Need to balance tires??

I just ordered a new tire for the rear of my swing witch I plan to mout myself.
My question is have those of you that mounted your own tires, do you balance them?

When I replaced the tires on my Reflex I did not balance them. Several people on the Reflex forum said it was not needed.
I have put about 4K miles on the reflex and have not noticed any vibration or adverse tire wear.

Danny

DannyAlcott wrote:

I just ordered a new tire for the rear of my swing witch I plan to mout myself. My question is have those of you that mounted your own tires, do you balance them?.

When I mounted my front tire in a Dallas/Fort Worth Two-Wheel Texas tire mounting class ... someone brought a No-Mar tire balancer. I was surprised how much balancing was needed.

I will be replacing my front Bridgestone hoop tire again myself prematurely due to the "raised diamond" pattern which I can noticeably feel on left turns.

I will be ordering a Marc Parnes tire balancer ( http://www.marcparnes.com/Motor_Scooter_Wheel_Balancer.htm ). I believe it will be a SBG40E Kit with SLW Kit cones ... but I will confirm with Marc before ordering.

I realize that some people never balance their motorcycle tires, but I do not want to risk, feel or effect my handling.

Mount it and if it shakes balance it,I would balance it though to save time and trouble

honda_silver wrote:

I believe it will be a SBG40E Kit with SLW Kit cones ... but I will confirm with Marc before ordering.

The SBG40E is for the Suzuki Burgman 400. Why would you order that in addition to the SLW which is specifically for the Swing? Maybe you also have a Burgman 400? Just being curious.

bigbird wrote:

The SBG40E is for the Suzuki Burgman 400. Why would you order that in addition to the SLW which is specifically for the Swing? Maybe you also have a Burgman 400? Just being curious.

Two Universal cones plus two special rear wheel cones included.

For the SWing, I would only need "SLW Kit", but I would like to get some "Universal cones" to be able to mount other motorcycle/scooters (if possible). So the "two special rear wheel cones" would be from the SLW kit.

I would like to confirm with Marc Parnes, before I order.

bigbird wrote:

I had thought any bike shop could mount and balance Swing tires.

There are different tire balancers:
- static
Manually rotating tire and using gravity (or fluid) to identify the heavy side of the tire

- dynamic
Also known as spin balancing like your auto tires

Most people do not ask if their motorcycle shop statically or dynamically balances their tires. I believe (no facts) that most shops statically balance their tires.

Different static tire balancers create different "cones" to deal with different tires.

For example the No-Mar tire balancer ( http://www.nomartirechanger.com/products/9 ) has four sets of "cones". So if your motorcycle shop has the right right setup and "cones" they can balance your tire.

The Marc Parnes balancer provides the most "cones" compared to any other manufacturer (which I do consider a disadvantage)... but from what I have read/studied their balancer is very accurate and easy

By all means I would recommend balancing you tires if possible. I have a coates 220 tire changer and static balancer that works very well. Like some have said it's not hard to static balance the tire but you need to take your time because the wheel will rock back and forth with the heavy spot on the bottom until it sets still. Some want to hurry this part and wonder why they are having a hard time getting the tire to stop in all locations. Bike shops that use a static balancer and change a lot of tires have this down pat and can do it in a pretty quick time. You do need the proper cones as noted. Unfortunatly I only have one set of cones with mine but that will be remedied prior to changing the back tire on the Swing the next time. I do try to split the weights on both sides of the rim (wheel) but this is just my preference and most balanced wheels you see have the weight on one side or the other. The old spoked steel wheels you can clamp them to the spoke near the rim and that's pretty much centered. The rear tire seems to be more forgiving than the front if you do not balance them. These wheel balancers are not all that expensive and I have read articles in the past where you can make your own. I'm sure they will work just fine. I do know that the better balancers of the past used knife edged roller bearings (a roller bearing with a raised edge on one end of the bearing) instead of the flat rollers most are made of now. Like Honda-Silver said the Nor Mar balancer would be a good choice because of the many cones they offer. They also make a very nice line of tire changers and tools. I recently tried to purchase their Mag wheel conversion kit that they made for my Coates 220 but they have quit manufacturing these. I dalied a bit to long. I can change Mag wheels just fine but would like to have more protection for them. Were not buying recaps here which could shake your eyballs out just before throwing the tread but I would suggest balancing them if you have the means to do so. There are probably a lot of us on this site that years ago never balanced any of our cycle tires. We no doubt should have but we just ligned up the yellow or red dot with the valve stem and let'er rip. Whatever you decide enjoy the ride...Dick