DIY Tire Balancing - Just How Close is Close Enough?

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I have a Marc Parnes balancer. Just mounted a set of new tires on my R12 GS and have balanced them as best as I could. Followed the typical method of letting get the tire on the balancer without weight and let it settle to the heavy spot, mark the light spot at the top of the tire and then applying weight to try to attain balance using the 'set the tire at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock position and if the tire is doesn't move then its balanced' method. I can get the balance real close on the front tire but not perfect. The tire will hold position at 3 o'clock and 12 o'clock but drifts ever so slightly at 9. No matter how much I try to adjust the weight the tire will drift just a bit. I can't get the darn thing perfectly balanced any better no matter how I position the weights. The obvious conclusion is that the amount of weight just isn't quite right. Im using a strip of adhesive weights applied in the center of the rim. The individual weights in the strip are in 5 gram increments. These particular weights are pretty sturdy and I don't have anything that will cut one of them to try to make a 2 1/2 gram or less weight to fine tune the balance. I have the same predicament with the rear tire but it drifts a bit more than the front one. Nothing radical, but it does move. Does the positioning of the weights affect balance at all? (i.e.- middle of rim, side of rim, etc.) And might it make a difference if weights were applied in two strips side by side as opposed to one long continuous strip? The GS rims are made in such a way that there is room to do two strips.

So just how close is close enough when balancing a motorcycle tire? Is it of any significant concern if you can't get weight on the rim to the exact microgram so there is absolutely zero movement of the wheel? Is a little movement when the wheel is set at a particular position on the balancer of any concern?

The Youtube videos make tire balancing look like a piece of cake but I have spent way too much time trying to attain perfect balance. Any of you guys that balance your own tires and its a piece of cake I would like to know any tips or techniques that you use.
 

paulcb

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Hey Ken. Throw some beads in it and don't bother with the weights. Works great for many of us.
 
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Ken H
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Hey Ken. Throw some beads in it and don't bother with the weights. Works great for many of us.
Paul-
I contemplated doing something like that at the next tire change while I was laboring over getting these tires balanced. I took a quick look at the link you sent. Their method describes applying the beads through the valve stem. I don't know if I could do that or not because the valve stems are part of the TPMS assembly. I wonder if they would blow out if they were applied directly to the interior of the tire after the tire was on the rim but before the bead was seated if they couldn't be applied through the valve stem in my circumstance.
 

TPadden

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Ken - Go ride. ;-) Do you think your tire will stay 'perfectly' balanced once it starts to wear? If you think about it, a tire will not wear 'perfectly' even so close is good enough. :D
I know, I know - but when you inflate a tire, how do you deal with lumpy air?
 
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Ken H
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Ken - Go ride. ;-) Do you think your tire will stay 'perfectly' balanced once it starts to wear? If you think about it, a tire will not wear 'perfectly' even so close is good enough. :D
Uncle Phil-
You talked me into it. :biker: Open road here I come.

It is interesting to see how quick a newly mounted tire will rotate to the heavy side sometimes on the balancer so I figure balancing (or nearly balanced) is probably a good idea. As for staying perfectly balanced over the life of the tire, nope I wouldn't think so. But I figure you need to give them a good starting point when they're new and then whatever happens after that happens.

I have read several comments from riders who claim they never balance tires and never had a problem. Makes you wonder if it is necessary at all or if there is a potential downside if you don't.
 

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Ken H,

You didn't mention if the wheel drifts up or down and when it does how far does it go; an inch or two or all the way to the bottom or top?

I haven't worked with any BMW wheels but I do like their weights, already curved with better adhesive than the generic white junk you can hardly get off the rim at the next change. With the ST1300 it has a center rib and I usually apply the weight right up against it. If more than one weight is needed I usually put one on each side of the rib to keep it balanced side to side. 5 gm's is the smallest increment I go and take whatever the closest gives as it's not worth the bother. That said, if the total weight if more than 30 gm I will deflate, break the bead and rotate the tire 180 degrees and shoot for a better balance with less weight. Because the rim wasn't balanced first this is only an attempt for better balance, you would need to know the exact light spot on the rim to move the heavy side of the tire in line with it for the best possible balance.

If you're doing the work in an open area subject to wind then some of your movement could be the tire catching the wind and moving because of it. Like others have mentioned, you're close enough that you probably won't notice it at legal limits so go ride. :)
 

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Now that Byron isn't around during my tire changes and since I have yet to get a good balancing stand, I have gone to the BEADS!

My first venture with them was pretty much laughable! More beads wound up on the ground then in my tire.

As my older son and I discussed this, he came up with an idea. He told me how do you think they do it in the Off-road tires?

Take your beads, put them in some saran wrap, throw it in the tire and let nature take care of the distribution, once the saran wrap is beat to a pulp! So, I gave it a try when I had to re-balance the tire (didn't have enough beads.) and it seems to be working.
 

Dave.David

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I have a Marc Parnes balancer. Just mounted a set of new tires on my R12 GS and have balanced them as best as I could. Followed the typical method of letting get the tire on the balancer without weight and let it settle to the heavy spot, mark the light spot at the top of the tire and then applying weight to try to attain balance using the 'set the tire at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock position and if the tire is doesn't move then its balanced' method. I can get the balance real close on the front tire but not perfect. The tire will hold position at 3 o'clock and 12 o'clock but drifts ever so slightly at 9. No matter how much I try to adjust the weight the tire will drift just a bit. I can't get the darn thing perfectly balanced any better no matter how I position the weights. The obvious conclusion is that the amount of weight just isn't quite right. Im using a strip of adhesive weights applied in the center of the rim. Does the positioning of the weights affect balance at all? (i.e.- middle of rim, side of rim, etc.) And might it make a difference if weights were applied in two strips side by side as opposed to one long continuous strip? The GS rims are made in such a way that there is room to do two strips.
.
I think being able to put the weights closer the spot needed is a good idea, more like using a larger weight in one spot rather than small weights spread out.
 
