• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

Balancing beads

  • Thread starter Thread starter jdion81
  • Start date Start date
They don't work? Then I wonder why they make my dirt bike with one old school heavy ass rim lock on each wheel quit shaking?
 
Sand would probably work. Until it cakes or wears the tube from the inside out. I didn't mean to imply that the beads wouldn't work in the proper conditions. There are foreseeable conditions where they simply won't work as well as a properly static balanced wheel and tire assembly. Use them, I won't try to convince you otherwise.
 
Noticed an ad for this in one of the bike magazines.


Counteract Ready-Balance tubes already have the balancing beads in them. Currently available in a limited number of sizes.
http://www.counteractbalancing.com/products/ready-balance/



They also have a calculator for figuring out how much you should add if you are not using one of these tubes.
http://www.counteractbalancing.com/applications/



The calculator includes this note: ?Thin front tires with tubes and spoke rims that call for 1oz, please use 2oz.?
Does anyone know why they recommend this?
 
mmattockx said:
I'm running tubeless on my 1100E. The front does bleed down a bit but never below 28-29psi and I top it up once every 7-10 days. The rear is solid and I top it up maybe 3 times in a summer.


Mark
Click to expand...
Probably leaking because your rims have oxidized and small leaks pass through at the bead of the rim. I had and 81 GS750EX that was going flat fast (about the same time as yours) and broke the tires off the rims, wire wheels the centers, applied a bit of silicone spray and re assembled. Leaks gone.

I got a lot of grief for the silicone spray on the inside of the rims but it never seemed to give a problem. A generous lubing with tire sealant would also probably protect the tires. If you are anal, spray paint them.
 
posplayr said:
Probably leaking because your rims have oxidized and small leaks pass through at the bead of the rim. I had and 81 GS750EX that was going flat fast (about the same time as yours) and broke the tires off the rims, wire wheels the centers, applied a bit of silicone spray and re assembled. Leaks gone.

I got a lot of grief for the silicone spray on the inside of the rims but it never seemed to give a problem. A generous lubing with tire sealant would also probably protect the tires. If you are anal, spray paint them.
Click to expand...

Interesting, that's a thought. They certainly weren't visibly oxidized or I would have cleaned it up before installing the new tires. I will have a look next time I change the front tire and maybe give it a scrubbing. When you say silicone spray are you talking about silicone lube or something else?


Mark
 
mmattockx said:
Interesting, that's a thought. They certainly weren't visibly oxidized or I would have cleaned it up before installing the new tires. I will have a look next time I change the front tire and maybe give it a scrubbing. When you say silicone spray are you talking about silicone lube or something else?


Mark
Click to expand...

Anything that would stop oxidation.

This works well on anything including exhaust. Use to protect your forks.

https://www.amazon.com/S100-16300A-Corrosion-Protectant-Aerosol/dp/B000WK4ELE
 
None of the tire manufacturers approve them, pretty much sums it up for me.......
 
tkent02 said:
They don't work? Then I wonder why they make my dirt bike with one old school heavy ass rim lock on each wheel quit shaking?
Click to expand...
The calculator recommended either 1 or 2 oz for the tires I tried. How much did you add for dirt bike with rim locks?
 
At least as much as the rim lock weighs, but a dirt bike normally doesn't travel at highway speeds much, anyway.
 
I've used them, and they do definitely work. They were a bit fiddly to install, maybe not worse than balancing, and probably made a mess when those tires came off. They cost a little more than weights. Whatever. What I didn't like about them is that a large bump at freeway speeds could upset the beads while the wheel is spinning too fast for them to redistribute themselves (centrifugal force). So I had to slow down quite a bit until the wheel stopped hopping. So I've decided I don't like them on a vehicle where that can happen.
 
Dogma said:
I've used them, and they do definitely work. They were a bit fiddly to install, maybe not worse than balancing, and probably made a mess when those tires came off. They cost a little more than weights. Whatever. What I didn't like about them is that a large bump at freeway speeds could upset the beads while the wheel is spinning too fast for them to redistribute themselves (centrifugal force). So I had to slow down quite a bit until the wheel stopped hopping. So I've decided I don't like them on a vehicle where that can happen.
Click to expand...
Interesting. I was considering using them. Did a bit of online research & there barely was any mention of this. Big rig guys seem to big fans of the beads.


The first out-of-balance resonance is 35-40 mph and then the next one would be 70-80 mph. So if you hit a pothole at 60 mph, you are saying it makes the balance worse until you slow down to 35-40?


