Are Vredestein Tires Directional? Does Ride-On come in 'bottles per tire'?

[troop]

Did he give you a reason why? I've talked to them as well and I could never get them to explain why or give any reason at all that a car tire should get a motorcycle tire product. They just kept telling me to use the motorcycle version. With detailed information on everything else they say, I find this odd. More of a mantra than fact based advise. Which, on the face of it, makes no sense at all.

I also asked them why they originally (for several years) recommended the Car tire product for the Spyder, then suddenly changed their mind. Couldn't get an answer for that either. My feeling is it's a CYA approach. Our OEM tires say 'For Motorcycle Use Only', which BRP made a big deal about right around the time that Ride-On had a change of heart. My feeling is that Ride-On doesn't want to go to court over it. Plus, most trikes have a motorcycle front wheel (which I agree, should get the M/C formula).

I've tired them both and I prefer the car tire formula in the Spyder. If Ride-On would give a coherent, rational reason for using the motorcycle formula in a car tire, I would be happy to reconsider.

The guy I talked to was Harry. He said the m/c formula is a touch less viscous than the auto formula. I did have the auto formula in my front tires at one time, and they would not smoothen out. That was my reason for the call. That's about it...

 

[TimKW]

I've never heard of "ride-on" but maybe this would solve my vibration issue. I just had Vredestein's installed in front and Altimax 45 in the rear. The service tech swears he balanced and aligned the fronts, but I have a noticeable vibration starting at 55 and getting worse up to 70mph. Would this "ride-on" fix this if the tire(s) are out of round or ...???

 

[Woodaddict]

check your front lug nuts to be sure they are tight

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I've never heard of "ride-on" but maybe this would solve my vibration issue. I just had Vredestein's installed in front and Altimax 45 in the rear. The service tech swears he balanced and aligned the fronts, but I have a noticeable vibration starting at 55 and getting worse up to 70mph. Would this "ride-on" fix this if the tire(s) are out of round or ...???

Auto tires ( ANY Brand ) are Rarely un-able to balance ..... Are there people who don't know how to balance ....IMHO this is more likely ..... Take both front wheels to any Auto shop that balances using a Spin balancer and have them check it ..... good luck .. Mike :thumbup:

 

[BajaRon]

The guy I talked to was Harry. He said the m/c formula is a touch less viscous than the auto formula. I did have the auto formula in my front tires at one time, and they would not smoothen out. That was my reason for the call. That's about it...

Did you ever get them to smooth out? If they were out-of-round, a product like Ride-On can actually make it worse.

He is right that the M/C formula is less viscous (more liquid) than the auto formula. This means it will even out sooner than the Car version. But it will also give you an out of balance situation after sitting much more quickly then the Car version. Kind of a tradeoff I suppose. But the bottom line is, the car version will give you more balancing potential than the M/C version. If you don't need much balancing, then maybe the M/C version will work just fine. But you won't know until you try it. It may also be that the M/C version won't exacerbate an out of round tire issue.

But if you have an out-of-round tire, don't waste your money on Ride-On or dynamic balancing, for that matter.

Auto tires ( ANY Brand ) are Rarely un-able to balance ..... Are there people who don't know how to balance ....IMHO this is more likely ..... Take both front wheels to any Auto shop that balances using a Spin balancer and have them check it ..... good luck .. Mike :thumbup:

I agree. It is unlikely that the tires are the problem. How much weight did they add to the wheel? Does it look like new or old weights? Those tires almost never need that much to balance.

Did they line the valve stem dot up with the valve stem? This is your first indication as to whether or not your tech did a good job. It doesn't need to be perfectly aligned. But it should be close. Sometimes the tire will move a bit on the rim during mounting and it's not worth the effort to get the dot right on.

Be sure the wheel lug nuts are properly torqued (as already suggested). I would eliminate all other possibilities before putting Ride-On in. If adding Ride-On doesn't fix your issue, it may complicate finding a solution.

 

[EdMat]

I've never heard of "ride-on" but maybe this would solve my vibration issue. I just had Vredestein's installed in front and Altimax 45 in the rear. The service tech swears he balanced and aligned the fronts, but I have a noticeable vibration starting at 55 and getting worse up to 70mph. Would this "ride-on" fix this if the tire(s) are out of round or ...???

