Changing tires?

[duckphreak]

I need new tires and instead of spending $300 for new tires + mounting at a local shop, I'm thinking about doing it myself. A friend told me his concerns regarding balancing, so I thought I'd ask on BARF... How important is balancing on a motorcycle? I'm kind of confused since I thought balancing was a car thing... And is changing the tires yourself really difficult? Should I just pay and get it over with?

(I don't have much of a choice on the price or the bike shop since there's only 2 in this town and that was the cheaper one.)

As always, thanks for any help in advance! :teeth

 

[Junkie]

SCC will do your mount/balance for $15/wheel IIRC.

and yes, you really need to have your wheels balanced

 

[fms1day]

SCC will do your mount/balance for $15/wheel IIRC.

and yes, you really need to have your wheels balanced

Is that with the rims on the bike still? Or rims off the bike?

 

[HELLA]

I had to buy a new tire too. I was going to ride my bike to a shop and have them swap the tire out, but not too many shops do that and if they do, it costs a grip.

So my n00b ass ended up taking the wheel off myself. Took me about 2 minutes. The only problem I had was putting the wheel back on. I'm using a rear pitbull stand. To lift the tire up off the ground and put the axle through the wheel and at the same time line the rotor up between the brake pads was a little work. I ended up putting something under the tire to use as a "3rd hand" and it worked out okay.

 

[MrCrash]

(I don't have much of a choice on the price or the bike shop since there's only 2 in this town and that was the cheaper one.)

Which town is that?

+1 on the idea of removing the wheels and taking them in yourself.

If you're short on tools, there's might be someone close by you can borrow / rent from - I've scored a few free lunches in the past by loaning stands out.

If you're short on funds, used takeoffs that are still in good condition can be an affordable option.

 

[duckphreak]

I'm stuck in Colorado right now :cry

I found a guy on craigslist who'll mount for $40. If he calls me back, then everything's kosher. If not, I'll probably fork out the money on Saturday.

 

[afm199]

I mount my own and balance my own. With hand tools.

 

[Sidewalk]

I mount my own and balance my own. With hand tools.

+1

 

[HELLA]

How do you balance it? Does "balancing" involve the tire or the entire wheel? Since its my first time, I want to make sure I did it right. If I end up having to take it to the shop and paying for the service, I might as well have went to the shop in the first place and have them remove my wheel.

 

[ALANRIDER7]

I'd mount you for free.

:leghump

 

[Sidewalk]

How do you balance it? Does "balancing" involve the tire or the entire wheel? Since its my first time, I want to make sure I did it right. If I end up having to take it to the shop and paying for the service, I might as well have went to the shop in the first place and have them remove my wheel.

I always set the mounted and aired up wheel on its axle on jack stands and gave it a small spin. Mark the top of the tire where it came to a stop, then do that again, and again, maybe about 5 times. If I come up with a different spot each time, I leave it alone. If it was off, I would weight the sport where I marked and it kept coming back to until it got balanced.

So far, I have not had to balance a single wheel. They have all been fine. Never felt any shakes on the 1000RR or Buell X1 at high speeds (130+), and non on my Nighthawk at 110-120 range.

 

[ALANRIDER7]

Not so fast.....

The whole purpose in balancing wheels is to keep all the vibration cancelled out. Just because you can't feel anything doesn't mean it's balanced properly. It can still be out even though you can't feel it. If the suspension system absorbs the out of balance vibration, it will end up moving up and down very very quickly. This can heat the suspension fluid up so much that it thins out or even cavitates. Either one of these conditions is enough to put you on your ass under certain circumstances.

You may want to consider doing the job the right way. There's more to it than meets the eye.

 

[duckphreak]

I'd mount you for free.

:leghump

:blush

 

[duckphreak]

I ended up buying a set from online instead of the local shop. I found a dude here on a Colorado forum that'll mount and balance both for about $50.

Oh and if anyone else is looking for new tires, this is a sweet deal. Granted, I was looking at the Dunlop Qualifiers and these aren't as light but it's still an amazing deal.

