Ride On Installation-TECHNICAL

americanbadass · Mar 3, 2013

Yesterday I went riding for a while (50F), since it was my first ride of any length for a while-I decided to put Ride On in the tires. I have had it for months, first chance to put it in and ride a bit.
Installation is fairly simple, I put the trike in the air about 6 inches, and removed all of the valve stems. Interesting stuff this is, fairly odorless, and don't taste bad either! Strong pressure must be applied to push it thru the small tube that goes over the valve stem ( at one point it blew off, thats when I got to taste test it). It has the consistency of a booger, the kind that you try to flick off your finger , and it just stays on!

Buttoned everything back up, put air back in and I was off to the races! The first 5 miles of riding were full of head shake and wobble, as the RO spread inside the tires (havent experienced anything like it -since I was hangin out with Bertha). It took about 10 miles for it to smooth out.
In summary the only recommendation would be to warm it up, so it does not require a lot of pressure to exit the bottle- I thought of this of course after the fact! Installation time is about an hour. :wave4:

rmrc51 · Mar 3, 2013

Mark,

You definitely have a talent for doing very descriptive reviews, lol :laugh:

You should try and sell your services to other manufacturers offering to review different products. It would clearly be very entertaining!!! lmao :LordHelp:

americanbadass · Mar 3, 2013

Thanks Rich-I always try to splain stuff in laymans terms. You know what to expect when I do a review!!!:xzqxz:

oneup · Mar 4, 2013

what is ride on?? what is it supposed to do?? ive never heard of it down here at the bottom of the world

eagle1 · Mar 4, 2013

just think of the mess you'll have when you change tires!!

bikerbillone · Mar 4, 2013

Not supposed to be that messy according to RideOn. Think I'll be giving it a shot. Mark, keep us informed on how it works for you.

mhgoldwing · Mar 4, 2013

Stupid question: how do you check tire pressure with this goop inside? Doesn't it plug the valve if it stops leaks?

jfingalls · Mar 4, 2013

No problem with it, it does not come back through the valve when checking tire pressure because the "gel" sticks radially to the inside wall of the tire but can be washed off with water when changing tire if you desire. Does not interfere with TPMS except the later model Gold Wings. Great product for assuring you a fun filled trip! That is, it fixes flats and dynamically balances tires - now that is a great product! Check out their website and find out facts (not opinions) Tire Sealant | Puncture Repair | Flat Tire Repair | Tire Protection Systems for Motorcycle, Automotive, ATV and Heavy Equipment - Ride-On

ttanthony · Mar 4, 2013

Had a friend that would use that stuff on his CVO Road King. He was a big supporter of Ride On. After talking with him I used it in my bike, my son's bike and another friends bike. Yes he said it was messing cleaning up when doing a tire change, which I found out myself. But other then that he was a happy camper. Now he said he will not use it anymore he has to replace both Chrome Wheels because of a chemical reaction to the chrome metal at the beads. He can not get them to stop leaking now. Everyone that has looked at the wheels state that it can only be a chemical reaction to the Ride On Product. That was good enough for m. I wont be using it anymore.

bikerbillone · Mar 4, 2013

That is not good news. RideOn says there's no reaction to the rims. Maybe just the chrome???

Will · Mar 4, 2013

There are a lot of folks that say they really like it, but it was in my trike when I bought it, and the trike had a severe handlebar wobble that would not go away, no matter how warm the weather. I suspected other things to be the problem, but when I removed the tires, cleaned out all the goop, reinstalled and balanced them the old fashioned way... spin balanced with wheel weights, the trike runs smooth and wobble-free at all speeds.

That was my experience, and I won't be using it again.

americanbadass · Mar 4, 2013

Will said:
There are a lot of folks that say they really like it, but it was in my trike when I bought it, and the trike had a severe handlebar wobble that would not go away, no matter how warm the weather. I suspected other things to be the problem, but when I removed the tires, cleaned out all the goop, reinstalled and balanced them the old fashioned way... spin balanced with wheel weights, the trike runs smooth and wobble-free at all speeds.

Interesting... yours is the first negative comment I have read on RO. Not trying to bash you, completely believe your story. I am curious as to whether it wobbled constantly when you rode your trike, or just the first few miles or so each time.
I do remember reading somewhere(?), that if you put too much in your tire-it simply has to redistribute each time you ride. Mine smoothed out within 8-10 miles on a cool day-but have not ridden it again yet. I will post up on my second ride.

Will · Mar 4, 2013

B/A, the wobble was there all the time, at speeds under 40-45. If I took my hands off the handlebars for even 1 or 2 seconds, it became scarey. I am sure it woulod have gone out of control if left any longer. I don't know if it would do it at 60, because I was afraid that if it wobbled as bad at that speed, I might end up shiney side down.