Are you sure this is not vibration coming from the belt?

 

[TimKW]

I did have some minor vibration prior to changing tires, but it's definitely worse with the new tires. The vibration is such that when I put the cruise control on and remove my hands from the handlebars, the bars shake like crazy. The bike still tracks OK and at lower speeds it's fine. I'm taking it back into the shop tomorrow or when they have an opening and have them look at it before I do anything else. I did look for weights and they are in place and look to be new. Also played with pressure a bit ... I have 18psi all around (as was suggested), that goes up to about 21 when hot. I'll mention the belt, but it sure feels like it's coming from the front tires. Thanks for the ideas!! I'll follow up when I know more.

 

[Peter Aawen]

I did have some minor vibration prior to changing tires, but it's definitely worse with the new tires. The vibration is such that when I put the cruise control on and remove my hands from the handlebars, the bars shake like crazy. The bike still tracks OK and at lower speeds it's fine. I'm taking it back into the shop tomorrow or when they have an opening and have them look at it before I do anything else. I did look for weights and they are in place and look to be new. Also played with pressure a bit ... I have 18psi all around (as was suggested), that goes up to about 21 when hot. I'll mention the belt, but it sure feels like it's coming from the front tires. Thanks for the ideas!! I'll follow up when I know more.

Can you see a Red or Yellow dot on the tire sidewalls anywhere?? :dontknow: IF they're there, they're usually low down close to the bead, and if the tire's been mounted properly, should be near the valve stem or near a raised metal dot, a notch, or a marked spot on the edge of the rim where it's been marked indelibly to identify where to align those paint dots...

If you do have those dots on the tire sidewalls, and they are nowhere near the valve &/or a clear mark/dot/notch on the rim edge, then it's likely that the tire hasn't been mounted correctly and so may be more prone to balance &/or run-out issues... The bad news is that on many of the 'better made' tires out there, they don't have any noticeably heavier/lighter spots &/or run-out to mark, so not all of the better quality tires will necessarily have any paint dots; and on the other end of the scale, many of the cheaper/lesser quality tire manufacturers are now aware of this, so they've stopped marking their tires too, despite the fact that their tires clearly DO have heavier/lighter areas &/or run-out areas too!!

So unless you're tire/wheel assembly tech was switched on and did the job properly, the only sign you might ever see/feel that indicates you've got an issue may well be a bad vibration from the wheels... :gaah:

Just Sayin'

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I did have some minor vibration prior to changing tires, but it's definitely worse with the new tires. The vibration is such that when I put the cruise control on and remove my hands from the handlebars, the bars shake like crazy. The bike still tracks OK and at lower speeds it's fine. I'm taking it back into the shop tomorrow or when they have an opening and have them look at it before I do anything else. I did look for weights and they are in place and look to be new. Also played with pressure a bit ... I have 18psi all around (as was suggested), that goes up to about 21 when hot. I'll mention the belt, but it sure feels like it's coming from the front tires. Thanks for the ideas!! I'll follow up when I know more.

If you have handlebar shake it doesn't have anything to do with Belt Vibes or the air pressure ..... IMHO, I doubt Can Am dealers are going to spend money on a Spin Balancing machine (they are not cheap), because they won't have much use for it ..... They will take them to the nearest cheapest Auto tire place, pay them to do it instead, & just charge you triple what it cost them. :roflblack:

Back when BRP was still making the V-twin engine, they would tell the owners that a VALVE CHECK (for clearance adjustment) was necessary at 28,000 mi. +/- (at a cost of about $850.00).... Here, we figured out that those Valves weren't going Out of Adjustment until way over 100,000 mi. (if at all!) .... I have wondered how many owners paid to have it done and the Valves weren't ever checked at all???? :dontknow: ..... JMHO .... Mike :thumbup:

 

[TimKW]

Can you see a Red or Yellow dot on the tire sidewalls anywhere?? :dontknow: IF they're there, they're usually low down close to the bead, and if the tire's been mounted properly, should be near the valve stem or near a raised metal dot, a notch, or a marked spot on the edge of the rim where it's been marked indelibly to identify where to align those paint dots...