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Uncle Phil-
You talked me into it. :biker: Open road here I come.

It is interesting to see how quick a newly mounted tire will rotate to the heavy side sometimes on the balancer so I figure balancing (or nearly balanced) is probably a good idea. As for staying perfectly balanced over the life of the tire, nope I wouldn't think so. But I figure you need to give them a good starting point when they're new and then whatever happens after that happens.

I have read several comments from riders who claim they never balance tires and never had a problem. Makes you wonder if it is necessary at all or if there is a potential downside if you don't.
Depends how close to perfect balance the tire/rim is before you start balancing. Many years ago, my Triumph had an unbalanced wheel. I could feel the vibration at freeway speeds. And a Guzzi front wheel had the same heavy vibration until I got it balanced. And my last front ST tire/rim was spot on after mounting without any weights. I have read that excessive vibration from an unbalanced wheel is not good for the bearings or shocks, though, how much is 'excessive'?

Next time you change tires, check the balance of the rim, and mark the light point. Many tires have a yellow or red mark indicating that goes next to the valve. Presumably that puts the heavy part of the tire next to the light side of the wheel (I'm not sure if I have this right - somebody verify this please). Checking the rim's balance before you start will help you in this, esp if you do what Byron suggested about demounting and rotating the tire on the rim.

MCN has said that their results with the bead balancing method were inconsistent, and I read in R & T years ago that it did not work. Many guys here swear by it. Ymmv.

Stay away from compressed air at non-name brand gas stations. That's the lumpy stuff.
 
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Ken H
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Next time you change tires, check the balance of the rim, and mark the light point.
As referenced in my response to Uncle Phil I will probably check the wheel balance the next time the wheels are off the bike. That for sure sounds like good idea.

Many years ago, my Triumph had an unbalanced wheel. I could feel the vibration at freeway speeds. And a Guzzi front wheel had the same heavy vibration until I got it balanced.
That has to a be a little unsettling on a motorcycle for a wheel/tire for the weight to be so far off that you can feel vibration. I hope I never experience that.

MCN has said that their results with the bead balancing method were inconsistent, and I read in R & T years ago that it did not work. Many guys here swear by it. Ymmv.
I have contemplated balance beads in the past but never got around to trying them. I don't mind manually balancing but Im sure it shouldn't be as cumbersome of an experience as I have had with it. And it probably doesn't help that Im probably being too meticulous about it being spot on.
 
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Ken H
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You didn't mention if the wheel drifts up or down and when it does how far does it go; an inch or two or all the way to the bottom or top?
I was all over the map with it. Sometimes up, sometimes down depending on where the weight was positioned as I moved the weight around to see what was working the best. The drift was only a few inches at most. Cant recall which wheel was drifting which direction after my balancing efforts. Is there a significance of the direction of drift?

I haven't worked with any BMW wheels but I do like their weights, already curved with better adhesive than the generic white junk you can hardly get off the rim at the next change.
I will have to check out the BMW weights. Your right about what a pain it is to get the adhesive off of the rim from most generic wheel weights.


If more than one weight is needed I usually put one on each side of the rib to keep it balanced side to side. 5 gm's is the smallest increment I go and take whatever the closest gives as it's not worth the bother.
I contemplated doing that and probably should have tried that to see how it would work out. It would seem to make sense to concentrate the weight as opposed to spreading it out. I suppose I was tunnel visioned on the fact that the weights I took off had been applied in a continuous strip as well as others from previous mountings based on the left behind adhesive stuck to the rim. This is the first time with this bike that I haven't taken the tires in to be mounted and did them myself.
 
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I have read several comments from riders who claim they never balance tires and never had a problem. Makes you wonder if it is necessary at all or if there is a potential downside if you don't.
I was one of those riders back in the '80s. A new tire was only $50 and they wanted an extra $10 to balance it. I figured I'd try it once and see if it made any difference, and it didn't, so I never balanced any tires for several years of putting 15k-20k miles a year on my bikes. Then somewhere along the way the shops wouldn't mount without balancing (presumably for legal reasons) so that phase ended.
 
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We usually assume that when we get a tire mounted at a shop it's balanced properly. It's probably "close enough" ay best.
Had a new rear tire mounted this spring at a different shop since the one I had used previously has moved/quit buisness. The "new" shop is primarily car/truck tires and used balance beads. Jury is still out as I'm not sure if it's not balancing or the front is worn enough to cause what I'm feeling.
 
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Tire weights only will balance the tire at the time they are put on it and spun on the machine.
Once the tire starts to wear the balance changes.
I've not used beads, however I have started using a product called Ride-On with outstanding results.
It not only stops most flats and punctures, but also balances the tire a few hundred feet into each ride.
I stopped using weights a couple years ago when I switched to Ride-On, and notice with the same bike, same brand/model tires, and the same route (commute) that I've been getting almost a 1000 miles more wear out of my tires before I reach the wear bars.
My tire guy said whatever I'm doing, keep doing it, cause it has shown to work on the last three sets of tires.
 

2005RedRider

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RIDE ON has proven to be a great product in my bike tires!
:plus1:

Does anyone know if someone makes a product like this for car tires?

Dale :D
 
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