Tire Balancing

[MyGSX600F]

Cruising the web & came across this.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbVuwjX0q5g&feature=related"]YouTube- Tire Stripper Motorcycle Wheel Balance[/ame]

Cant you just find the dot on the tire & line it with the valve & get the same results?

[JeffM]

Not always. Some tires don't have the dot (Avons don't). Also, if either your wheel or the tire are quite out of balance by themselves just using the dot matching won't always lead to good overall balance. I use the dot when it's available, but still always do a static balance and usually add at least some stick on weight.

[Kreylyn]

"Hi, we have this nifty tool you don't really need so you can balance your wheel the same way just using your axle and 2 jack stands. We included our own bearings cause yours are crap, and we don't want you to think to replace them. If your bearings do work, we want you to think ours are special and work better, so we inlcuded them anyways...."

Sorry, just "reading between the lines" so to speak...

If you wanted, you could make a stand out of PVC pipe for $5...

Krey

[chris216]

"Hi, we have this nifty tool you don't really need so you can balance your wheel the same way just using your axle and 2 jack stands. We included our own bearings cause yours are crap, and we don't want you to think to replace them. If your bearings do work, we want you to think ours are special and work better, so we inlcuded them anyways...."

Sorry, just "reading between the lines" so to speak...

If you wanted, you could make a stand out of PVC pipe for $5...

Krey

ha ha so true

[JeffM]

Yeah, exactly. I just make a crude balancing stand from 2x4s each time I change tires. I do have a pair of sheet metal brackets with bearings that I made to support the axle, which I can mount on top of the 2x4s, but they aren't really needed. If your bearings are good you'll get a good enough balance with just that.

[acraze]

I just paid 69 bucks the other day for both tires mounted and balanced

[JeffM]

That's about what I hear as the going rate anymore. Was that with the wheels off the bike? It's usually even more if you ride the bike in and they have to pull the wheels off. Either way, for that money I prefer to change my own - saves money and if something goes wrong there's nobody but me to blame.

[loudnlow7484]

"Hi, we have this nifty tool you don't really need so you can balance your wheel the same way just using your axle and 2 jack stands. We included our own bearings cause yours are crap, and we don't want you to think to replace them. If your bearings do work, we want you to think ours are special and work better, so we inlcuded them anyways...."

Sorry, just "reading between the lines" so to speak...

If you wanted, you could make a stand out of PVC pipe for $5...

Krey

If the axle is resting on bearings as well as the wheel on its bearings, it should be doubly sensitive. I do agree, though, that balancing stands in general are overpriced (as a lot of stuff is in the motorcycle world...... ). If you want a better balance for next to nothing, buy a kid's rollerblade (you only need one) and take off the frame with the wheels. Cut it in half, and use one half on each side, upside down to set the axle in between the wheels.

One of many projects that I never finished...... I intend to make a stand for it one day, but I never have. One the bright side, if anybody wants to make a balancing setup for themselves, I have an extra kids rollerblade (I bought a pair).

[hardlydangerous]

Same set up I have...
with my balancer you use the adapters, in a rear bike stand.
works very well and is very accurate

[acraze]

I brought the bike in with tires and they charged that amount. I have no centerstand.. I have to ask a guy down the street that I don't really know if I can use his stand ( on the svrider forum). Here is what she looked like while taking it to get mounted.

That's about what I hear as the going rate anymore. Was that with the wheels off the bike? It's usually even more if you ride the bike in and they have to pull the wheels off. Either way, for that money I prefer to change my own - saves money and if something goes wrong there's nobody but me to blame.

[thetable]

"Hi, we have this nifty tool you don't really need so you can balance your wheel the same way just using your axle and 2 jack stands. We included our own bearings cause yours are crap, and we don't want you to think to replace them. If your bearings do work, we want you to think ours are special and work better, so we inlcuded them anyways...."

Try balancing a tire after you just finish replacing bearings. That is what caused me to build my balancing jig.

[steves]

Try balancing a tire after you just finish replacing bearings. That is what caused me to build my balancing jig.

Not everyone has to replace the bearings every 1500 miles to avoid catching a leg on fire.

[thetable]

Not everyone has to replace the bearings every 1500 miles to avoid catching a leg on fire.

Um, first time I ran into the dilemma was on the Kat. It went, install bearings, install new tire, put tire in stand... Um why isn't it turning... Build holder incorporating bearings... switch over to dyna beads.