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Where Does The Yellow Dot Go (Balancing Tyres)
Blog Date - 07 February 2012
I recently fitted my own tyre. Not as easy as you may think, but not an insurmountable problem. One question I had was where does the yellow dot go?
Yellow dot? On motorcycle tyres, and some car tyres too, there’s a yellow dot on the sidewall. I know this yellow dot has something to do with balancing the tyre and wheel. The yellow dot will be either the heaviest point of the tyre, or possibly the lightest. It’s a discussion I’ve had with other bikers and I’ve never received a definitive answer.
Some people swear blind it’s the heaviest point and it should go opposite the valve to counter the weight of the valve. Others swear that it’s quite the opposite. This is the lightest point on the tyre, or at least opposite the heaviest part, and the dot aligns next to the valve.
It’s a concern when you’re fitting your own tyre. Ok, I know that it will make little difference if the tyre is balanced, it will however mean that more weights will be required to balance the wheel if the dot is in the wrong place. For example, if the dot is the heavy part of the tyre and is next to the valve which weighs a few grams too, then more weight will be required opposite the valve and dot to counter this.
When I received my shiny new Maxxis tyres I read the sticker on the tyre. It quite clearly states…
Yellow dot to be fitted by valve stem
As far as I’m concerned if the manufacturer places a sticker on the tyre with this information, I will follow that information.
Is this a definitive answer? Nope, well it is but only for MY Maxxis tyres. I do not know whether this rule applies to all manufacturers. Hell I don’t even know if it applies to all Maxxis tyres. I guess the point is before you fit a tyre, check!
Reader's Comments
Garth said :-
Yup, mine say the dot goes next to the tire valve too.
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
said :-
21/07/2023 13:19:45 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Dear Anonymous.
This is a contentious point as different manufacturers use different colour dots to indicate either where the valve should go (ie the light point of the tyre) or which is the heaviest point on the tyre (ie the opposite). In very many years I have yet to meet a car tyre fitter who pays any attention to these. The only bike tyre fitter I know is myself.....
21/07/2023 14:08:54 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I seem to have answered a blank response to a very old post....
21/07/2023 15:27:16 UTC
nab301 said :-
Old post or not , it's always worth placing the wheel on the balancer without the tyre to find the heavy spot , don't assume that it's always at the valve...
Nigel
21/07/2023 17:24:39 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Regarding the dots of various manufacturers - yeah there seems to be a lot of confusion online. I've read the dot is both the heavy and the light section. The only place I'd trust is the official website of the manufacturer for your specific tyre, the rest is just hearsay.
Good call on checking the balance of the tyreless wheel nab301, didn't think of that.
22/07/2023 11:18:34 UTC
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