What brand/type of beads were you using? Was there a freeway speed where this problem started, as in ok at 55 put bad at 65?
 
jabcb said:
Interesting. I was considering using them. Did a bit of online research & there barely was any mention of this. Big rig guys seem to big fans of the beads.


The first out-of-balance resonance is 35-40 mph and then the next one would be 70-80 mph. So if you hit a pothole at 60 mph, you are saying it makes the balance worse until you slow down to 35-40?


What brand/type of beads were you using? Was there a freeway speed where this problem started, as in ok at 55 put bad at 65?
Click to expand...

Uh, lemme see.. I used DynaBeads. On that section of I-275, I was probably doing something like 70-75 mph. It only happened a couple times out of all the trips I took on that bike at similar speeds or higher. It takes a bump that makes you say "OW!" I don't know where the resonances are, and they would change from bike to bike anyway. I don't remember clearly anymore how much I had to slow down, but I think I needed an off-ramp to do it. So, probably less than 60, maybe a lot less.

The big trucks would probably never have this problem, since the OD of those tires is so much larger. Centrifugal force is inverse linear with radius, so I wouldn't expect the same problem to manifest for them until somewhere well over 100 mph, at which point rubber heating probably takes over as the big problem (the beads stick to hot rubber, so don't do track speeds with them). Tires are a big expense for trucks, so I can see how they would like a self balancing tire for maximum life purposes.
 
Dogma said:
Uh, lemme see.. I used DynaBeads. On that section of I-275, I was probably doing something like 70-75 mph. It only happened a couple times out of all the trips I took on that bike at similar speeds or higher. It takes a bump that makes you say "OW!" I don't know where the resonances are, and they would change from bike to bike anyway. I don't remember clearly anymore how much I had to slow down, but I think I needed an off-ramp to do it. So, probably less than 60, maybe a lot less.

The big trucks would probably never have this problem, since the OD of those tires is so much larger. Centrifugal force is inverse linear with radius, so I wouldn't expect the same problem to manifest for them until somewhere well over 100 mph, at which point rubber heating probably takes over as the big problem (the beads stick to hot rubber, so don't do track speeds with them). Tires are a big expense for trucks, so I can see how they would like a self balancing tire for maximum life purposes.
Click to expand...
I was thinking along the same lines. The hot ticket on big rigs with those big wheels. But more of an issue as wheels get smaller.


I ordered the Counteract balancing beads & will give them a try on a little GT380 cafe build in the next week or so.
 
Found this video that demonstrates the use of a vibrating engraver to load the balancing beads into the tire. I tried it using a super cheap vibrating engraver without the point installed, and it worked reasonably quickly.
 
I use them and they work fine as long as you go slow and dont pile them up in the funnel/hose/whatever. My 8yr old daughter put them in the front tire pretty much by herself. They went into the tube, however, not straight into the tire.

Pushed the 550 over 90mph with no vibration issues. 1oz in front, 2oz in back. I forget the brand but they were abt $15 on ebay. Dont usually get a lot of slab time so I cant comment on touring use.
 
Sandy said:
Good idea but unfortunately the nearest bike wrecker is a 4 1/2 hour drive away. I've got a few of each type as well as some stickons kicking around but the new sealed wheel bearings have a little too much stiction to do a good job of static balancing right now anyway so I'll give the beads a try. I've read they don't necessarily work that great at super high speeds but that shouldn't be a problem on a stodgy old 1000. LOL.
Click to expand...

Well I gave the tire beads a good test a couple of days ago and as far as I'm concerned it was a big fail. Everything felt pretty good at reasonable cruising speeds but was out of balance at higher speeds. The front started vibrating at around 90mph and kept getting worse until I reach about 125mph and backed off. Before everybody jumps on my case about checking this and checking that the wheel bearings are quite new, wheel was just respoked and is now truer than when I took it off, the new tire (BT45) has no run out and being a quality tire shouldn't need a lot of weight but I still used the recommended 2ozs of beads. Because of the front vibrating I'm not really too sure what the rear was doing. Oh well, it was just an experiment.
 
Just curious question for this morning?


Is there any rough relationship between the amount of conventional wheel weights used & the amount of balancing beads to use?
The Suzuki weights that attach to spokes are available in 20 & 30G sizes (.71 & 1.06 oz). If you took off a 30G weight, what amount of balancing beads would you need to add?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top