Not really Falco related...

Message

roosterNI · #16 Post by **roosterNI** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 11:25 am

i've been told by a few people that motorcycle wheels dont need balanced. one was a motorcycle racer from here, one was a tyre fitter i used, the later fitted a rear tyre for me without balancing it and you know what? there right! you wont feel any difference unless the wheel is badly out of shape. saying that i got a set of tyres fitted the other day and they were balanced but the guy done it before i could say anything. try it an see, if you can feel anything its only a matter of taking it an getting it balanced.

D-Rider · #17 Post by **D-Rider** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 11:38 am

roosterNI wrote:i've been told by a few people that motorcycle wheels dont need balanced. one was a motorcycle racer from here, one was a tyre fitter i used, the later fitted a rear tyre for me without balancing it and you know what? there right! you wont feel any difference unless the wheel is badly out of shape. saying that i got a set of tyres fitted the other day and they were balanced but the guy done it before i could say anything. try it an see, if you can feel anything its only a matter of taking it an getting it balanced.

Interesting thought Scott. I remember back in the day of spokes, steel rims, tubes and tyres you just put them on by yourself - never a thought of trying to balance them.

Does make you wonder.

Willopotomas · #18 Post by **Willopotomas** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 11:38 am

roosterNI wrote:i've been told by a few people that motorcycle wheels dont need balanced. one was a motorcycle racer from here, one was a tyre fitter i used, the later fitted a rear tyre for me without balancing it and you know what? there right! you wont feel any difference unless the wheel is badly out of shape. saying that i got a set of tyres fitted the other day and they were balanced but the guy done it before i could say anything. try it an see, if you can feel anything its only a matter of taking it an getting it balanced.

Hmm.. You might not notice anything, but you'll be able to notice when the tyre wears in a peculiar way.

Aladinsaneuk · #19 Post by **Aladinsaneuk** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 12:50 pm

Having lost a weight on my ducati while out for a nimble, yes you do notice it - It was on the frOnt wheel and I could feel it through the bars

roosterNI · #20 Post by **roosterNI** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 1:13 pm

possible in not all cases this works, but i can only speak of my own experiences. as said i've only tried it on the rear. worth a try?

#21 Post by **mangocrazy** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 2:10 pm

I think it depends a lot on the quality of the wheel - i.e. how well balanced it is from the factory. I've known wheels which rarely if ever needed balancing and those which needed loads of weights. If that was a front wheel without weights, you'd definitely notice.

One of the things I noticed about the Oz wheels I got a while back, was that they scarcely needed any weights on them. Both front and rear had a single 5g weight on them, which indicated a well-made wheel to me (but then they are forged aluminium). At the other end of the scale I've had wheels that needed 30 or 40g to balance them. no matter what tyre was fitted.

There's also the point that rear wheels are much less sensitive to balance as they have a ruddy great chain pulling them round which will tend to damp out any oscillations (and which is effectively unbalanced itself).

back_marker · #22 Post by **back_marker** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 2:56 pm

The fitter who put a new tyre on my SV a couple of years ago pointed out that most (if not all) tyres have a yellow dot stamped on them. This is supposed to be lined up next to the valve (which is generally the point on a cast wheel which is heaviest). If tyres are fitted in this way they should need very little (if any) balancing.

Samray · #23 Post by **Samray** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 3:22 pm

back_marker wrote:The fitter who put a new tyre on my SV a couple of years ago pointed out that most (if not all) tyres have a yellow dot stamped on them. This is supposed to be lined up next to the valve (which is generally the point on a cast wheel which is heaviest). If tyres are fitted in this way they should need very little (if any) balancing.

That was my understanding too.

rick · #24 Post by **rick** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 4:04 pm

Lots of interesting thoughts here guys... I'm going down the DIY route for fitting tyres from now on... and have ordered some of this easy balance powder.

On a related note... sort of... is tyre mixing. I currently have Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa on and loved them but my rear is shot... my front will last another rear. I've found some scrubbed tyres on eBay but they're the Diablo Super Corsa... now I know its best not to mix tyres but a). from the same manufacturer and b) slightly more sportier rubber should be ok, right?

D-Rider · #25 Post by **D-Rider** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 5:14 pm

I ran a Diablo Rosso front with a Diablo Strada rear while I waited for the strada t wear out.
The guy who fitted it was not too happy but it worked fine. Think that if you do mix them it's better to have the grippier one on the front ... and. obviously, at your own risk.

#26 Post by **mangocrazy** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 5:18 pm

Rick, if you are going to mix tyres the generally accepted widom is:

1) Stay with the same manufacturer front and rear

2) Put the stickier tyre on the front. Losing the front end is far more serious than losing the rear.

You've observed point 1, but I believe (from my understanding of relative Pirelli tyre stickyness) that you'll have a super-sticky on the rear and a less sticky on the front. It's not a complete no-no, but a word of caution is advised.

rick · #27 Post by **rick** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 5:20 pm

yup just read andy's post about that and the supercorsa is obviously the more stickier... i'd prefer not to risk it so will source a rosso corsa (approx 110 delivered with blackcircles so new is pretty competitive esp. since i'll fit it myself).

#28 Post by **mangocrazy** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 5:25 pm

£110 delivered for a Rosso Corsa is pretty damn good. That's what I'd be doing in your place.

BTW, dunno if you've fitted your own tyres before, but they're a lot easier to fit if you keep them in a warm room prior to fitting, rather than a freezing cold shed/garage. Makes a surprising difference...

rick · #29 Post by **rick** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 5:26 pm

that was my plan... nice warm rubber

#30 Post by **mangocrazy** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 5:33 pm

rick wrote:that was my plan... nice warm rubber

Enough about your private life already, what about the tyres?