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Anyone mount and balance their own tires?

7K views 20 replies 12 participants last post by  DYNA118 
#1 ·
It's time for a new rear tire for my 950, and I'm wondering whether I can reasonably expect to do a good job of mounting and balancing it myself. One of the books I've got says that static balancing is as effective as dynamic balancing, just that it takes longer. Anyone have experience with that? Is it true?

I'm a little skittish about doing something myself that's so critical to safety, but if it's something that I could do well myself - especially if it means I don't have to hand money over to the crappy, crappy dealer here in town - then I'd give it a shot. I think I can pick up a static balancer for not too much money.
 
#2 ·
I dismount and remount my tires because I have access to a tire machine at work. But the balance machine won't work on motorcycle wheels.So I take them in for balancing.I have heard you can static balance a tire to a nats arse.If it's cheap I would pick one up. You may have to work at it a while to get it right.
 
#3 ·
Good enough for me, I'm going to go for it. Harbor freight's got a static balancer for $50, and it's pretty well reviewed. In the end this will cost me a little more than getting it done at the dealer, but as always, I'll have the tools to do it again, and I'll save a ton of money next time.

Of course, now that I've got Cobra pipes on there instead of the stock muffler, I may have to drop the whole exhaust to get at the swingarm. :eek: Wish me luck!
 
#4 · (Edited)
Have you contacted your local dealer about prices to mount and balance? The dealer by me charged 40 bucks per tire for a mount and balance. That was with me removing the wheels and bringing them in and the new tires. To me the money was well worth not having to get the tools to do the job and then store them, also to not have to risk damaging the wheel or the new tire doing the guesswork to do it the first time.

When you order your balancer don't forget tire spoons and some wheel protectors.
 
#6 ·
Have you contacted your local dealer about prices to mount and balance?
Yeah, I have. They quoted me about the same, but they charge me $20 more if I buy the tire somewhere else and bring it in. And then the dealer says that they match prices, but when I told them the price for my tire at motorcycle-superstore, they said they'd match to $20 above the online price because that way, it's a wash. ($128 to buy the tire online + $60 to mount it, or $148 to buy it at the dealer + $40 to mount it.) That's the same kind of crap this dealer pulls all the time, and part of the reason I hate them so much. That's why I'll drive 30 miles to J&P Cycles to buy my engine oil instead of getting it here in town: just to avoid giving my money to the dealer when I don't have to.

I'm not worried about mounting the tire at all. I expect that this will be a fair amount of work and take me the better part of a day. All I'm concerned with is that the end result is good. If I can spend an hour and a half balancing one tire and have it end up balanced as well as the dealer can do in five minutes, then it's worth my time. Plus, I take some pride in doing as much of my own maintenance as I can manage. If I learn something from it, even better.
 
#7 ·
I agree with DYNA118. I was a bit skeptical at first but decided to give it a try and have been using them for the last 2 years and love them. 3oz bag should work perfect for the rear and 2oz for the front. Ive had it to 125 mph and not a bit of vibration. smooth as silk.
 
#11 ·
I would like to know how to get the tire off the rim and then a new one on. Any info on that?
 
#13 ·
i usually just take it to a tire shop and have them pop the bead for me(they usually do it for free) then i tape up the rim so i don't scratch it and use a couple of big screwdrivers to get the bead over the lip and whalla! the tire comes off. put the new tire on, set the beads and its on. add your dyna beads reinstall tire on bike, then ride.
 
#14 ·
My friend changed out his rear tire this past weekend. I went over to watch and learn and ended up helping out a little and getting my hands dirty. By the time I got to his house, he had already taken the wheel off and was getting ready to remove the tire. It took us about an hour to get it back on the bike. What I found weird was he didn't balance it and I actually asked him and he said, nah...don't need to. He's done his own tire many times so I guess it's worked for him without balancing.

Personally, I would just bring it in to my mechanic. I guess I'm lucky to have him 5 minutes away from my house and he only charges $15 installation if you remove the wheel yourself and $30 if he does everything. For $15, I would be more than happy to pay for it knowing a professional did it for me. But I understand not wanting to give money to douchebag dealerships even if it is just $15 :). Good luck!!!
 
#15 ·
I did it on the front wheel of my last bike (a Yamaha Virago), just to try it myself. I concluded it's well worth the $30 my dealer charges to do it for me so I never have to do it again.

Watch a bunch of youtube videos to learn tricks on how to do it.

The hardest parts for me were 1) Breaking the bead of the old tire. I used a short 6" piece of 2x4 and made a 5' long lever arms with another 2x4 and mash the short piece down against the sidewall and was eventually able to break the bead. This totally sucked. 2) getting the new tire over the rim. I eventually used a 24" pry bar to get the last bit over the edge while holding two screwdrivers with my elbows and knees. I'm glad I didn't damage my rim.

Balancing was the easiest part. I imagine it matters much more for the front than the rear (based on wheel size and the amount of vibrations it probably translates to your hands), so maybe it's optional at least for the rear as someone else suggested. I put the wheel on its axle and set it between two level points (cynder blocks with wood on top to soften it). Spin it gently and wait for it to stop and mark the bottom point with chalk. If you do this several times and it stops in a random place every time, the wheel is balanced. If it always stops in the same place, you have a heavy point where the chalk is. Play with your weights until it stops in a random spot every time and you're done.

This worked well for me, and my tire was perfectly installed and balanced. Despite this, I totally regretted wasting a day doing it to save $30. Good luck!
 
#16 ·
I've been watching numerous videos on You Tube on changing tires and pulling the wheels and all. I know if I do it myself I will save $150 on labor for 2 tires. I'm so sick of paying labor costs that are probably fair but still crazy high! I've seen jigs and tools that people have made so they can change their own tires. I will do it myself next time. At least I can pull the wheels off the bike. Then if I can't get the tires off and back on, well, I can then take it to the dealer and I will have saved that much labor anyway.
 
#20 ·
Read a lot of commentary on forums and then went on eBay and checked into the no-mar static balancer. It's over a hundred dollars, but the company claims in its advertising that it is the "best" on the market. Emailed the company via eBay to ask a simple question, whether their unit came out of the box with everything needed to handle my Roadliner wheels--- no reply. Emailed again a week later and got a real weasily non-answer reply. Got the sense that the guy running things there can't be bothered to answer questions about his products. Went ahead and took a chance on it anyway; got it the other day. Opened it up today and found that one of the four "precision" bearings on this "professional" instrument is way crooked. Emailed this No-mar guy that the unit was defective and now he's not responding at all. Filed a Buyer Protection case with eBay. Either eBay will force this No-Mar creep to refund me or I will go through my bank for satisfaction. Either way I will be looking for a different static balancer. Since the most expensive one on the market is of such shoddy construction, what recommendations do y'all have for an alternative? I know the lowest priced one I can get would be the Harbor Freight (about $30 with discount coupon) but are the other Chinese-made balancers any better or worse? Advice? Please?
 
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