failed inspection?

[jschorr]

hey guys, i have been having a great summer riding so far, hope you have too.

i just went to get my pa stickers for the year and was treated to a bit of a run around.

it was an open inspections sat, no appointment so i showed up first right when they opened. was told to come back in half an hour...i got coffee and came back, waited, another 20 min go by and im like screw it and get on my bike to go, i guess i should have done this before because someone came running out to get me and brought me right in saying something about being down some people.

10 min go by as i page through the chive and they come back with a fail. here is why.

1) my horn isn't loud enough. (stock)

2) my left grip isnt glued. it doent turn easy buy if you try it does turn.

3) my back tire is on backwards....idk just how i got the bike, po said it helped on the dirt roads he lived on.

and the one that scared me

4) front tire is dry rotted.

the first two i was just confused about.

the back tire well....yes it is on backwards, but since the manufacture said it was safe i thought the state would be ok with it too.

but the dry rot was all i thought about when they were telling me about the other things. i looked and saw that there were some small cracks but idk i will let you guys decide. (pics)

so what do ya think? i got a set of dialbos on the way (wanted new rubber and this was the excuse) but i think these guys took me for a ride.

should i go back or go somewhere else?

[Alex]

The surface cracking does look quite noticeable, but hard to tell whether it's cosmetic only. What is the date code on those tires?

[jschorr]

they are old, Made end of 09. Installed in the summer of 2010.

So you would consider that quite noticeable?

I wasn't sure where to draw the line. I asked some other people before I came to the net and options varied from that is deadly to nothing to worry about.

[Finesse]

Seriously, your horn isn't loud enough??? If your tires are the stock Dunlop K360 you should just toss them and replace them anyway. I don't know about PA but over here in MD you can get your bike re-inspected for free at the same place within 30 days or 1,000 miles. So if you go to another place you'll pay twice as much and you might still fail. I know my shop would fail anyone for a backwards tire and dry rotted front tire but the other stuff seems stupid. Try taking your grip off, cleaning your handlebar with acetone, and spraying some hairspray in your grip before re-installing it. It acts as an adhesive. Let it dry 8 hrs before you ride. The horn, I have no idea, I've never ever heard of that being an issue in inspection.

[ninjamunky85]

Sometimes I'm glad I that live in Ohio. Sounds like a bunch of bs to me.

[Alex]

5 years is a judgement call, when it comes to tires. Not so old that they are definite trash, but old enough to start thinking about it. My hunch is that cracking is just surface cracking, and probably not dangerous. But if they are iffy tires in the first place, Katie's advice is the safer way to go.

[jschorr]

i am right there with you ryan.

so yeah thanks for the second and third opinion alex and katie.

the tires are kenda and if it is just some surface cracking, what i originally thought, i should have gotten another 2k, 3k out of them. (2 months at the rate i have been going)

i wanted to change the tiers to something that fit my riding, so this is more about if i am getting the shaft than if i can stretch some old cheap tires for another few thousand.

i will gladly lose the inspection fee just to know if i should let these guys work on my bike if something major actually goes wrong, and right now i am thinking that i should cut my losses and move on to the next shop....maybe one that would take the 2 seconds to adjust my horn or spray some glue under my grip wile there checking things over. (3m'ed my grip today)

edit:
forgot to explain about the horn. there is a screw on to that allows adjustment. mine was dirty and causing a weaker voltage to pass though.
still bs since from a legal standpoint you can pass inspection with a kids bike horn

[flitecontrol]

Sounds like they are nit picking in order to try and get you to have them "fix" it. I wouldn't give them the time of day, and would let all my friends that ride know what I think about them. See if they have an online site and if you can provide feedback.

[agentbad]

Take it somewhere else. Someone on here told me kenda said you can run one of the tires backwards to improve grip in the rain but it would decrease braking distance a bit. If those are the original stock dunlop tires then you probably want to replace them anyway because they're old and they aren't good tires even new. I ran mine to the ground and they were in worse condition but obviously if you have the funds go ahead and get them changed. Buy the tires online and take the wheels off the bike to save money and bring them in.

[jgcable]

It depends on how risky you are.
Knowing that you are riding around with a loose grip and dry rotted tires doesn't sound very safe to me.
Regarding the rear tire mounted on backwards... get a document from the manufacturer if they say its ok to mount it backwards. My guess is you won't be able to get that document. Especially if that's the stock crap Dunlop tire.

Glue that grip on, put on some new tires and you should be fine. They can't fail you for a horn that isn't loud enough if its a stock horn and its not defective.

[Ninjinsky]

Looks like they are milking it. I have only just swapped out my original 1991 Dunlop and that was due to treadwear rather than cracking.
Horns can usually be adjusted with the little set screw, sometimes a quarter turn makes the world of difference so do it in small steps (or with the button pressed if you have earplugs in.)

[Finesse]

^Yup, I just asked the guy who does inspections at my shop about the horn and he said there's a screw behind it that you can screw in or out to change the volume. Try that!

[jschorr]

Just an update:

took it to another shop today. Passed no problems. We had a good laugh about my experience at the first shop and the Po's ideas about running the back wheel backwards for better dirt handling. ( both agreed that it was misguided but an A for effort)

Good guy, even offered to price match the tires I bought. Kinda feel bad that I didn't buy them from him. Guess I found my bike mechanic.

[Country Joe]

Originally Posted by jschorr

Just an update:

took it to another shop today. Passed no problems. We had a good laugh about my experience at the first shop and the Po's ideas about running the back wheel backwards for better dirt handling. ( both agreed that it was misguided but an A for effort)

Good guy, even offered to price match the tires I bought. Kinda feel bad that I didn't buy them from him. Guess I found my bike mechanic.

That sounds better! And stick with that mechanic, good local wrenches deserve our support. As far as the "dry rotted" tires, did you ever watch "The World's Fastest Indian"? No, I'm not recommending that either....
Joe