Tire/wheel balancing....

[minig0d]

I know they make little stands that have bearings to spin the wheels on and you mark the point where it stops and spin it a few times to see if it stops on the same point again or if its random points its balanced... I was also told by someone that this also works just using jack stands and that the wheel bearings are sensitive enough to balance them just spinning the wheel on jack stands... what I'm wondering is if that is the case, what about just spinning the wheel on the bike (after unbolting the calipers (and in the rear undo'ing the chain from the wheel)...

Do y'all think this is accurate enough to do? (the bike is new so the wheel bearings should be in fairly good condition (i know if the bike was older and the bearings were starting to wear obviously it wouldn't work) but with them being new what do y'all think)?

[Ritten]

It really depends on HOW balanced you're comfortable with getting your wheels. If you're talking about a dirtbike that won't see much over 50mph then it's not that critical, but on a sportbike that sees triple digits pretty often, I'd want my tires well balanced. Marc Parnes makes the balancer that I use and it's very sensitive when it comes to the bearings. 1/4 ounce will make a difference on the wheel turning or not. I wouldn't do it on the bike due to the friction that the forks/swingarm would put on the bearings with the axle tightened down. However, with well greased bearings, you may be able to pull the axle, slide it through the wheel, put it on jacks and get it close.

Here's where I got mine..... www.marcparnes.com

[minig0d]

that markparnes one looks pretty good... and the compactness might be a plus but for the same price I've seen the full stand type setups that might be a little easier and all in one to use and that actually advertise the friction coefficient of their bearings... for some reason that marcparnes one doesn't which i kinda found interesting since he advertises everything else about it... but otherwise seems like a good setup... he does make a good point that I didn't realize about the dust seals causing some friction so it being harder to get an accurate reading (although still possible) without a bearing type setup... had any experience with any of the other stands (in comparison to yours)?

[Ritten]

had any experience with any of the other stands (in comparison to yours)?


Not really. Almost every other forum that I belong to has members who change their own tires and it seems that the Marc Parnes balancer is the unanimous favorite across the board (no pun intended). Trackday junkies use it on their track tires, and adventure junkies use it on wired knobbies. When my wheels are on it I can lightly blow on them and get them to turn. That's a pretty low drag coefficient.

[minig0d]

heck sounds pretty good to me but i'm ignorant on the subject to begin with never used one of these stands but the compactness might be good for the storage space... are these things fragile? (like is the axle thing they give u easily bent (since he goes out of his way to say they must be kept straight to get a true balance)... or will they hold up to normal intermitent use ok (probably more getting banged around in a toolbox rather than being abused during use)?

thanks for responding to all that I think I'll probably pick one up from them!

[Ritten]

It's a pretty durable unit although I wouldn't just leave the bearings rattling around a toolbox. May get some rust or dirt in them. The whole thing comes apart so you can get the wheel on and the rod itself isn't going to bend just sitting somewhere (think of the durability of a 1/2" steel punch). It's designed a full wheel/tire combo.

[minig0d]

heh over 4 months after this was suggested I just ordered the stand from the people you suggested ted :) thanks :)

[Ritten]

You won't regret it. Marc makes one hell of a quality product!!