Suggestions on where to buy new tires? XJ650J

Polock, agree with your observations. I have rarely seen the natural heavy of a wheel line up with the valve stem. Also, in my experience, I have found that lining up the "dot" (not to be confused with DOT...) on the tire with the ACTUAL heavy spot of the wheel results in less weights (and sometimes NO weights) needed to balance. "Professionals" are very unlikely to take the time and care to do this. And while they may (or may not) allow you to take the wheel away and clean the bead and inside, they likely will not do this for you either.

The point here is not that less weight to balance a tire is necessarily better than more weight or that a cleaner wheel spins better (it may seat better on the bead). The point is that because we care more about our bikes, many times we actually do (and can do) a better job than the professionals, whether synching carbs, setting valve clearances, or even changing tires.

 

I take my whole wheel and tire to the Dealership.
The Technician and I are good friends.

After he removes the Old Tire, he lets me ScotchBrite the Rim.
He mounts the New Tire after carefully checking the Direction Arrow and Dot.

He mounts the New Tire and makes sure there's no leaks.
Then he Balances the Tire right in front of me.

High Speed Spin.
Computer accuracy for Position and Weight.
Weights added.
Tire re-spun with the weights added and the readout shows Perfect Balance.

You can do this too.
Bring a ScotchBrite Pad.
Tell the Tech you'd like to Dress the Rim after he removes the Old Tire.