Clickity click

:teeth

 

[ALANRIDER7]

:blush

:drool

 

[Z3n]

I always set the mounted and aired up wheel on its axle on jack stands and gave it a small spin. Mark the top of the tire where it came to a stop, then do that again, and again, maybe about 5 times. If I come up with a different spot each time, I leave it alone. If it was off, I would weight the sport where I marked and it kept coming back to until it got balanced.

So far, I have not had to balance a single wheel. They have all been fine. Never felt any shakes on the 1000RR or Buell X1 at high speeds (130+), and non on my Nighthawk at 110-120 range.

There is a member on one of my other forums who had a tire chunk on him at around 180mph at the salt flats, he was running a turbo ZX-6D model, going for 200...He went to a local mechanic with a new tire, asked to borrow some tools, and swapped the tires there, balanced them manually (spin the tire method), and took the bike to over 200 shortly thereafter. No vibes, nothing.

Similarly, my friend who was a mechanic for a long time had access to one of those electronic balancers and once tested the do it by hand method against the electronic one...it was close enough, and the other secret here is this: Once your tire starts wearing, guess what...it'll go out of balance. So it's kind of a lost cause anyway...you burn off a pretty significant amount of rubber, certainly more than a couple of grams of wheel weights. If you don't believe me, take your new, perfectly balanced tire, go ride around on it for 1500 miles, and then when you pull it off next, check the balance on it with one of those electronic tire balancers...it'll be off.

Regardless, i still balance mine by hand. :laughing

 

[stangmx13]

mounted 5 sets myself. helps when u have access to auto tire changing machines... but ya, i have NEVER balanced a single MC tire and never felt a vibration, even on the track.

+1 on wat Z3n said. even running a tire for 50miles will usually make it out of balance by a small amount. prob atleast 1/2 ounce (14g). this is more due to the bead of the tire seating itself better/differently on the wheel w/ weight applied. now compound that w/ the change in balance from losing rubber after 3000miles and ull have a nicely out of balance wheel & tire. but it prob still wont cause a vibration.

 

[mototireguy]

180mph on the salt flats without checking the tire balance?

:angel

I don't bother trying to balance dirtbike tires or rims with rim-locks. Dirt bikes rarely go fast enough where unbalanced tire rotation would be a problem. In a pinch I would ride short distances on unbalanced tires until I can get them balanced but under normal circumstances street bikes that can easily exceed 70mph should have balanced tires.

In my tire changing experience 80% of the time new tires need some weights to balance. Occasionally high quality rims and new tires have a natural balance without weights.

 

[Z3n]

180mph on the salt flats without checking the tire balance?

:angel

I don't bother trying to balance dirtbike tires or rims with rim-locks. Dirt bikes rarely go fast enough where unbalanced tire rotation would be a problem. In a pinch I would ride short distances on unbalanced tires until I can get them balanced but under normal circumstances street bikes that can easily exceed 70mph should have balanced tires.

In my tire changing experience 80% of the time new tires need some weights to balance. Occasionally high quality rims and new tires have a natural balance without weights.

Sorry, i should have stated that more clearly, it's editted now. He balanced them "by sight", or manually, with the chalk mark method that sidewalk described. Out of curiousity, how do you do yours?

And i'd say his angle was more in hand for the first toasted tire at 180 mph...:laughing

 

[justanotherider]

No offense intended; but if you don't understand the importance of balancing a bike wheel with the tire mounted, you probably don't have the knowledge to do a safe job of changing tires, (you can get badly hurt, (maybe dead, although that's rare) doing the tire changes incorrectly, and you can get killed riding on an improperly mounted tire).

Also, if the guy in Colorado is charging you money for changing your tires and balancing them, I would assume he is a licensed bike mechanic???

I do all my own tire changes and balancing; but I got trained by a pro. I wouldn't think of charging anyone for a tire change, as that would imply that I am qualified and open me up to liability. I do help buddies change and balance their tires; but they are doing the changing and thereby accepting responsibility.

I also balance dirt bike tires, as it seems to prolong wheel bearing life.

justanotherider