eBay tire balancer part II...

[BentValve]

They use this at work?  Like the "station" look of it.  I figure it cant be too hard to do, just wondering about the "details" of that particular balancing set up.

JD

We dont do motorcycle tires at work for the most part, this is my personal balancer.


I got this from http://www.hondadirectlineusa.com/, but it looks like they dont have these anymore and are now selling some Parts Express unit in place of it.
You can see the reviews went from glowing to crap...
http://www.hondadirectlineusa.com/stores....8657471

The balancer itself was made in Germany.

I have no idea where you would find one now.

 

[BentValve]

Handy makes a nice one with adjustable feet..
http://www.handyindustries.com/shop....&D=0&S=

 

[BentValve]

http://www.handyindustries.com/shop/product_pdf.asp?idFile=4&idProduct=158

 

[ICEMANN]

Never mind found my own answers.

Balancing Procedure

You will need some weights, masking tape, a piece of chalk, some alcohol or contact cleaner and the balancer. It is probably helpful to mention that most tire makers mark the lightest spot on their tires with a paint mark on the sidewall. Metzler, as an example, uses 2 little red dots. When you install your tire try to get the paint mark as near as you can to the heaviest spot on the wheel. It will save weight later. If you haven’t previously marked the heavy spot on your wheel you will want to do that before mounting the tire. To find the heavy spot remove any old weights, clean the wheel and install the tire valve and cap. Mount the bare wheel on the balancer. Give it a slight spin and allow it to settle. The spot that settles at the bottom is the heavy spot. Permanently mark it in such a way that you'll be able to find it each time you mount a new tire. I use three small punch marks as a locator.

It usually takes about 5-10 minutes per wheel balance including mounting the wheel on the balancer. If you haven't done it before it will probably take a bit longer.

1. Remove any old weights from the wheel and clean it thoroughly. Make sure the valve stem and cap are installed.

2. Mount the wheel on the balancer and place it between your equally tall supports so the wheel can spin freely (see the instructions on the website).

3. Give the wheel a VERY slight spin. The wheel will stop with its lightest point at the top. You might want to give it another spin to verify that it stops in the same place. Remember it only needs to spin once or twice so no need to get it up to 50mph.

4. Once you've verified the lightest spot, mark it with chalk on the tire.

5. Take a couple of weights and tape them to the inside of the rim at the chalk-marked spot.

6. At this point some guys will re-spin the wheel but I found that with an ultra-low friction setup this isn't necessary and only wastes time. I take the weighted area and put it at the 3 or 9 o'clock position. If the weight is too heavy the wheel will start turning and end up with the weighted spot at the bottom. Conversely if the weight is too light the weighted area will end up at the top.

7. Adjust the weight by adding or removing weights until the wheel can be placed in the 2, 4, 8, 10 o'clock positions without moving. Sometimes you will get a very slight movement. Since the balancer has so little friction you can make yourself crazy trying to get it perfect. Based on your level of anality, don't knock yourself out.

8. The next step is to attach the weights to the wheel while still mounted on the balancer. Try to position the weights as close to the center of the rim as possible. If there is a ridge in the middle then try and divide the weights equally across the face of the rim. Clean the area where you are going to put the weights with alcohol or contact cleaner to insure that its free of oil residue. Peel the backing from the weights and stick them on.

9. Re-check the balance and once you're satisfied give yourself a pat on the back. You just saved a trip to the dealer and some money. Besides that you know the job was done right.

Thanks, glad I could help myself.

 

[ICEMANN]

And here is the $115 version of the same thing. BT you got a great buy there!.

 

[BentValve]

Yep , its far from rocket science.

 

[BulletTrain]

Sorry. Contact info...

ebay user: alan0252
email: alan0252@aol.com
name: Mark Magnusson

 

[BulletTrain]

And here is the $115 version of the same thing. BT you got a great buy there!.

I think that's the one Rhythm posted about. You have to order the one with a longer rod to use with the busa rear wheel. This one should work fine with the busa rear and it's only $78 shipped.

 

[BulletTrain]

Told ya it was nice!

As for that bearing upgrade...it's an anal retentive waste of time. You can spend all day balancing that tire to a fraction of a gram, first trip around town and it'll be off again just from the natural wear and tear occuring between the tire and pavement.

I agree... The standard bearings appear to be more than sensitive enough.

 

[ICEMANN]

BT what are you using to break the bead?  The reason Im asking is Ive gotten several several emails from various people asking about changing tires.  There were some links in the past but yours is the "newest".

Do you mind posting pics of your set up.  Tire changing station, tools that you have found "MUST HAVE", tips, and any thing else.

Here is a link but alot of the tools are "hand made" and probably not needed.  

My setup is cheating.  I have full access to electronic machines.

Here is a link for some tips for now.

http://www.clarity.net/~adam/tire-changing-doc.html



<!--EDIT|ICEMANN
Reason for Edit: None given...|1130967333 -->

 

[Rhythm]

BT what are you using to break the bead? The reason Im asking is Ive gotten several several emails from various people asking about changing tires. There were some links in the past but yours is the "newest".

Do you mind posting pics of your set up. Tire changing station, tools that you have found "MUST HAVE", tips, and any thing else.

Here is a link but alot of the tools are "hand made" and probably not needed.

My setup is cheating. I have full access to electronic machines.

Here is a link for some tips for now.
[/QUOTE]





How to remove your tire using the Harbor frieght and tool motorcycle tire changer.

Note....... Using the long motorcycle tire changer breaker bar to help put the tire back on the rim is a joke. When putting the tire back on start with putting two pieces of wood blocks and a tire iron between the tire and rim like the photo in the next post.
Using two tire irons and plastic rim savers slowly while going away from the blocks in a counter clockwise direction leap frog them over each other pushing the tire over the rim. It will get harder to get the lip over the tire the closer you get to mounting the tire completely. Just make sure apply a decent amount of silcone spray to the bead. Avoid using soap and water !

