 'facing the wrong-way,' today I was about to pull into my drive and I saw a 1970's C-10 pickup in-front of me. At first I thought it was on a tow hook and then I realized it was one of those "two-front clips joined together' "gag-mobiles." Like this, but a single cab on each side:

please note - some tire treads for front or rear tires look like they are going in the wrong direction. you have to note the direction stamped in the tire and not just by the pattern.

 

[dannymax]

I've had the speedo drive apart to change the gear ratio in it. From the looks of it I do not think it would hurt a bit to spin it backwards.

If its on the other side of the wrongly installed wheel the cable will spin in the opposite direction.
That would not hurt the magnetic drive of the speedometer needle either.

But the odometer is mechanically coupled and not knowing what the gears for the odometer look like it is possible to damage the odometer gearing.

I ask again;

Are all speedo drives on the left side of the bike?
If the shop did not pull the wheel how would they know it goes on the left, therefore dictating tire installation direction.

If they ARE all on the left I would expect the shop to know that.

The guys who are charging money for mounting the tires have assumed the responsibility for determining which direction the wheel rotates, and mounting the tire correctly. Especially a motorcycle tire which is directional for a very good reason.

****....pass it off on the consumer by requiring a chalk arrow or tape to indicate direction be placed on every carry-in wheel....something besides just guessing at it.

 

[Rusty McNeil]

The guys who are charging money for mounting the tires have assumed the responsibility for determining which direction the wheel rotates, and mounting the tire correctly.

I agree, If they don't know they should ask...

 

[Miles Long]

The guys who are charging money for mounting the tires have assumed the responsibility for determining which direction the wheel rotates, and mounting the tire correctly. Especially a motorcycle tire which is directional for a very good reason.

****....pass it off on the consumer by requiring a chalk arrow or tape to indicate direction be placed on every carry-in wheel....something besides just guessing at it.

I only had to learn once, Danny. For my bike's first rear-tire change (I think the OEM Dunlop only lasted about 6K kilometers), I had to take it to a shop, because I was traveling at the time. They mounted the tire opposite the directional arrows on the Mich. 880 that I had purchased. I should have checked before leaving:bang head:.
It was 100 K. down the road that I noticed, when I had stopped for lunch.
Big backtrack, 3 hours wasted, and dealing with a shop foreman that wanted to know what the fuss was about -"those arrows don't mean squat"
Naturally, since then I go over the bike closely following tire changeouts at shops (on another occasion the cotter pin was not replaced).
When I carry-in wheels, I tape both sides of the rim and mark rotation.
I also am proactive (anal?)about the wheel weights. Before using/installing the newly shod wheels, I put a small piece of double-sided tape on the rim, next to the weight, and record the # of grams, in the manual that I always carry. I have a few spare weights in my spare parts/tools container.
Cheers!

 

[dannymax]

I'll tell you what....you guys are more on top of it than I was! I didn't notice the front tire on my '99 was mounted backwards for 6 months....and only noticed it then cause the tire started cupping badly. A result of being backwards...:confused2: But it was far to late to ***** at the shop for it. Might have been a problem for me 'cept I'm too big a ***** to ride in the rain (or maybe already did my share back in the day) :biglaugh:

So a little 'anal' is a good thing the way I see it, especially when there are service guys out there with the "those arrows don't mean squat" attitude! That's scary! :blink000:

 

[gamorg02]

The guys who are charging money for mounting the tires have assumed the responsibility for determining which direction the wheel rotates, and mounting the tire correctly. Especially a motorcycle tire which is directional for a very good reason.

****....pass it off on the consumer by requiring a chalk arrow or tape to indicate direction be placed on every carry-in wheel....something besides just guessing at it.

i put a piece of masking tape with a marker on it to determine rotation when i do tires.

and if i forget, i usually google a pic of the bike to make sure.

most rims that you couldn't tell by looking (say newer sport bike front rims with dual rotors and no speedo drive) have arrows on the wheels.

so yea, really no excuse unless its simply not caring.

 

[dannymax]

i put a piece of masking tape with a marker on it to determine rotation when i do tires.

and if i forget, i usually google a pic of the bike to make sure.

most rims that you couldn't tell by looking (say newer sport bike front rims with dual rotors and no speedo drive) have arrows on the wheels.

so yea, really no excuse unless its simply not caring.

I knew you would have it covered Garrett...unk:

 

[carnut108]

I've had the speedo drive apart to change the gear ratio in it. From the looks of it I do not think it would hurt a bit to spin it backwards.

If its on the other side of the wrongly installed wheel the cable will spin in the opposite direction.
That would not hurt the magnetic drive of the speedometer needle either.

But the odometer is mechanically coupled and not knowing what the gears for the odometer look like it is possible to damage the odometer gearing.

I ask again;

Are all speedo drives on the left side of the bike?
If the shop did not pull the wheel how would they know it goes on the left, therefore dictating tire installation direction.

If they ARE all on the left I would expect the shop to know that.

Two answers to your questions. It was a Yamaha shop so they should have known the speedo drive went on the left side. Also a bigger clue is the old tire they took off was directional, so they should have known by that too.

 

[carnut108]

There are even some tires which face one way mounted in the front and the opposite way mounted in the rear. Obviously this isn't going to be the case w/a sportbike.

Speaking of 'facing the wrong-way,' today I was about to pull into my drive and I saw a 1970's C-10 pickup in-front of me. At first I thought it was on a tow hook and then I realized it was one of those "two-front clips joined together' "gag-mobiles." Like this, but a single cab on each side:

Actually, this Avon is marked that way. One arrow points one way if mounted in the front and an arrow pointing the other way if mounted in the rear. But again, the tire he took off the rim was directional too, so he should have known to put the new tire on the same way.

 

[carnut108]

I agree, If they don't know they should ask...

I would think that the directional tire they are taking off should be a pretty big clue.

 

[m-cman]

It has been my experience that the lowest ranking employee is usually the one doing the tire mounting. Probably minimum wage. They probably have no clue about tire direction and/or don't care. The Max is such a rare bike I doubt even a Yamaha shop knows which way to mount the tire. My closest Yamaha shop had young employees that didn't even know what a Vmax was until the 2nd gen came out. I even had to take them outside to see the bike.

 

[SFCMcGan]

Take a picture please...