When a shop screws up

[RPC3]

Just curious, what should I expect when brining my bike part back to a shop that screwed up? I had a shop put tires on my wheels because I think it's a pain in the ass (have done it once with tire irons on my own before)..

Foolishly I didn't check the quality of their work, buttoned everything back together and look found my ride was more bouncy than I was used to. Just double checked the seal and one of the sides of the rear tire has a bead that was not set evenly. So I'm out a few hours of my own time... Obviously I expect them to fix their error for free, but I'm also concerned they'll hold a grudge for pointing out a flaw in their work.

At a minimum I'm bummed that I won't have my bike up and running for the long weekend, which is supposed to be gorgeous out.

 

[cycleranger]

You might be able to get it to seat by deflating it and working it a bit then re-inflating.

But really, you paid for the tire to be installed correctly and the shop owes you that.
Don't accept crap work, especially when it's a safety issue.

 

[RPC3]

Think that can be done with the tire on the bike? I'm not opposed to trying, but I'd also hate to pinch the tube or something and lose my direct link to the shop being the ones screwing it up.

Really not looking forward to removing the exhaust, chain, axel, etc again.

 

[RPC3]

Think that can be done with the tire on the bike? I'm not opposed to trying, but I'd also hate to pinch the tube or something and lose my direct link to the shop being the ones screwing it up.

Really not looking forward to removing the exhaust, chain, axel, etc again.

So just as a quick follow up, the tire has two lines near the bead set, one line that is just under the rim lip, and one that is exposed that I used to check equidistant marking. Most of the way around it'd between 5.6 and 5.75 mm, but where it looks pinched drops to about 3.5mm. Not a lot from a mm standpoint, but about 35 percent difference.

 

[angus67]

I have done a seat on a tire that went flat. I took the rim/ tire off, and let all the air out. Used alot of dish soap to help it slip. Started pumping it up, and at same time started whacking it with a dead blow hammer to jar it into position. Didnt work tried three times. I got frustrated, and just let it inflate, untill it popped into position. Cringing the whole time, scarred the crap outta me, but thats what they do at a shop, it was just the first time i had done it, and dont plan to do it again.
Take it back, or fix it yourself.

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

Are those balance weights in the rim? In the same area?
If so, and if they also did the balancing, it's quite likely to need rebalancing after bead reseat...

 

[RPC3]

Yes, yes, and yes

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

...But really, you paid for the tire to be installed correctly and the shop owes you that.
Don't accept crap work, especially when it's a safety issue.

Then, don't touch it. Follow cycleranger's advise...

 

[gggGary]

That's a fair amount of weight in one spot. Dunno but my experience is if the line shows all the way around the tire has seated........ So that's a rear? Did you try a clutch in coast down? did the bounciness change with the clutch in? Did you check chain tension as you rotated the wheel? (looking for an unevenly stretched chain), are the sprockets good?

 

[RPC3]

Bounciness was more speed driven... Over 45mph. Chain and sprocket have less than 200 miles on them, chain was carefully set to spec /distance between swing arm zerks and axel were measured prior to riding. I took a video of the wheel spinning and its pretty easy to see the pinched spot each rotation where the line dips into the rim.

Yes, rear wheel. Front Wheel by comparison only has 2 weights, rear was given 6

 

[mrtwowheel]

If the bead was not seated that molded line wouldn't show at all. 60 psi max. is what most tire manufacturers recommend for seating a tire. I'm not sure that is where your bounce is coming from. I would suspect a fold in the tube.

Scott

 

[gggGary]

What I was trying to get across is that you really need to be SURE you have pinpointed the problem BEFORE you go back to the dealer. Nothing worse than finger pointing, only to get an education on where the "real problem" was. Bike on centerstand chain off, use a wire or buffing wheel or some such in a hand drill on the tire to spin up the wheel good and fast. that'll tell you something. Did you change wheel bearings?

 

[RPC3]

Thanks Gary, I don't disagree at all. I have not done the bearing yet, but I don't recall any similar bounciness before the new tire was put on.