Ty

Warning............Make sure to use the back of your knee to hold the tire iron thats with the starting blocks in place to keep the tire iron from trying to jump up over the rim when you start to pull the tire over



<!--EDIT|Rhythm
Reason for Edit: None given...|1130976451 -->

 

[Rhythm]

Example. 1

<!--EDIT|Rhythm
Reason for Edit: None given...|1130977580 -->

 

[Rhythm]

Example Two.......
I would post a personal photo but I left my camera in St.Louis when I went to the MeetnGreet last Aug and my sorrry azz Bro n Law hasnt mailed it to me yet.



<!--EDIT|Rhythm
Reason for Edit: None given...|1130975757 -->

 

[ICEMANN]

Yo Ty I was hopin you would chime in.  Do you have the $49.00 basic portable tire changer


or

the $49.00 motorcycle tire changer model accessory?



Two pictured but not sure which one you have? Is the attachment really even needed?

JD



<!--EDIT|ICEMANN
Reason for Edit: None given...|1130988083 -->

 

[BulletTrain]

The HF changer has a built on bead breaker at the base. You stick the end of the big red bar that Rhythm has in the pic into the bead breaker and use it for leverage to push the bead off against an upside down V shaped piece on the base. And you need BOTH the changer (base) and the motorcycle attachment to do bike tires. I can't imagine doing a bike tire without the attachment to leverage the big red bar off of. The m/c attachment is also the part that has the motorcycle wheel clamps on it. The standard changer/base doesn't have provisions for doing bike wheels. Also, the m/c attachment would basically be useless without the changer/base unless you welded up some sort of base to hold it. It's definitely not a stand alone unit.

And I'm not sure what Rhythm means when he says the big red bar is useless. I found it to work great for putting the tire back on the rim. Was much easier than leap froggin' the little tire spoons for me. I never thougth about the wood blocks but excellent idea for keeping the bead down in the groove while you work your way around. Another way that a local guy suggested is to get some short pieces of wood and some big C-clamps and clamp the tire from the top and bottom in the area that Ty has the blocks in. So far I've simply used one hand to push the bead down in that area while I tried to work the red bar with the other. Believe it, it's a chore to try to do all that and all with the changer not anchored to the floor.

As for additional tools, I ended up buying a three piece tire iron set from CycleGear. On the rear this time I had to use the spoons to finish off the last few inches of mounting the tire. The big red bar fully mounted the front. A friend that also has the HF changer says he uses the big red bar as his main tool for mounting and dismounting and he says he rarely ever has to bother with the smaller spoons except for occasionally having to finish the last few inches of a stubborn tire like I had to the rear.

You'll also need a valve stem removal tool. You can let the air out by pressing in the valve, but with the stem in, the tire will hold enough air to make breaking the bead a beeyotch. Much easier just to screw the stem core out and be done with it. Much quicker too.

And lube is key. I used Plexus on the bead this last time. I've read about folks who use Honda Spray Polish. Some also use a dish soap/water mixture. There are tire bead specific lube products available as well. Either way you go, use lube.

<!--EDIT|BulletTrain
Reason for Edit: None given...|1131019578 -->

 

[BulletTrain]

Oh, and I'd be glad to post pics of my set-up but after this last set I decided to take it to a friend's shop where he is going to mount it to the floor. It's a job changing a tire by yourself without the changer anchored to the ground.

I'll see what I can come up with over the next few days though.

 

[Rhythm]

The second one is what I have and the attachment is needed for leverage when spinning the breaker bar between the tire and rim for removal.
Also notice the rim locking tabs (claws)on the second link. These will help in keep the rim from spinning and centered . Just make sure to cover the metal claws with cardboard or a piece of rubber to get a better grip and to avoid damageing your chrome rims when tighting down .

 

[BulletTrain]

The second one is what I have and the attachment is needed for leverage when spinning the breaker bar between the tire and rim for removal.
Also notice the rim locking tabs (claws)on the second link. These will help in keep the rim from spinning and centered . Just make sure to cover the metal claws with cardboard or a piece of rubber to get a better grip and to avoid damageing your chrome rims when tighting down .

I put rubberized electrical tape on the inside of the jaws on the clamps. I put it where the rim sits/slides before the clamps tighten on it and it's hard to see in this pic from when I done it, but it's also trimmed to fit and in the actual hook part as well. Grips good and keeps the clamps from scratching the rims as well. Have to redo it occasionally but it's easy to redo and tape ain't very expensive.

<!--EDIT|BulletTrain
Reason for Edit: None given...|1131020754 -->

 

[Rhythm]

And I'm not sure what Rhythm means when he says the big red bar is useless. I found it to work great for putting the tire back on the rim. Was much easier than leap froggin' the little tire spoons for me. I never thougth about the wood blocks but excellent idea for keeping the bead down in the groove while you work your way around. Another way that a local guy suggested is to get some short pieces of wood and some big C-clamps and clamp the tire from the top and bottom in the area that Ty has the blocks in. So far I've simply used one hand to push the bead changer not anchored to the floor. [/QUOTE]


Hey Train, I had a hell of a time with no success trying to put the stock tire back on the rim with the H/F breaker bar but it was very helpful with the dismounting. If you were successfull, good on you, but I gave up after 4hrs of trying. It only took me 45 mins using the tire irons the first time and after mastering this technique, I' now down to 15 mins.

 

[Rhythm]

Also my H/F T/C is anchored on my basement floor !

The photos lQQk good, Chris !