Bulge in Tire

[headshrink]

I found this bulge in the sidewall of my from tire.

It is a Pirelli Sport Demon. I mounted it on 10/09, and currently has only ~4,750 miles on it, and has ~3.5 mm on average of tread at the center. I would expect to double the mileage before replacing.

Bellow is a collage of pictures of the bulge at different angles. I am not too concerned with the cracking, as it looks pretty superficial to me, and is really only in this spot, but the bulge is what concerns me the most. If I press on it with my finger it has more give than other spots on the sidewall. I don't want to replace a tire prematurely, but I REALLY don't want my tire to have an aneurysm while I'm ridding!

Does this look like an issue to be immediately concerned with, or just watch it?

[Banzai]

Cracking...normal. Bulge....not normal.

Bad tire. Make it go away. I wouldn't trust it, especially if it's done that in under 5K miles. Summer is the time where your tire pressure is going to vary a lot...more towards the upper range. If it's weak enough that you can press on it and it has more give, I would replace it ASAP.

YMMV, but for me, I don't play 'bet your life' on something like that ( I did ONCE, and let me tell you, you NEVER forget the feeling of a tire going down on the highway at speed when you only have two!!). Too easy and cheap to replace.

[headshrink]

Originally Posted by Banzai

Bad tire. Make it go away.

Think I can get [free] a replacement from Pirelli?

[kkim]

That doesn't look good. I'd take it to a tire specialist and see what they say.

from googling...

Always seek expert inspection of the dismounted tire following curb, chuckhole or other impacts, evidence of penetration beyond the tire surface, bulges or low pressure. Do not continue riding on such tires.

and...
Tyres can deteriorate with age which may show as cracking of the tread and sidewall rubber, sometimes accompanied by carcass deformation. Cracking is usually an indication that tyres have been in service for an extremely long time, but rubber deterioration may be brought about by poor storage conditions. If cracking is evident seek professional advice or replace the tyre.

Tyres should be removed from service for several reasons including tread wear (down to legal limit), damage (cuts, cracks or bulges etc.) or abuse (overloading or underinflation etc.). Deterioration of the tyre may not always be visible and may become apparent through loss of performance, noise or vibration etc.

Motorcyclists should consult their tyre specialist, the vehicle manufacturer or relevant tyre manufacturer regarding advice on the service life of their tyres.

[wayanlam]

even if they (pirelli) dont replace it, really consider replacing it yourself... i second guessed the condition of my front tire once, and it popped on me in mid ride with my ex (gf at the time) and we both came off the bike... thankfully we were only doing like 40~ Km/h but we still got scrapes, bruises, and damaged the bike for more than it would have cost to just replace the front tire

[2WheelGuy]

I would NOT ride on that tire!

[Alex]

Doesn't look good. What's the date code on the tire? I don't know if you'll get a free replacement tire from Pirelli, but it's certainly worth asking, and perhaps a credit of some sort would be offered.

[headshrink]

Originally Posted by Alex

Doesn't look good. What's the date code on the tire? I don't know if you'll get a free replacement tire from Pirelli, but it's certainly worth asking, and perhaps a credit of some sort would be offered.

I'm not sure how to read it, and it doesn't look like the sample on their webpage, but there are two sets of numbers (one after the other): 0429 4908.

Any idea what that means?

[kkim]

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=11

[Alex]

Originally Posted by headshrink

0429 4908.

49th week of 2008. Not a particularly old tire.

[headshrink]

I am scouring the Pirelli website for warentee info.... I can't find a single thing for moto tires. Any idea of who to contact?

[Alex]

I can't find it either, best entry point may be the "contact us" link where you can submit questions about your tire:

http://www.us.pirelli.com/web/contactus/CUEntryPoint.do

Or you could call whoever you actually purchased them from and see what they say.

[headshrink]

The following is from the retailer I purchased the tire at (Motorcyclesuperstore.com). Unfortunately it looks like I'll have to order a tire in the mean time.... cause I still need to get to work. 8 weeks is rather ridiculous, if you ask me.