Before noticing the bead unevenness I did check the forum to see about causation of a bouncy ride and the most common topic was an uneven bead on the tire. I'm not saying it couldnt be more than just the tire, but given the apparent flaw in the bead setting, is there any reason I wouldn't start there to see if it fixes things and move onto the next issue?

Also, I don't plan on berating the shop or anything, I'd just like them to see the tire, reset the bead, and rebalance it. If the bike is still bouncy after that then it'll be on me to get it sorted out

 

[hardrock785]

i would deflate it on the bike squart soapy water in suspect area, start airing it up and beat on area with a hammer . run pressure up good n high and see if it seats. worked for me.

 

[shitsnack]

Six weights is a lot of wheel weights...
I've had issues before with a bead not setting right, and I left it in the sun so it could warm up and the bead ended up setting.

 

[cycleranger]

If the bead was not seated that molded line wouldn't show at all. 60 psi max. is what most tire manufacturers recommend for seating a tire. I'm not sure that is where your bounce is coming from. I would suspect a fold in the tube.

Scott

I would wonder about that too.
Also, I just cleaned my rims and there was some corrosion and old rubber stuck to the inside edges of the rims.
I cleaned it off with a brass wire wheel to potentially prevent the bead from not seating.
The last time I took some wheels to a shop to have tires mounted they scratched the rims. That was the last time I took wheels to a shop.
Seems like shops can't handle anything but mags any more.

 

[theDQG]

But really, you paid for the tire to be installed correctly and the shop owes you that.
Don't accept crap work, especially when it's a safety issue.

Then, don't touch it. Follow cycleranger's advise...

+2

If you feel you may be offending the shop by pointing out a safety issue to them, then that's a shop you definitely don't want to be associated with.

When I took apart my cb750 k3, I found that the base gasket used on the case was the wrong kind, and the mechanic who put together my bike was a mechanic I had used for a a year or so (being local). There was a lot of dirt on that gasket that worked loose and was churning around in the case.

I immediately informed him that he had lost my business and now I go to another place that's an additional hour away, but I view that as a very small price to pay.

 

[5twins]

I change and balance my own tires so this wouldn't be an issue, for long anyway. I'd pump 50 to 60 lbs. of air in there and let it sit for an hour or so. If that didn't do it, deflate, add lube to the bad spot, inflate to 50-60 again. The longer you let it sit as it is, the more stuck like that it will get. I find and fix this type of problem while mounting. The tire hasn't been on long and the lube I applied is usually still wet. I also use a big rubber mallet to help "persuade" the bad spots into popping out.

So I ask you, what's a bigger P.I.T.A.? Changing your own tire or having to take it back to the shop several times? lol. Shit shop work is the main reason I do most all my own work. I can fuck things up just as well as them, thank you very much, and for free, lol.

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

...Shit shop work is the main reason I do most all my own work...

Double ditto.

"I've seen things, man."

Practical jokes, frolicking in the shop, accidents, goof-ups, coverups, flunkies learning on your machine, purpously damaging something to generate revenue, bad diagnostics, replacing parts unnecessarily, replacing parts until problem is 'fixed', pricing based on perceived customer wealth, hourly rate instead of flat rate for standard jobs, upsales (just needs a tuneup, but let's sell him a top end overhaul), used parts sold as new, a good part replaced with a worn one (mechanic wants your part for his bike), ...etc.

It's one thing to get burned. This stuff will fry you to a crisp.

I'm permanently damaged now. Shops terrify me.

*************

The way I handled your type of bead mis-seating (quite common), was to deflate, squeeze the opposite side beads into the rim recess, reinflate. 9 times out of 10 it'll seat properly then.

You could do this reseating, but you'll still have to do the rebalancing...

 

[mrtwowheel]

I think it is worth a try to totally deflate the tire with no weight on the tire (center stand) then re-inflate the tire. Not to change the bead, but to give the tube a chance to put itself in a better position in there, this should have been done at the shop after mounting the tire. Then see if your bouncing goes away.

Maybe your tire is not fully pushed up to the lip of the rim, but it sure is close. I don't see that small difference causing something as drastic as you describe. I change tires for everyone here, friends, strangers, relation, neighbors, and I have a trailer and shed full of old tires to prove it.

Scott