Balancing issues

[Shantheman]

Had some new tires installed. Get on the road...shimmy at 50mph and up. I go back...and they agree to rebalance. I pick it up...take a look at front tire...yep...additional weight on it. Take it for a ride...and more shimmy...now a wobble effect! I look at the front tire again...two weights directly opposing each other. (that's a no-no on cars...isnt it on cycles too?). Take it back again. The guy says..."well...we don't have a high speed balancer. It's a bubble type.".

I'm like "huh?". Didn't they stop using those in the 70's?

I finally got them to agree to send them out to a tire shop...and more haggling before they agreed not to charge me.

Is this experience out of the ordinary or is it just me? It is an established yamaha/triumph shop in my town.

I'm just irked I don't have my bike for a few more days in nice riding weather.

 

[Shamus McFeeley]

Get some dyna beads, live happily ever after.

Seriously though, I've been using the same set of beads for 3 sets of tires now. Never a vibration problem.

 

[Shantheman]

Fill me in...what are dyna beads? Is that a brand/model of tire?

 

[novaks47]

Tire Balancing Products

Never used them myself, but I've read lots of good reviews on them. As for that shop, I'm surprised they still use a bubble balancer. They work just fine for cars, not so sure on motorcycles though. Look around, there must be a decent moto shop in the area that has a good balancer.

 

[QwickFliCk]

+1 on the dyna beads i had them for a month now pretty good...use 1oz for the front and 2 for the back and ur good...if u get them take ur time bc getting them thru the valve stem is hard if they get bunched up

 

[Shantheman]

Get some dyna beads, live happily ever after.

Seriously though, I've been using the same set of beads for 3 sets of tires now. Never a vibration problem.

Shamus...do they rattle at low speeds? Any other feedback about them? I'm really considering these...

 

[Def]

Had some new tires installed. Get on the road...shimmy at 50mph and up. I go back...and they agree to rebalance. I pick it up...take a look at front tire...yep...additional weight on it. Take it for a ride...and more shimmy...now a wobble effect! I look at the front tire again...two weights directly opposing each other. (that's a no-no on cars...isnt it on cycles too?). Take it back again. The guy says..."well...we don't have a high speed balancer. It's a bubble type.".

I'm like "huh?". Didn't they stop using those in the 70's?

I finally got them to agree to send them out to a tire shop...and more haggling before they agreed not to charge me.

Is this experience out of the ordinary or is it just me? It is an established yamaha/triumph shop in my town. I'm just irked I don't have my bike for a few more days in nice riding weather.

Hopefully the hi speed balance will fix your problem. The front tire of My last set of tires shimmied at about 100 mph and they were hi speed balanced. In the end, we came to the conclusion that the tire was out-of-round from the factory. The only way we could have fixed the shimmy was to replace the tire. FWIW.

 

[Def]

I have never used dyna beads but was fully set on trying them with my current set of tires. I went down to the dynabead distributor to pick some up, and he did not recommend I use them if I exceeded speeds of 180km/h (approx 110 mph) which I frequently do(not recommended,tho). He tested several sportbikes using dynabeads for balancing on track days and found a bad shimmy occurred at around speeds of 180 km/h. He claimed they worked best on cruisers. Just thought I'd pass this on.

Oh, and with my current set of tires...I rode them unbalanced and there was no shimmy until I reached 160km/h (100 mph). I had them static balanced and they are smooth up to top speed.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I've had the shop (private owned) and I myself, have done static balance's on all my tires. This shop races bikes and works on them regularly.

You basically set your tire/wheel in a jig-preferred (or on your forks with the calibers/chain disconnected with NO DRAG). I use the axle itelf. The wheel should be able to rotate on its own from gravity alone...

The heavy end of the tire, if out of balance, will rotate to the bottom from gravity. It is very noticable if out...

Attach temporary sticky/flat wheel weights on the opposite side (with tape-temporary) and check for rotation.

Once the weight amount is correct, the tire will NOT ROTATE from any position. Add or remove weights as needed. Once you know how much weight you need and where on the rim, remove the weight sticky tape and attach them permanently. Its really easy once you've done a couple.

I've been well into triple digits with my FJR and somewhat with the FZ (120 MPH or so), smooth as silk and the tires wear equal.

BTW, if that shop added weights opposite of each other, you need to find another shop...

 

[ohgood]

I've had the shop (private owned) and I myself, have done static balance's on all my tires. This shop races bikes and works on them regularly.

You basically set your tire/wheel in a jig-preferred (or on your forks with the calibers/chain disconnected with NO DRAG). I use the axle itelf. The wheel should be able to rotate on its own from gravity alone...

The heavy end of the tire, if out of balance, will rotate to the bottom from gravity. It is very noticable if out...

Attach temporary sticky/flat wheel weights on the opposite side (with tape-temporary) and check for rotation.

Once the weight amount is correct, the tire will NOT ROTATE from any position. Add or remove weights as needed. Once you know how much weight you need and where on the rim, remove the weight sticky tape and attach them permanently. Its really easy once you've done a couple.

I've been well into triple digits with my FJR and somewhat with the FZ (120 MPH or so), smooth as silk and the tires wear equal.

BTW, if that shop added weights opposite of each other, you need to find another shop...

+1 on finding another shop

+1 on static balance

no jigs needed, if two lawn chairs and your axle isn't enough for you to see where the weight needs to be, you need new bearings !

should begin to spin freely without moving the axle at all. you should see the looks on guys faces when they see me do this, and they bought $189 special stands, special axles, special cones, adapters, etc

it's very simple, very easy, very fast. try it :rockon:

 

[Shantheman]

I've had the shop (private owned) and I myself, have done static balance's on all my tires. This shop races bikes and works on them regularly.