I posted about this a few years ago, here on this forum, shortly after I got the trike. It has been fine ever since. What I also remember from when taking the tire off, is that the stuff, which I had never seen before, was thick and clumpy, and not easy to remove. I know it was RO, as the former owner told me he put it in before a cross-country trip he had made. After his trip, this trike sat in his garage for about a year, unused, as I understood, before he sold it. So the age of it, and not being use, may be contributing factors to the problem I had with it.

americanbadass · Mar 4, 2013

Will...Thanks for the follow-up. The texture of the product (I used) was smooth an consistent, no chunks or lumps, at least going in. Maybe sitting in storeage for a while made it clump up or sumpin.

bikerbillone · Mar 4, 2013

Yes, thanks for the clarification.

Will · Mar 4, 2013

I posted here about this problem, a few years ago, when someone else was trying to diagnose their wobble problem. I bought the trike used, and the original owner had put the RO in the tires prior to making a cross-country trip. He apparantly was satisfied with it, as he never mentioned a problem to me.

When I brought the trike home, I noticed almost immediately that it had a severe wobble, even if you took your hands off the handlebars for even just a second. I tried it up to about 45mph, but didn't have the nerve to try it at 65. The wobble was so severe that I have no doubt that it would have become unrecoverable, if left go much longer.

After completing his 7000 mile trip, the original owner had let the trike set unused for about a year, before selling it to me. It may have been due to the prolonged storage, as well as the cold temps, that caused it to form clumps. When I removed the tires to clean them out, the RO was so clumpy and thick, that I knew this had to be the problem. And as it turned out, it was.

Could it be a bad batch, or the age, or the extended time it sat unused? I don't know.

But I now prefer to use conventional high-speed spin balancing, and fix a flat if I get one.

GARYD · Mar 6, 2013

B/A you said Will's was the first negitive comment you saw for RO? Yet just before his post another negative comment was posted from ttanthony.
Does anyone know positively that this stuff doesn't harm chrome? That's a big problem if it is true.

So far that's at least 2 negative comments and maybe more will be coming. I will not put anything liquidy or micro beads in my tires. I did do the Centramatic route on the front wheel last year, but can't really tell if it makes much of a difference over standard balancing and wheel weights that have worked fine for generations. I don't want my bike to wobble each time I start out - if that's the case.

If it's a semi-liquid it will relocate to another location maybe slowly, but it will move eventually especially if sitting for awhile and if sitting for a week or two or over the winter, wouldn't the bike run badly for a certain length of time every time you take it out??
Just throwing out some non-user questions. I'm always skeptical of new wonder products.

As for being comfortable on a long vacation bike trip - I'm very comfortable with my Stop&Go tire repair kit - even though I've never had to use in over 30years.

It's there if I do need it and I don't have to worry if some new miracle product wil do any harm to my wheels or tires.

B/A, I also agree that your review was very smile inducing.

ThumbUp

bikerbillone · Mar 6, 2013

These opinions all over the lot, but that's the way it works and should work. I suspect the only way I'm gonna find out from experience is to try it on my DunFlop E3 front that's good for another couple thousand and see how it goes. If it's a total disaster, then just dump the tire that's going soon anyway and go with my new BT45. I was considering just wear out the E3, then use the RO on the new BT45. However, if it's a disaster on the BT45, I'm screwed for a new tire unless I want to wash it all out and my scoot will be down until the thing dried out. If it works fine on the DunFlop, then I'm only out one application of RO.

americanbadass · Mar 6, 2013

GARYD said:
B/A you said Will's was the first negitive comment you saw for RO? Yet just before his post another negative comment was posted from ttanthony.
Does anyone know positively that this stuff doesn't harm chrome? That's a big problem if it is true.

So far that's at least 2 negative comments and maybe more will be coming. I will not put anything liquidy or micro beads in my tires. I did do the Centramatic route on the front wheel last year, but can't really tell if it makes much of a difference over standard balancing and wheel weights that have worked fine for generations. I don't want my bike to wobble each time I start out - if that's the case.

If it's a semi-liquid it will relocate to another location maybe slowly, but it will move eventually especially if sitting for awhile and if sitting for a week or two or over the winter, wouldn't the bike run badly for a certain length of time every time you take it out??
Just throwing out some non-user questions. I'm always skeptical of new wonder products.

As for being comfortable on a long vacation bike trip - I'm very comfortable with my Stop&Go tire repair kit - even though I've never had to use in over 30years.

It's there if I do need it and I don't have to worry if some new miracle product wil do any harm to my wheels or tires.

B/A, I also agree that your review was very smile inducing. ThumbUp

Thanks for your tenderness Gary! On the subject of RO being corrosive to chrome finishes---I doubt this non-toxic, non- acidic product could hurt chrome. I actually got some on my chrome wheel, wiped it off the next day, and no problemio. That being said-I have seen chrome show spotting from water being left on it.
FOLLOW UP-I went riding yesterday and no wobble in my front end. The RO seems to have settled inside the tire. I think it is good sh!t so far!