Warranty Returns:
Most manufacturers offer an additional warranty period which cover against merchandise defects. To determine if an additional warranty is available for your item simply Contact Us. Please do not contact the manufacturer directly to file your claim. Merchandise, including a letter of explanation should be sent to:

Motorcycle Superstore
Attn: Warranties
501 Industry Rd. Suite 400
Louisville, KY 40208
Tires must meet the following qualifications for a warranty return:

•Tire must have a minimum of 1mm of tread depth
•Tire must not have any road hazard damage, including but not limited to:
◦Plugs, patches or repairs
◦Nails, screws, staples or holes
◦Liquid Sealers or liquid tire repair
Please Note - Warranty processing may take up to 8 weeks and is subject to the individual manufacture’s policies and discretion. Motorcycle Superstore cannot guarantee a refund, replacement or repair of the item. Manufacturer warranties do not cover items determined to be normal wear or due to customer negligence.

[HKr1]

Well that just sucks for a new tire

Interesting there just happens to be a big chunk weights right there too.......

[headshrink]

Originally Posted by HKr1

Well that just sucks for a new tire

Interesting there just happens to be a big chunk weights right there too.......

That is just how it balanced out. I put the red dot at the stem, and worked from there. In the end it seemed pretty good, balance wise.

I did the rear a little over a month a go and decided to forgo the red dot at stem thing. This time I just found the heavy/light spot on the rim, and placed the red dot accordingly. Funny thing is it ended up being balanced with NO weights at all! I couldn't believe it at first, so I kept trying and trying, and in the end excepted what gravity was saying.

I emailed the retailer last night, via web form, and haven't heard a thing from them today. I'll give them until tomorrow, but we aren't getting off on the right foot. I need a tire NOW and am pissed I will probably have to pay just to have transportation until this is settled. My wife said to throw the old one back on..... I don't know that I want to do that though.

[Cedilla]

A tire with a bulge, is a tire that is going to pop when you least expect it. For instance I had a guy come to my shop(I work at a tire shop) to replace a tire that had a bulge in the sidewall, it popped with a loud boom as I was pulling it into the shop.

As for how that bulge got there thats beyond me. All I know is that more often than not a bulge in a car tire is the result of a fairly brutal meeting with a curb, no matter what the customer tells me, like i'm oblivious to the scratched and bent wheel. However in your case I would think if you hit something with the side of the tire to cause that kind of damage you undoubtedly would remember the painful tumble on the pavement.

When you dismount the tire push on the location of the bulge from the outside, and look at the same spot on the inside. There is probably a small crack or cut on the liner.

[headshrink]

Haven't heard from them, so I called. They (motorcycle-superstore) are going to handle the claim, although the result is up to Pirelli. So really they are just the middle-man. I have to pay the shipping, because it is past 60 days. We'll see what happens.

I had to order a new one, but ordered from Bike Bandit because they are located closer (I think), and I have gotten things from them supper fast before..... but then I remembered most of these online retailers just drop-ship, so it really doesn't matter.

[headshrink]

Well, I received the new tire, and installed it this evenings. I took a look on the inside, and what did I see? Nothing... absolutely nothing. I'm not very hopeful that Perilli will do anything, but at least I bought peace of mind.

[mrlmd]

You already have an aneurysm on the sidewall - what you don't want is a ruptured aneurysm. That may be fatal. That has to replaced ASAP and the part that looks delaminated may be from a manufacturing defect if it wasn't the result of trauma to the sidewall.

[headshrink]

Update: I received an email today that they are going to credit my account for the tire

Only one problem.... they are putting it back on the CC I originally used, but it has since expired. They said the bank would still apply it... I don't know if that is true, but we shall see.

Something is wrong with their information system/work flows though. Every time I call they can't pull up my account. I can be looking at it online, give numbers to cross-reference, but they can't seem to figure it out. They ask for an order number, I give it to them, they say that can't be it because it is a 7 digit, but they keep giving me 6 digit order numbers. I don't know what their deal is, but I've gotten some good deals.

[Snake]

That is great news Bob. Glad to see companies still value their customers.