Redbird Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 It's not a sticker, it's white paint. There's a bar code and some number on there but no date. The date of manufacture is embossed on the sidewall (the sixth week of 2007 in this case). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartonmd Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 It's not a sticker, it's white paint. There's a bar code and some number on there but no date. The date of manufacture is embossed on the sidewall (the sixth week of 2007 in this case). Gotcha. On past Pilot Roads, it was a sticker, and it was higher up on the sidewall. The sidewall date code it only the month and year. I think the bar code is the date (like day) and lot number of that day. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in PA Posted May 24, 2007 Author Share Posted May 24, 2007 I think that's just an inventory control bar code, not a balance point. I just ignored it and mounted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redbird Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 My impression was that it was the balance mark. Rather than dig around on the internet, I'll simply check if that's the light spot when I mount it up. That won't really prove anything if it is, but if it isn't, I'll know I was wrong. I'll report back, probably this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feelergaugephil Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 I just got back from Deals Gap, I scraped the shit out of the bottom of my fairing and the tires never gave out once! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartonmd Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 I just got back from Deals Gap, I scraped the shit out of the bottom of my fairing and the tires never gave out once! I'd hope not! The max lean angle of the 'bird (especially if you're scraping fairing instead of peg feelers and stator cover, which means your spring rates aren't strong enough, or you don't have the 6mm shim, or both) is paultry compared to what those tires are made to cope with. I went on Pilot Roads my first time down there and scraped pegs and even grabbed the front brake at the apex of a turn (yeah, I know), and even those tires never gave out on me once. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon haney Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 I just got back from Deals Gap, I scraped the shit out of the bottom of my fairing and the tires never gave out once! I'd hope not! The max lean angle of the 'bird (especially if you're scraping fairing instead of peg feelers and stator cover, which means your spring rates aren't strong enough, or you don't have the 6mm shim, or both) is paultry compared to what those tires are made to cope with. I went on Pilot Roads my first time down there and scraped pegs and even grabbed the front brake at the apex of a turn (yeah, I know), and even those tires never gave out on me once. Mike Maybe he just needs to lay off the Cajun food for a while. :icon_biggrin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redbird Posted May 26, 2007 Share Posted May 26, 2007 Update- On this particular tire, the white mark is the light spot. The seriously light spot. Unless I'm screwing something up, this tire is off by about 5.5oz. I'm considering returning it, but I want to ride tomorrow. Here's what I did- Removed wheel Removed old tire (shoulda marked where the light spot on the tire was in relation to the rim for this experiment, oh well...) Balanced the wheel assembly sans tire. I didn't just find the heavy spot, I actually added weight and balanced it. Wheel assembly was off by 2oz. Mounted tire randomly Put back on balancer- marked spot on tire goes right to the top every time. Okay, so the mark is the light spot on this particular tire*, experiment over. I remove the weight I used to balance the wheel assembly, rotate the tire so the "light spot" aligns with the heavy spot on the rim and go to balance the entire thing. It takes 3.5 freaking ounces. Okay, I musta screwed something up. Rotate tire 180 degrees, try it again- I stopped at 5oz. without getting balanced, obviously not the problem. So I pull the tire off the wheel and make sure I had that marked correctly. Yep, heavy 2oz., marked correctly. Mount the tire again, same thing, it takes a ridiculous amount of weight to balance it. I've once again pulled the tire off the rim. I'm going to eat, shower, and go at it fresh, clearminded and unfrustrated later tonight. If I get the same results, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Like I said, my inclination is to return it, but that'll rob me of a week of riding. 3.5oz sure does look like crap on the rim, though.... *I realize the white mark corrosponding with the light spot on this tire proves nothing as far as the original argument. Might be pure coincidence on just one tire. It's a point of information, though, maybe someone else will check theirs next time they mount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomek Posted May 26, 2007 Share Posted May 26, 2007 Update- On this particular tire, the white mark is the light spot. The seriously light spot. Unless I'm screwing something up, this tire is off by about 5.5oz. I'm considering returning it, but I want to ride tomorrow. Here's what I did- Removed wheel Removed old tire (shoulda marked where the light spot on the tire was in relation to the rim for this experiment, oh well...) Balanced the wheel assembly sans tire. I didn't just find the heavy spot, I actually added weight and balanced it. Wheel assembly was off by 2oz. Mounted tire randomly Put back on balancer- marked spot on tire goes right to the top every time. Okay, so the mark is the light spot on this particular tire*, experiment over. I remove the weight I used to balance the wheel assembly, rotate the tire so the "light spot" aligns with the heavy spot on the rim and go to balance the entire thing. It takes 3.5 freaking ounces. Okay, I musta screwed something up. Rotate tire 180 degrees, try it again- I stopped at 5oz. with getting balanced, obviously not the problem. So I pull the tire off the wheel and make sure I had that marked correctly. Yep, heavy 2oz., marked correctly. Mount the tire again, same thing, it takes a ridiculous amount of weight to balance it. I've once again pulled the tire off the rim. I'm going to eat, shower, and go at it fresh, clearminded and unfrustrated later tonight. If I get the same results, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Like I said, my inclination is to return it, but that'll rob me of a week of riding. 3.5oz sure does look like crap on the rim, though.... *I realize the white mark corrosponding with the light spot on this tire proves nothing as far as the original argumnet. Might be pure coincidence on just one tire. It's a point of information, though, maybe someone else will check theirs next time they mount. