[rino56]

I removed the rear tire after finding a nail. Dropped it off at a semi-local shop and ordered a new replacement tire. Good price, good service. I picked it up and later noticed that the wheel weights had not changed on the rim. Same weight, same location. I called was told the wheel was balanced so it should be ok! I do not want to reinstall the tire, only to remove it again. Is this normal?

 

[klindsey]

Sop

As long as the repair shop follows procedure and marks the location of the stem then remounts with the mark at the stem then all is fine. Look for a tire crayon mark on the tire that lines up with the stem (hopefully on one side or the other)

 

[Mike]

I removed the rear tire after finding a nail. Dropped it off at a semi-local shop and ordered a new replacement tire. Good price, good service. I picked it up and later noticed that the wheel weights had not changed on the rim. Same weight, same location. I called was told the wheel was balanced so it should be ok! I do not want to reinstall the tire, only to remove it again. Is this normal?

It's possible but, in my experience, it only happens 10% of the time.

Of course the less precise the balance tolerance, the more often it will be "good enough". I've found that a well balanced tire will maintain balance better through it's lifespan so I spend a few extra minutes getting it reasonably close. A shop for profit might not be so precise.

 

[jerry5]

I would double check to be certain. I do my own tire changes for myself and family and find that the wheels themselves are where most of the imbalance comes from. So, yes the weights are often in a similar position, although some tires (often brand related) can be significantly off. These tires usually wear poorly as well. If in doubt, it is always best to check for yourself.

Jerry
04 ST4s

 

[stryder]

I removed the rear tire after finding a nail. Dropped it off at a semi-local shop and ordered a new replacement tire. Good price, good service. I picked it up and later noticed that the wheel weights had not changed on the rim. Same weight, same location. I called was told the wheel was balanced so it should be ok! I do not want to reinstall the tire, only to remove it again. Is this normal?

Mount the wheel in the swing arm, with the chain and caliper off; no need for nuts or alignment either, just use it as a "stand." Spin the wheel, when it stops, mark the tire with a piece of chalk at any position, but note the position, eg "3:00 o'clock." Spin it again. If the tire ends up at the same spot, over and over, it's out of balance. If the chalk mark ends up in various positions, the wheel is balanced.

Modern tires are so good, you can get away with no balance weights many times.

 

[bwall1]

A quality shop should have automatically stripped the weights when the tire was replaced. This prevents the customer from questioning if the work was ever done, and it brings people back. If you were charged for a balance, the weight should be stripped prior to spinning it. Your tire could be perfectly balanced as is, but you would not have thought twice if the weight was new.

 

[tonered]

Spooning tires on a rim is an involved process for a cheap DIY-er like me. But, I do enjoy it as do some of my riding buddies since it is a source of free beer (for them) and up to $100 in savings not counting the less costly tires.

The easy (and relaxing) part is balancing. A good static balance will give any shop a serious run for the money. If you have a sensitive butt dyno, I'd give it a shot. There are two methods. The one I use is a balancer from here:

http://www.marcparnes.com/

It easily pays for itself by the second time you use it, not even factoring in travel time to a shop. It is so accurate, that without a wheel on, if you put both wing nuts on one side, they WILL rotate to the bottom.

Second, you could try these:

http://www.bestrestproducts.com/c-100-dyna-beads.aspx

I've been intrigued. They're reuseable, but the Marc Parnes balancer is just fun.

Have a good one.

 

[jack]

If they installed a new tire, then they should have balanced it. Peroid. You should have been charged for mounting and balancing a new tire.

Not balancing a new tire is just plain lazy. You'll never be able to convince me that any tire is perfectly balanced coming out of a mold. It's rubber, it is inherently unbalanced. I'd take it to another shop and ask them to balance it. If you want additional proof, ask them to balance it with the existing weight or remove the weight and mark the location of the old weight.

 

[Gearbox]

Never balance a rear myself , or have it balanced , too many other factors influence the rear (chain , sprocket etc) and never had any problem with it.
Front is a different matter of course as it is free spinning.

 

[tonered]

Really? Do your mirrors vibe so much that you can't make out a cop sneaking up on you, esp with the clutch pulled in? Just curious. I know Desmo Demon has gone this route for all his tires being that he and his wife go through them so quickly.

Being a bit anal about balance, I get a lot of vibes about half way through a tire's life. That is usually all it takes. And, I usually have some other reason to have the tires off at that time anyway.

Have a good one.

 

[Gearbox]

Really? Do your mirrors vibe so much that you can't make out a cop sneaking up on you, esp with the clutch pulled in? Just curious. I know Desmo Demon has gone this route for all his tires being that he and his wife go through them so quickly.

Being a bit anal about balance, I get a lot of vibes about half way through a tire's life. That is usually all it takes. And, I usually have some other reason to have the tires off at that time anyway.

Have a good one.

No vibes at all , but thats not the case with the front of course.
I also get good mileage (7000 Mls+ on a PR2) without uneven wear to answer a floating question....
I'm pretty sure that going way back in time (I am old afterall LOL) it was never expected that a rear would be balanced (for the reasons stated)beyond making sure the tyre's OEM balance mark was sited opposite the valve.
The last time I gave a wheel to the shop without removing the sprocket (by mistake) etc (which would be a better way to get a correct balance when on the bike) it came back with about half a ton of weights on it which I then had to tiresomely (expuse the pun !) remove !
Would be interesting to hear the thoughts of anybody who is qualified to discuss centrifugal weight etc........Anybody out there ?

 

[tonered]

Very interesting. Thanks.

Have a good one.

 

[SS904]

I have my own (read very cheap) method of balancing, and I do believe it is worth the effort to do. It takes me longer to balance than it does to remove the old and mount the new tire.

I use the rear axle because it is longer than the front making it easier to work with, a pair of very free spinning bearings I sourced at a hardware store mounted at each end of the axle, and regular old jack stands which I already owned to rest the whole wheel, axle, bearings assemble on. The bearings are free spinning because they have no seals of any kind. I use a little light machine oil and they seem to spin forever. This is important because the installed wheel bearings have seals which cause too much sticktion to spin freely enough for the task. The tire will stop rotating sooner (not always reaching the heavy spot) than it would if you had the free spinning bearings giving you a less accurate indication.

I always strip off the old weights first, no reason not to if you’re actually going to balance the tire…

 

[tonered]

That is great out of the box thinking. It is the DIY, shadetree approach to exactly what the Marc Parnes balancer is.

In my case, I have used it on three different bikes since they only needed the universal cones. I'm waiting for my neighbor to pickup the Triumph SSA cones so I can sort their rear wheels.

Have a good one.