You basically set your tire/wheel in a jig-preferred (or on your forks with the calibers/chain disconnected with NO DRAG). I use the axle itelf. The wheel should be able to rotate on its own from gravity alone...

The heavy end of the tire, if out of balance, will rotate to the bottom from gravity. It is very noticable if out...

Attach temporary sticky/flat wheel weights on the opposite side (with tape-temporary) and check for rotation.

Once the weight amount is correct, the tire will NOT ROTATE from any position. Add or remove weights as needed. Once you know how much weight you need and where on the rim, remove the weight sticky tape and attach them permanently. Its really easy once you've done a couple.

I've been well into triple digits with my FJR and somewhat with the FZ (120 MPH or so), smooth as silk and the tires wear equal.

BTW, if that shop added weights opposite of each other, you need to find another shop...

Your last sentence made my night. It's been years since I balanced tires when I worked as a mechanic in college...and i thought to myself "this can't be right" when I saw the opposed weights.
It's the LAST time I do business there. Thanks for confirming what I was thinking!

 

[granda080]

Where did you take your tires to get this done?

 

[Shantheman]

Where did you take your tires to get this done?

I'll shoot you a PM. I don't want to bash in case anyone else has had a good experience there...but mine was anything BUT good.

 

[granda080]

Thank you.

 

[Norbert]

i just did this in my garage today.
i used a harbor freight balancer and weights :ban:
there are a ton of vids on youtube on how to do this.
good info in this thread too :thumbup:

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

As for the jig, I just welded one up (out of old bed frame-free), the width of the axle, so I could balance my wheels on my work bench, just easier. Rectangular base, two posts sticking up with the ends cut in a "V" to support the axle. Its width is as wide as possible to support the axle.

And yes, you don't need the cones, etc, unless you have certain BMW wheels, Ducuti's, etc (no bearings on the wheel itself), then you'd need the cones

You could also use car stands (supports) on each end of the axle too.

 

[FinalImpact]

While doing your home balance be sure to check your tires for run-out and confirm its actually round. Also, when left out of balance, tires can get flat spots which leads to vibes you just can't get rid of. So get the balance corrected ASAP before your tires are damaged.

 

[Shantheman]

This is something we can all shake our fists at...

So i go to get the bike back today after the shop had the tires high speed balanced by another shop (yeah, i know) Well...i wait 30 minutes for them to 'drive it around' from the shop...and the clip is broken off the adjustment screw for the clutch. I go back in...the guy said...hmmm...that's weird. So, i have to leave it for another hour while they replace it.

I come back before they close, and it is fixed. Yay! I get on the bike, and before I can get to the first stop sign...I realize the back brake isn't working. Pedal goes way down...NO BRAKE. I try to pump it up...NOTHING. PTL that front brakes are separate. That's only way I stopped.

I go back in...the lady won't even look at me...she says "boy you're having a hard time aren't you?" I look at her and say "how long until I can start charging YOU for messing up my bike and keeping it night after night?"

The tech guy comes around and gets on the bike. He looks confused. I tell him I'd be happy if HE DROVE IT to see what I mean. He goes, and disappears. 15 minutes later I'm still standing in front...and they are LOCKING THE DOORS to the shop. I have no idea where he went. I grab the door and go inside...and say "can someone tell me where my bike is?" and they find out he took it back to the shop...and now they want to keep it another night.

Then the tech comes out and says "did you bring it in with it not working?" I'm about ready to scream. IF MY BACK BRAKE DIDN'T WORK, I WOULD HAVE BROUGHT IT IN FOR THAT!!! Not for tires!!!!

So, here I am wondering when they will get their !@# together and give me my bike back with my new tires. Running. With brakes too.

 

[fz6Airman]

Damn I'm sorry about your luck bro!! Hope I never have to run into these shops.

 

[ohgood]

This is something we can all shake our fists at...

So i go to get the bike back today after the shop had the tires high speed balanced by another shop (yeah, i know) Well...i wait 30 minutes for them to 'drive it around' from the shop...and the clip is broken off the adjustment screw for the clutch. I go back in...the guy said...hmmm...that's weird. So, i have to leave it for another hour while they replace it.

I come back before they close, and it is fixed. Yay! I get on the bike, and before I can get to the first stop sign...I realize the back brake isn't working. Pedal goes way down...NO BRAKE. I try to pump it up...NOTHING. PTL that front brakes are separate. That's only way I stopped.

I go back in...the lady won't even look at me...she says "boy you're having a hard time aren't you?" I look at her and say "how long until I can start charging YOU for messing up my bike and keeping it night after night?"

The tech guy comes around and gets on the bike. He looks confused. I tell him I'd be happy if HE DROVE IT to see what I mean. He goes, and disappears. 15 minutes later I'm still standing in front...and they are LOCKING THE DOORS to the shop. I have no idea where he went. I grab the door and go inside...and say "can someone tell me where my bike is?" and they find out he took it back to the shop...and now they want to keep it another night.

Then the tech comes out and says "did you bring it in with it not working?" I'm about ready to scream. IF MY BACK BRAKE DIDN'T WORK, I WOULD HAVE BROUGHT IT IN FOR THAT!!! Not for tires!!!!

So, here I am wondering when they will get their !@# together and give me my bike back with my new tires. Running. With brakes too.

get you, and your bike the **** out of there. pronto !

do a complete "SAVING MY OWN LIFE" once over of the bike when you get home, AFTER TRAILERING IT HOME and see what else they've ****ed up. no **** !

****
i only say this because i've experienced a ****-shop failing to put my rear caliper bolts in, at all. let a potential buyer test ride it this way. then, on the way to work the next morning, the caliper and arm are flopping against the wheel and in the breeze. CHECK YOUR BIKE OUT !!!
****

my gut hurts now thinking back.