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, you mean, the tire is still not mounted ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redbird Posted May 27, 2007 Share Posted May 27, 2007 It's mounted now and ready to ride. I dunno what the hell happened. Wiped off every mark I had made on the tire or rim, followed the same process, starting from scratch. Rim alone once again took 2oz. to balance. White mark on tire once again came to the top on balanced rim. But....once I pulled the temp weights off the rim, turned the light spot on the tire to the heavy spot on the rim it balanced out with 2oz. The 2oz is opposite the heavy point on the rim, so the tire is off a bit, but nothing unacceptable. I think 2oz is the most I've ever had to use, and I'm just glad I had a clip on because even eight of those stick-ons is getting to be a bit much- but at least it wouldn't have been the 14 I had on there before. So your best bet would be to ignore everything I've typed in this thread, because I'm an idiot who can apparently pull 1.5 ounces out of thin air and then make it disappear again. Nothing to see here..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhawkxx Posted May 27, 2007 Share Posted May 27, 2007 So your best bet would be to ignore everything I've typed in this thread, because I'm an idiot who can apparently pull 1.5 ounces out of thin air and then make it disappear again. All this reading just to get to this? Just kidding, thanks for trying. People can rag on Dunlops all they want but every one I have ever installed took very little to no weight (not that I have them on the XX). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in PA Posted May 27, 2007 Author Share Posted May 27, 2007 :icon_shocked: :icon_shocked: Did I say :icon_shocked:?? Strangely I mounted my rear with no regard to that white bar code and needed no weights. It was my front that needed an ounce. the most I've ever put on a front. What tire balancer are you using? BTW take a black magic marker to those silver stick on weights, looks a lot better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redbird Posted May 27, 2007 Share Posted May 27, 2007 I use a Mark Parnes balancer. I spray paint the weights black while they're still in strips Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Para045 Posted May 27, 2007 Share Posted May 27, 2007 So your best bet would be to ignore everything I've typed in this thread, because I'm an idiot who can apparently pull 1.5 ounces of crack out of my arse and then make it disappear up my nose again. Nothing to see here..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redbird Posted May 27, 2007 Share Posted May 27, 2007 Should I ever manage to pull an ounce and a half of crack out of my ass, I wouldn't use it (and if I did, I certainly wouldn't put it up my nose, you smoke crack)- I'd send it to school with my kids, there's a great market around here just waiting to be exploited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Beakman Posted May 27, 2007 Share Posted May 27, 2007 They are great! Border on telepathic! So smooth from straight up to fully heeled over. In a half hour I was already dragging pegs and chewing up Bib (the Michelin man on the edge of the rear tire). They also absorb bumps straight up and leaned over better then any tire I've had. At 78k miles this is the first set of sport tires I've mounted on my XX. I'm sure I'll toast the rear in 2k miles or less but I'll have fun doing it! Just had these put on my bike. Good to know they have a good review, I was flying blind when I bought them (what they had in stock). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Jeff Posted May 28, 2007 Share Posted May 28, 2007 I have the pilot power 2ct 's (dual compound). I was able to give them a good tryout at wvexxt. They are sweet, handle awesome. I'll try to report back on how long they last. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in PA Posted June 5, 2007 Author Share Posted June 5, 2007 The white spot on the bead, it'll be hidden once the tire is mounted- Just wanted to add that my kids school bus has Michelin tires on it and it has that exact same white bar code thing on but it's on the sidewall where you can see it. Not mounted at the valve stem, almost 180 degrees from it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redbird Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 Not mounted at the valve stem, almost 180 degrees from it. My experience tells me that the valve stem has pretty much nothing to do with balancing a rim or wheel. This is true on motorcycle wheels, I can't see it being any less true on a car or bus wheel where the stem is a much smaller percentage of the total weight. I'm not arguing that the mark definitely is the light spot, but I'd like to see more people at least try it and see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinskii Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 Has anyone compared the Pilot Powers to the Metzler Z6's? I've been running Metzlers ever since I decided that I liked them much better than my Dunlops a few hundred tires (and motorcycles) ago. My only complaint is that once they start to wear out, they go very quickly. I typically get about 4000 miles out of them, and they seem to stick to the road okay. I'll answer my own question: I put a Pilot Power on the front today, and the handling difference from the old Metzler Z6 was immediately noticeable. The bike falls into corners with much less effort than before. It feels like the bike shed about 50lbs. If I get at least 2000 miles of longevity out of the tire, I'll probably stay with Pilot Powers for a while. It will be interesting to see what difference the rear Pilot makes, once the Z6 has worn out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Para045 Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Don't know whether this affects you guys or not but they are recalling some PP and PP2ct's Tyres Recall, Recall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R1000 Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Don't know whether this affects you guys or not but they are recalling some PP and PP2ct's Tyres Recall, Recall I rode thrue Germany in warp speed for long distances and on track days at Nurburg Ring with the now recalled tyre :icon_pray: I'm happy to have Bridgestone BT021 on the Bird which handles great and are supposed to last. The Michelin Power tyre is not the right thing to use on heavy bikes for general purpose, the general build up of the tyre is quite delicate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dano Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 I went to a suspension seminar a couple months ago and the local Michelin rep was there. Covers the shops and tracks in WA and Oregon. Just to to add to the confusion. New michelin tires should not have a weight dot indicator acording to the rep. If there is a dot ignore it. My last few sets of powers and roads have had no dots. He said that the manufacturing technology is such now that Michelin no longers puts a dot on the tire. The build up and molding is so controlled they don't bother with balancing finished tires and marking the light spot. The old dot (white , blue or red) was suppose to be aligned with the valve stem, as that is typically the heavy spot on the rim. The barcode has nothing to do with weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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