[ski_rush]

When I spin my front wheel and tire on my dirt bike, I can swear that I see a "lump" or "high spot" in the tire. And, maybe it's just in my head, but I can swear that I feel it on road. This got me thinking either the tire is bad and/or the wheel isn't true. A couple of questions.

1. Is it possible the problem is just in the tire? Or, is it more likely the issue is the wheel, which is causing the "high spot" on the tire?

2. What is the best way to true this wheel or check for trueness without a wheel stand. Can I do this with the wheel on the bike?

3. Do I need to take the tire off or can I leave it on? I've read that sometimes, a spoked wheel can be trued without the tire and then when a tire is installed (and air put in) it can lose its trueness.

 

[ski_rush]

Check to see that the tire is properly seated at the bead all the way around, on both sides. A tire mounted at a dealership is no guarantee the tire is properly mounted on the wheel. A friend of mine had new tires mounted on his Softail. He came over and was telling me how he could feel something wasn't right. We discovered the rear tire was not properly seated at the bead. The dealer fixed at no cost when the error was pointed out to them.

I checked both sides of the tire and the bead seems evently and properly seated, all the way around, and on both side.

The rim and tire are new. But, it is out of trueness. I did a rudimentary check this afternoon. I will rig up a better test later, but from what I can see, it's out of trueness.