Topic: DIY tire mounting

[evinrude7]

so i've replaced tubes on my bike having to remove the tire and remount.  originally the tires were mounted at a local shop who balanced the wheels as part of the service.  once i remove the tire and tube from the rim am i messing up the balance to a point where the wheel needs balancing again?  i used to mount tires in my dad's shop some 30+ years ago and a newly mounted tire always required a spin balance because of the sheer weight of a car tire and the weight of the vehicle.  however i've never noticed an issue on my bike after replacing a tube and remounting the tire.  any insight here?  should i expect to rebalance after replacing my rear tire this time around?

[BenelliSEI]

Yes.....  each tire is different and you will have to rebalance. If your new tire has a yellow paint dot on the tire sidewall, align it to the valve stem.

[PeWe]

That dot can be red also.

[Tim2005]

You definitely wouldn't be the first person who has not balanced a rear wheel ... I've found it perfectly ok

[grcamna2]

Yes.....  each tire is different and you will have to rebalance. If your new tire has a yellow paint dot on the tire sidewall, align it to the valve stem.

+1

[Bodi]

It's a gamble. Balance might end up near perfect, might not.
An out of balance wheel isn't going to kill you, just cause vibration and - if really bad - wheel hop.
You can balance it yourself anyway, close enough for "normal" speeds. With the wheel off the bike get the axle supported horizontal (I clamp the nut in a vise) with the axle nut loose, and spacers that engage seals removed. Even with some bearing friction the wheel will tend to settle with heavy down, add some weight opposite and test again. I wrap lead plumbing solder around a spoke for that, then weigh it and use a stick on weight strip cut to that weight.
Side-to-side balance is important for wide car wheels and maybe on really wide bike wheels too but (IMO) not for our skinny rims. Using a balancing stand is much more sensitive than using the wheel bearings but, for me, that's close enough.

[PeWe]

I did not balance my wheels either. Only thing was to orient tire with the dot at the valve stem.
Maybe I'll check next time. Rear tires disappear too quick.
My K2 with +56 whp and K6 with 90-100whp same short life, max 6000km balanced or not.
Flat rear tire horrible handling, like a snake in corners that do not need to be sharp.

The tires had different rubber in the 80's, 8000km was possible.

[tlbranth]

Back in the day we didn't balance motorcycle tires. I do now but didn't ever notice a problem back then.

[2wheels]

I have only seen a tire balanced once and it was a static balance.  Meaning the axle was in the wheel and placed on a stand.  So the wheel was free to turn.  the heavy spot in the wheel would move to the bottom.  the weight were installed so there was no movement.
Do they even have static balance (like car tires) for bikes?
I am probably in the dark ages on this subject.

[david 750f]

They still have static balancing. I just had my new tires balanced..

[tlbranth]

I bought my own a few years back. Easy to do

[grcamna2]

I have only seen a tire balanced once and it was a static balance.  Meaning the axle was in the wheel and placed on a stand.  So the wheel was free to turn.  the heavy spot in the wheel would move to the bottom.  the weight were installed so there was no movement.
Do they even have static balance (like car tires) for bikes?
I am probably in the dark ages on this subject.

Oh Yes,it's an accurate way to balance a motorcycle wheel.I have a balance stand with a pair of bearings(light action)on the top of it.I put a steel rod through both wheel bearings which is the same size as the i.d. of the wheel bearings and the wheel has the heaviest part go to the bottom;keep adding a small weight in varied increments until it's even all the way around.The stock wheel bearings in your hubs and the rear axle will work in the swingarm if the rubber shields on the bearings are very light touch and not binding the way the wheel turns in slow motion.

[BenelliSEI]

I have only seen a tire balanced once and it was a static balance.  Meaning the axle was in the wheel and placed on a stand.  So the wheel was free to turn.  the heavy spot in the wheel would move to the bottom.  the weight were installed so there was no movement.
Do they even have static balance (like car tires) for bikes?
I am probably in the dark ages on this subject.

Oh Yes,it's an accurate way to balance a motorcycle wheel.I have a balance stand with a pair of bearings(light action)on the top of it.I put a steel rod through both wheel bearings which is the same size as the i.d. of the wheel bearings and the wheel has the heaviest part go to the bottom;keep adding a small weight in varied increments until it's even all the way around.The stock wheel bearings in your hubs and the rear axle will work in the swingarm if the rubber shields on the bearings are very light touch and not binding the way the wheel turns in slow motion.

+1 to all this. The stand I have also has a few extra arms so I can use all the same bits to true up rims after I respoke them. That, and a few spoons to mount your own rubber, is less than $150. Paypback is very fast. Get one!

[ofreen]

Like others said, back in the old days I never balanced wheels and tires, either.  That was when I was riding SL350's and other small bikes.  For the first ten years I also didn't balance the 750 wheels.  But I noticed uneven tread wear around the circumference of the tires.  It was easier to see this as the tread neared the end of its life.  Then back in 1987 I got my first bike that could go 150+ mph.  Since I could never resist seeing what that was like once in a while, and tire balance was said to be an issue at high speed, I started balancing wheels and tires.  And I found the uneven tread wear no longer happened.  So I have been balancing them for the last 30+ years.  It is not hard to do.  I use stick on weights, running the wheel suspended on its axle on a couple of saw horses.  It is an excellent way to see how good of shape your bearings are in.  Your will feel vibration in the horses if the bearings are past their prime, and the wheel will come to a jerky and inconsistent stop.