Tire change gone wrong?

Roboco

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I took the front and rear wheels off and had new tires mounted at the local shop. I got he rear back on with little or no problem. The front however is a different story. My first question is, does it matter which way the wheel goes on or are both side identical? I mounted the wheel and one of the calipers was very difficult to line up. I finally got it positioned and tightened everything up. At this point rolling the bike had a little bit of resistance from the front tire. I thought nothing of it thinking maybe the brake pads were a bit tight on the disks.
I took it out for a test ride and things seemed ok. I pulled back in to the garage and the front wheel smelled hot. I felt the disks and the side I had trouble with was blazing hot while the other side felt normal. So this morning I decided I will ride it to work,. I fired her up and decided to give the bike a once over. I noticed that the bolts holding the calipers on the front were all loose. I know I tightened them up before the test ride. I tightened them up snug and tried to roll the bike out of the garage. There was so much reisitance in the front that the front tire was almost locked up. I pulled the front brake lever to see if it felt normal. It has way too much play. Something definitely isnt right.
So, back to the original question, is it possible the front wheel needs to be reversed?
 
S

sportrider

the tire and rim are directional(only go one way) look at the rear rim and the front should match. if they mounted the tire backwards take it back and have them flip it.
 
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S

sportrider

look at the spokes, they have a hole on one side where they meet the hoop the hole faces the rear of the bike in the direction of rotation.
 
S

sportrider

ok I thought so, the info I gave you is correct for the FZ6. also double check and make sure you didn't leave out the wheel spacers and be sure the brake pads are in the correct position and seated correctly on the calipers
 

Roboco

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I took the calipers off and removed the axle. Pulled the wheel off and flipped it around. Put it all back together and it was quite amazing how well everything bolted back on!! Spun the wheel and tested the brake. All seems to be good. I wil take it out for a test this weekend. Thanks for the help!
 

madmanmaigret

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Robo, I shot you a p.m. if you need any help and still live nearby I will come down and look at it. I had the same problem when I let the shop put my front tire on. It has to be right (rim and tire) or you will have problems. (rim won't fit or tire will be backwards casing higher chances of hydroplaning!)
 
W

wrightme43

Just semantics here.
Not UNI directional that would mean that they can rotate either way.
The tires and the wheel are just plain directional.

It is very important that the tire is mounted for the proper rotation.

The front tire is designed to evac water and to provide tremendous traction under braking force.
The rear tire is designed to evac water and put huge amounts of power to the ground.

There is a arrow on your tire that tells you which direction it should rotate. Hope that helps in the future.

The shop "should" of put the tire on so the wheel direction and the tire direction are in agreement, and you should install it so that it rotates the right way.
 
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