Just had a new tire arrive and I'll install it Saturday. Looking for the balance dot and the problem is that it's got too damn many dots on it. Wondering which one is the balance dot for this tire? I've got a picture of both sides. On the left pic at about 12:00 there is a solid yellow dot, at about 5:00 is a yellow circle. On the right pic there is a red and yellow dot on the bead of the tire.

Thanks

 

Get ya some Ride On and don't worry about it. Stuff works great at not only balancing but also helps prevent flats.

 

with or without ride on, there is still a proper procedure to mount tires.

looking at the Dunlop website, at their faqs, they mention that there is a balance dot in the bead area, or on the sidewall. I think I would go with the yellow dot as shown in your second pic. if you can't get a good balance, you could always break the seal and rotate it to one of the other ones.

 

I just had an elite mounted on my softail. I told the shop I would be using ride on. The yellow dot is a good 1/4 rotation to the left of my valve stem. Yellow dot is only dot showing.

 

its the red dot between the dots on the bead

 

Those multiple dots are confusing.

 

Yikes!
Please....... Ignore this horrible advice.
I am truly baffled how many people are clueless why manufacturers go to such great lengths to assist us in proper installation information, just to have it ignored. Even by "professional" installers.

The dots are there to be lined up with the valve stem. The yellow is the standard color dot. And most common. When you have JUST a yellow dot, line it up with the valve stem. If you have both, the red dot takes priority. Follow these manufacturers directions. They make the tires.

 

Here. This is from Dunlops site:

Dunlop street tires have balance dots in the bead or sidewall area to indicate the lightest point of the tire. All Dunlop street tires should be installed with these balance dots at the valve. All Dunlop street tires also have arrows on the sidewall, which indicate the correct direction of rotation.

Positioning of balance marks and inclusion of directional arrows are not universal among motorcycle tire manufacturers.

And this is part 2. I just copied and pasted from Dunlops site:

It is essential that tire/wheel assemblies be balanced before use and rebalanced each time the tire is removed or replaced. Unbalanced tire/wheel assemblies can vibrate at certain speeds, and tire wear will be greatly accelerated.

All Dunlop street tires should be installed with the balance dot at the valve. Wheels may be balanced with spoke nipple weights, lead wire or self-adhesive rim weights. Consult the motorcycle manufacturer for approved wheel weights.

Dunlop does not recommend the use of dry or liquid balancers/sealers and will not warrant tires into which these materials have been injected. Tire and wheel assembly balance must be checked with a balance stand or computer wheel balancer.

 

100% correct! JR