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 :D

[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 :)

[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...