If you do have those dots on the tire sidewalls, and they are nowhere near the valve &/or a clear mark/dot/notch on the rim edge, then it's likely that the tire hasn't been mounted correctly and so may be more prone to balance &/or run-out issues... The bad news is that on many of the 'better made' tires out there, they don't have any noticeably heavier/lighter spots &/or run-out to mark, so not all of the better quality tires will necessarily have any paint dots; and on the other end of the scale, many of the cheaper/lesser quality tire manufacturers are now aware of this, so they've stopped marking their tires too, despite the fact that their tires clearly DO have heavier/lighter areas &/or run-out areas too!!

So unless you're tire/wheel assembly tech was switched on and did the job properly, the only sign you might ever see/feel that indicates you've got an issue may well be a bad vibration from the wheels... :gaah:

Just Sayin'

I took the bike into the dealer yesterday. The tech rode it and gave me the run around about not knowing much about my particular bike and how it rode but did not feel any appreciable vibration in the handlebars. Anyway, I disputed this conclusion and they will re-balance the tires as soon as their balancer is fixed in a couple weeks (waiting for a circuit board replacement). He also commented that there was no "dot" on the Vredestein tires for mounting at the valve stem. That kinda tells me that could be a potential problem. Does anyone out there with these tires know if there is some symbol or ?? indicating where the tire should be positioned on the wheel?? Also, before anyone bad mouths the dealer ... I've bought 4 motorcycles over the years from them and I've known the owner for 25 or so years and never have had an issue with their service. I'm confident that if these Vredestein tires will work on this bike without a balance/vibration issue, they will do everything possible to make it happen. If they can't, I'm having them save the old Kenda fronts and put them back on as a last resort. They were still in good shape; it was just the rear that needed replacement, and I don't think the Altimax would be the problem.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I took the bike into the dealer yesterday. The tech rode it and gave me the run around about not knowing much about my particular bike and how it rode but did not feel any appreciable vibration in the handlebars. Anyway, I disputed this conclusion and they will re-balance the tires as soon as their balancer is fixed in a couple weeks (waiting for a circuit board replacement). He also commented that there was no "dot" on the Vredestein tires for mounting at the valve stem. That kinda tells me that could be a potential problem. Does anyone out there with these tires know if there is some symbol or ?? indicating where the tire should be positioned on the wheel?? Also, before anyone bad mouths the dealer ... I've bought 4 motorcycles over the years from them and I've known the owner for 25 or so years and never have had an issue with their service. I'm confident that if these Vredestein tires will work on this bike without a balance/vibration issue, they will do everything possible to make it happen. If they can't, I'm having them save the old Kenda fronts and put them back on as a last resort. They were still in good shape; it was just the rear that needed replacement, and I don't think the Altimax would be the problem.

Vredesteins apparently DON'T have the DOTS because Vredesteins may not need them (according to Vredestein)...

"as soon as their balancer is fixed" !!!!! This should be a clue... In all my years of buying tires, I've never had one that couldn't be balanced - some have NOT even needed weights... Mike

 

[Peter Aawen]

I took the bike into the dealer yesterday. The tech rode it and gave me the run around about not knowing much about my particular bike and how it rode but did not feel any appreciable vibration in the handlebars. Anyway, I disputed this conclusion and they will re-balance the tires as soon as their balancer is fixed in a couple weeks (waiting for a circuit board replacement). He also commented that there was no "dot" on the Vredestein tires for mounting at the valve stem. That kinda tells me that could be a potential problem. Does anyone out there with these tires know if there is some symbol or ?? indicating where the tire should be positioned on the wheel?? Also, before anyone bad mouths the dealer ... I've bought 4 motorcycles over the years from them and I've known the owner for 25 or so years and never have had an issue with their service. I'm confident that if these Vredestein tires will work on this bike without a balance/vibration issue, they will do everything possible to make it happen. If they can't, I'm having them save the old Kenda fronts and put them back on as a last resort. They were still in good shape; it was just the rear that needed replacement, and I don't think the Altimax would be the problem.

