[thetable]

Marc says that you won't get a good balance on the wheel bearings because they aren't smooth enough.

Then again he sells balancers

Not gonna get the same level of precision, but I think you can get an acceptable balance with attention to detail. When the light spot goes high, mark it, rotate tire 90* and let it go, mark it, rotate tire -90*, mark it, put weight in the middle of the marks. On new bearings or tight bearings, it doesn't work, but with average bearings it does work.

I used Dyna Beads for balancing on my last set of tires. They seemed to work fine under 85 mph, and they did not even sort of work over 100mph. Extremely dangerous to use in my opinion. I removed them within a couple weeks

I've run them into excess of 130, and they work just fine. Perhaps you had a bad tire or not enough media.

Er, won't putting a liquid in the tire cause the pressure of the tire to change as it heats and cools? What will the reaction of the tire skin to the antifreeze be? No thanks...

+1
You forgot to mention the potential corrosion on the inside of the rim.

[steves]

You forgot to mention the potential corrosion on the inside of the rim.

I added that in a later post. I think I've decided I'd rather not balance the tire than put a liquid inside it.

[thetable]

I added that in a later post. I think I've decided I'd rather not balance the tire than put a liquid inside it.

Agreed! FTR, never balanced a tire on the KLR!

[zuma]

Got here a little late on this one but...I gladly pay the fee to have my tires mounted and balanced. I could save money if I just took in the wheels only, but I don't. I have the attitude of "I can do this myself" but at the same time I realize my own limitations, which for the most part right now adds up to "time".

A friend and I did change out the tires on a Suzuki Marauder one time; he knew what he was doing. To balance them, he placed two kitchen chairs facing each other and set each tire between them to allow them to spin freely. Tires are too important not to be done correctly, so for now, that's my excuse.

[mcssls]

I did dyna beads on my old cruiser and was good up to 120mph never a shimmy nor a shake. It works and it adapts.

[loudnlow7484]

Agreed! FTR, never balanced a tire on the KLR!

I had a set on a kat that I never balanced at all. They were fine for as fast as the bike would go. I'm sure they weren't perfectly balanced, but they weren't bad enough for me to ever notice, and they never wore funny or anything.

Out of all the sets of tires you have gone through, how often does one need more than 1/4 oz to balance out?

[thetable]

Out of all the sets of tires you have gone through, how often does one need more than 1/4 oz to balance out?

90% of the time they need more weight than that. My wheels are more than a 1/4oz out of balance. On the Connie, of the 17 tires I've mounted, I've had one that needed no weight and one that needed 1/4oz, the rest needed more.

[loudnlow7484]

90% of the time they need more weight than that. My wheels are more than a 1/4oz out of balance. On the Connie, of the 17 tires I've mounted, I've had one that needed no weight and one that needed 1/4oz, the rest needed more.

That seems like quite a bit. Of my tires that I can remember (I don't go through them anywhere near as fast as you do), I can only think of one that took 1/2oz..... most took 1/4. Maybe it's the TPS sensors? Even in big car tires, I'd be unimpressed if a tire took more than 1.5oz to balance out, and they are much heavier and less precisely made (the normal runout on an average car tire would make a motorcycle scream and cry ). If they took more than 2-2.5 (depending on how lazy I was), I'd break the tire down and spin it on the rim unless the rim was obviously out of round or bent.

[Squisher]

Also thinking about it, the constant exposure to liquid/water might also accelerate/promote rust forming on the wheel components.

I'm also thinking, that the mount/dismount process then becomes extra messy, and you get the anti-freeze everywhere.

I guess I have a question bout the corrosion concern, aren't the wheels on the Katana aluminum? (granted, the valve stem/core may not be, and is probably some combination of brass and other cheap alloys, so there would be some legit concern there, especially with plain h20).

Plus, most antifreeze formulations (even RV antifreeze) contain some corrosion inhibitors. Though, I don't know anything about its reactivity with the rubber compounds present in the tire material. I would imagine it being fairly safe though given the otherwise intended use.

I'm not honestly trying to change anyone's mind, just making sure that there isn't some detail that I overlooked. As far as any mess goes, I only have about 3 oz per tire, so it won't be significant.

[hardlydangerous]

I use a simple Nomar tire changer in my shop. I takes about 2 minutes to change a tire and 5 to balance them. The cost for the tools and equipment and accs.. is not really worth itfor the average guy. But doing it with iron with or with out rim protectors is hard work and usually results in a lot of swearing.
harbor frieght sells a cheap changer that will work for the average joe. just be sure to use a rubber coating on the clamps and tools

[thetable]

I guess I have a question bout the corrosion concern, aren't the wheels on the Katana aluminum?

So you have never seen aluminum corrode?

Either balance them the traditional way with wheel weights, or balance them with dynabeads (or airsoft pellets), but for the love of all that is good, don't put a liquid in there.

harbor frieght sells a cheap changer that will work for the average joe. just be sure to use a rubber coating on the clamps and tools

I've seen far more swearing with a HF changer than with tire levers. The HF mount bar isn't much more than a terribly efficient means of removing paint and aluminum from rims.

There is a technique to changing tires with levers, and there are plenty of videos out there on it, some of the most helpful are on NoMar's site. Check the Goldwing, dirtbike, and F650 spoon bar videos.

[hardlydangerous]

I meant to say use the harbor frieght changer as a tool to hold the wheel as you install the tire with irons.

buy motion pro tire spoons or even Nomar tire spoons

do not use a tire bar mount/demount tool with the harbor freight tire changer. if the wheel slips (and it will) it will scratch the rim. instead clamp it on and use tire iron and wooden blocks to install the tire.
harbor freight also sells stick on weights
all you need is a rear swing armstand to balance tires. Thats all I use.
Dont use dyna beads. Ive got bags of them here from people that used them and wont run them again.

[jippah]

I've ordered tires online and installed them myself.

i've also had tires delivered to my place then taken the wheels and new tires to two different shops to have them mounted and balanced. one shop charged $25 per wheel, the other wanted $70 per wheel *_*
ive used the tire irons, and a dead blow hammer to help slide the tire off the rim. also rim protectors are a sound investment, i just use cut up engine oil bottles. they are pretty hard plastic that work just as well when properly placed.

balancing a tire isnt as hard as it sounds, just need the proper balancing weights, the axle, two jack stands, and some patience.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2AuivYzaBs"]How to Balance a Motorcycle Wheel - YouTube[/ame]

i've used a similar method for a few years, never had any complaints at speeds up to +130mph (on my 636)

[DoyleDee]

I use BB's for weights... 1 oz in the front and 2 oz in the rear- they work very well for me. I've been running this method for about 3-4 yrs with around 35K miles and different manufacturers of tires. I'm currently running Shinko tires- I love them for the mileage, the stickyness is not near Metzler's, but great for commuting.

[Kreylyn]

I've found I can greatly reduce the amount of weight needed to balance a tire by simply doing a quick balance before seating the new tire on the rim. Check it, spin the tire on the rim, check it... couple of mins and I generally get them close enough that I have needed no weights on a few of them.

Krey