Wheel Balancing

[xb12r_pig]

Hey Everyone,
I have a question about balancing the front and rear wheels. I'm assuming they should be balanced with the rotor on the front and the rotor and pulley on the rear. Is that right? I'm sending parts out for paint and want to make sure balancing is done correctly afterward.

I have other goodies that have recently been procured and installed. I don't want to show and tell now. But I will when everything is back on the bike so I can take pictures. At that time we can pull out our carpets and our half-pints of milk.

Thanks in advance for any assistance, insight, knowledge, etc.
J

 

[go cytocis]

Correct, normally balancing is done with the whole wheel assembly intact: wheels, tires, rotors, pulley, and all...

 

[thumpin1203]

OR, you can go with Dyna-beads like I and many do.. (active balancing media.. glass smooth ride for the life of the rotating mass)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eq263AYgyYg

Tire shops and businesses that stand to lose balancing charges will nay-say and scream until the cows come home.. 'eff-em.. I'm a believer among many, and will never stick another lead weight on a rim AGAIN!

http://www.innovativebalancing.com/motorcycle.htm

You can find the balancing media on ebay pretty cheap.. and of course it's reusable at tire changes.

 

[snrusnak]

Or you can not balance

 

[06xbss]

OR, you can go with Dyna-beads like I and many do.. (active balancing media.. glass smooth ride for the life of the rotating mass)

I'm just using steel bb gun bb's. 1.5oz front and 2oz rear, never had any vibrations and my tires wear more even.

 

[thumpin1203]

@ 06xbss.. hey, that's a great idea! thx for the share man [up]

 

[user_deleted]

for the home-style shop...No-Mar makes a beautiful compact pendullum tire balancer priced at approx. $59 delivered. lasts a lifetime, incredibly simple to use and extremely accurate. have used one here for years. worth considering if you even only balance one pair of bike wheels per year. just a suggestion.

 

[nicholas900]

^ that looks like a nice rig. Do you have an opinion on that vs. static balancing? Also do you always balance with the entire rotating mass? What if it's a cush drive type sprocket? Sorry for all the questions. I'm thinking that would save me some money.

I usually take my wheels in to be balanced. I always requested the drive be balanced with the rear wheel. Most of the shop guys said it's not needed because it's so close to the center that it doesn't matter. In my mind I would be inclined to think everything matters. But I'm not educated on the subject.

Thoughts?

 

[snrusnak]

I always balanced my wheels/tires but when I had them powdercoated I didn't want the weights on them so bought balancing beads and while waiting for them to show up in the mail I was riding the bike and no vibration whatsoever. Of course it can vary based on wheel and tire. But I have no issues and have just about topped my bike out over 120mph a couple times and no issues. I won't ever balance again unless there's an issue. Auto's are a different story.

 

[sparky300]

Tire shops and businesses that stand to lose balancing charges will nay-say and scream until the cows come home

Yep, true stuff. I gave a Dyna-bead kit free-of-charge to one of the local independent shop owners to try out on his or one of his employees' bikes after I had him mount a set without being balanced. I told him what I was using and he scoffed at the balancing effectiveness without external weights. Stopped in 2 months later and the kit was still sitting on the shelf under the counter...

 

[user_deleted]

What if it's a cush drive type sprocket?

rear wheels with cush drive and sprocket carrier are balanced with both the drive and carrier removed. if the rubber cush drives snap into place then leave them in place to balance wheel

 

[user_deleted]

I'm assuming they should be balanced with the rotor on the front and the rotor and pulley on the rear. Is that right?

yes.

 

[xb12r_pig]

06xbss:
Didn't even think about the application of BB's. Maybe I'll try that. I have some laying around. You have never had a problem? I occasionally hit speeds around 130 / 140. But not for any extended period of time. Typically I'm between 80 / 100. You just put them inside the tire and leave them there? Any other prep or anything? I guess there is no issue with the steel marring the aluminum as the centrifuge keeps them on the tire.

snrusnak:
I'm sure not balancing works out well for you. For me that seems like an alien concept. Mildly frightening actually. No offense.

All:
Thanks for the input and confirmation. Most appreciated. What's the big difference in Dynabeads versus BB's? Has anyone tried both concepts? Is it just a difference in material?

Thanks

 

[snrusnak]

no offense taken, i thought the same thing. A buddy on this forum told me he didn't balance his and I thought yeah whatever i'm balancing mine. Just by chance I was riding mine waiting on the balancing beads and realized I didn't need weight on my setup. Like I said, it will depend on the tires and wheels. I will add beads if necessary if I get a new set of tires and there's vibration, but if it's not needed why do it? I've put a couple thousand miles on this set with no balancing and there's no issues, no vibration, no wear problems, etc.

 

[BuddhaBuell]

what I use
http://www.ride-on.com/motorcycle-formula-mot.html

what I've posted in every thread pertaining to tire balancing


As tested in Rider Magazine! They put 9 holes in their tires ..... and kept on riding!
http://www.ride-on.com/images/stories/pdf/Rider_Magazine_Article.pdf

I have used this product for four riding seasons now with zero complaint.
[smirk]

 

[xb12r_pig]

Hey guys,
I went with the Ride On. I'm keeping the speed down right now as I'm scrubbing in the new tires. I feel a huge difference. If it keeps going like this I will probably use Ride On exclusively. Thanks for the input everyone. Special thanks to Mt Holly Powder Coating and a huge thanks to Dean Adams for his full exhaust system!

 

[nicholas900]

Hmmm. This " ride-on" stuff has my interest. Any users balance a wheel with it in there? Results?

 

[stensg]

I've been using ride on and love it. I did buy the atv ride on because its cheaper for bigger quantity and it has worked great though i haven't tested the puncture portion of it. Nicholas you don't need to balance three wheel with ride on it balances its self.