Yeah, as I mentioned earlier, "The bad news is that on many of the 'better made' tires out there, they don't have any noticeably heavier/lighter spots &/or run-out to mark, so not all of the better quality tires will necessarily have any paint dots..." and the Vredesteins are widely recognised in the industry as falling into this category... somewhat more so than the Altimax!! :lecturef_smilie:

And that's ^ what the paint dots are for, but on tires made by Vredestein & other similar quality brands, they're generally only there IF IT'S NECESSARY to identify any specific positioning. So any 'potential problem' most likely isn't going to be the tires themselves - if 'they' can't balance a set of Vredesteins, it's fairly unlikely to be the tires, they are generally made so well that they don't need any special positioning on a well-made & round rim to achieve a good balance... However, there are also rims out there that aren't necessarily all that well balanced too... But a good tech knows how to and generally compensates for anything like that which can/should be corrected for while doing the balance job anyway, and if it can't/shouldn't be compensated for, they'd tell you. Altho that story about the balancer not working is a bit worrying - if it's not working now, how did they actually balance your tires earlier??

 

[TimKW]

Yeah, as I mentioned earlier, "The bad news is that on many of the 'better made' tires out there, they don't have any noticeably heavier/lighter spots &/or run-out to mark, so not all of the better quality tires will necessarily have any paint dots..." and the Vredesteins are widely recognised in the industry as falling into this category... somewhat more so than the Altimax!! :lecturef_smilie:

And that's ^ what the paint dots are for, but on tires made by Vredestein & other similar quality brands, they're generally only there IF IT'S NECESSARY to identify any specific positioning. So any 'potential problem' most likely isn't going to be the tires themselves - if 'they' can't balance a set of Vredesteins, it's fairly unlikely to be the tires, they are generally made so well that they don't need any special positioning on a well-made & round rim to achieve a good balance... However, there are also rims out there that aren't necessarily all that well balanced too... But a good tech knows how to and generally compensates for anything like that which can/should be corrected for while doing the balance job anyway, and if it can't/shouldn't be compensated for, they'd tell you. Altho that story about the balancer not working is a bit worrying - if it's not working now, how did they actually balance your tires earlier??

They said the balancer was working when the tires were mounted.

 

[Peter Aawen]

They said the balancer was working when the tires were mounted.

Ahhh... coincidental timing! Or was it already on the way out when they were balancing your tires?? :dontknow:

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

They said the balancer was working when the tires were mounted.

"was working..." That could mean that it turned on when they moved the switch to ON :roflblack: .... These "spin balancers" need to be re-calibrated periodically .... Mike :thumbup:

 

[Snoking1127]

Vredesteins apparently DON'T have the DOTS because Vredesteins may not need them (according to Vredestein)...

"as soon as their balancer is fixed" !!!!! This should be a clue... In all my years of buying tires, I've never had one that couldn't be balanced - some have NOT even needed weights... Mike

Both the Federal and Vredestein tires that I have were not balanced at installation and run pretty smooth on the road. I did buy front Centramatic wheel balancers just to ensure they were running as best they could. They are on the Asphalt Grey trike right now with the PPA wheels and Vredesteins. May move them to the Champagne trike for the ride from Az to Wa with the OEM chrome wheels and Federal Formoza tires. The H&R springs are on the way for that trike, and I will put the Asphalt Grey one in storage and start riding and servicing the Champagne one for the next month and a half to assure it is ready for the 2000 mile trip.

 

[happyspyder2039]

I’m doing new tires and need to find a place to get the Ride-on auto formula. I contacted them today and was told that they stopped this version and to check Amazon or other retailers for it.

 

[DDOWNEY]

I am changing out my Kendas for the Quatrac and would like to know if they are a directional tire or not?
Also, for those of you using Ride-On, does it come in measurable bottles for 3 oz per tire?

Thanks in advance for the info... johnv

I use ride-on for my enduro, speed bike, and my F3. I have used it for decades. You need to check the chart on the website. Rear took 2 bottles, and each front took 1 1/2. I like it for the dampening effect, less road noise. Also, I like the dynamic balancing.

 

[bikerbillone]

I'm thinking, when my Kenda's wear down, that I'll make a journey to Greenville and get Vredestein's mounted and 'ride on', the whole nine yards. From Florida, get it all done in one fell swoop and enjoy the journey. Bring cash, that credit card upcharge burns.