Found a good price on balance beads, (& other fun facts)!

[Mr Whiskey]

After 7k+ miles with the air soft BB's in my tires, going back to the ceramic balance beads.
I've found that the air soft bb's are causing a "ridge" (for lack of a better term) along the center of my front tire. It's a slightly raised center that simply refuses to lend itself to a good photograph.
After some reading I now believe this to be the cause.....

[From the Innovative Balancing site.]
"Weight per unit of measure (g/cm)
The heavier it is, the less product it takes by volume to do the job. You get too much material in the tire, and it can't concentrate it's weight into a small enough area. Due to centrifugal force, the extra mass of material ends up "flattening out" over a large surface area, defeating it's efficiency."

I switched to the air soft bb's because the ceramic beads "stick" inside the tire. The air soft bb's always move to new positions every time you roll out, (which is what you need a dynamic balance medium to do) but are taking up too much "space" along the center of the tire & flattening out over too much area.

I guess (for me) the solution is going to be take a "fish bat" to my tires every week or three, when they're cold, to knock the balance beads loose inside & let them reposition for wear.

Sooooooooo, here's the link for 10 oz's of ceramic beads at a reasonable price. They're not in the little EZ throw in pouches, but at 2 oz's front & 3 oz's rear (CT) you can do 2 sets of tires for 20 bucks!
http://www.amazon.com/TyreBeads-Tire-Balancing-Beads-Motorcycle/dp/B00FBTQ29I

Oughta balance a few tires don't ya think.

(Clothes pin is to illustrate scale only! Please do not install inside tire!)

[Gavin_Sons]

http://www.counteractbalancing.com/

I use these.   

[The emperor has no clothes]

http://www.counteractbalancing.com/

I use these.   

+1, got a big bag at Loves Truck stop.

[Mr Whiskey]

Ran those too. They all seem to stick inside the tire.
'Bout the only thing I haven't tried is steel shot.
Even tried Ride-On, but it added too much spinning weight. Decreased/slowed cornering ability.
Can you tell I hate conventional wheel weights?

[Mr Whiskey]

+1, got a big bag at Loves Truck stop.

You're using the ones for trucks, seriously?

[CajunRider]

Another option if buying in bulk (5 lb bottle)...

http://www.quackco.com/qbzirc.htm

[Robert]

Another option if buying in bulk (5 lb bottle)...

http://www.quackco.com/qbzirc.htm

http://www.quackco.com/yttriumstabilizedzirconia.html

[The emperor has no clothes]

+1, got a big bag at Loves Truck stop.

You're using the ones for trucks, seriously?

They are the same balancing beads used for cars & motorcycles. Just in bulk. I weigh them out on a little scale that my wife got for dieting. Put them in a little squeezable bottle with a hose thru the tire valve. Works great, I'll never go back to weights

[Jess Tolbirt]

i use bb's,,, sounds like a soft rain when you slow down,, have to break the tire down to put them in but they are smooth as silk when running down the road,,

[da prez]

 Quackenbush is about 2 miles from me. I picked up 5 lb for $60.00 or $65.00 . I also weigh them out on a scale. You have to discharge the static before opening the container or they start flying out of the container. A anti static cloth will work , or tap on the container with a screwdriver two or three times. 

  They can be reused in another tire.

                                   da prez

[Valkjerk]

Exactly Jess. Smooth as silk. I would have to ask Troutdude which beads he put in my tires but whatever.....perfect.

[Wewaman]

Had Grumpy install a new Dunlop D404 190 rear tire on the front but he didn't  balance it he just left the old weights on the front rim.  So Jess how many of them thar BB 's does it take so I can remove those weights from my wheel.
 I have a bottle of ride on that I was planning on using, and still might.

Thanks,
  Wewa

[Pappy!]

Bought some, thanks Mr. Whiskey!

[Hook#3287]

+1, got a big bag at Loves Truck stop.

You're using the ones for trucks, seriously?

They are the same balancing beads used for cars & motorcycles. Just in bulk. I weigh them out on a little scale that my wife got for dieting. Put them in a little squeezable bottle with a hose thru the tire valve. Works great, I'll never go back to weights

Hey Rob, how much per tire?

[Jess Tolbirt]

Had Grumpy install a new Dunlop D404 190 rear tire on the front but he didn't  balance it he just left the old weights on the front rim.  So Jess how many of them thar BB 's does it take so I can remove those weights from my wheel.
 I have a bottle of ride on that I was planning on using, and still might.

Thanks,
  Wewa

i have an old lawnmower blade balancing tool you can get at lowes for a couple bucs,,made out of plastic,,i have also a lawnmower blade that i balanced,, on one end of the blade i put 2 1/2 oz. of lead weights and fill a little plastic cup with bb's to get 2 1/2 ounces and put that in the rear tire,, i put 1 1/2 oz in the front...its ok to go a little extra because the bb's will find the light spot in the tire and all the others will settle around until they are all happy and the tire will be perfectly balanced everytime you take off,, all this happens before you get to 30mph,,,

[Big Al of Tennessee]

I have a dumb question.

Why not just balance the TIRE/Wheel on a balancer?

LIKE at a motorcycle shop or car tire dealer.

Why are so many people using the Dyna Beads Etc?

Just a question.

[Jess Tolbirt]

I have a dumb question.

Why not just balance the TIRE/Wheel on a balancer?

LIKE at a motorcycle shop or car tire dealer.

Why are so many people using the Dyna Beads Etc?

Just a question.

once you balance the tire it can get unbalanced and when that happens you get cupping and other things. if you use the beads it will rebalance itself everytime you take off and you will get at least 30% more milage out of the tire if you keep the pressurs right..

[Big Al of Tennessee]

I have a dumb question.

Why not just balance the TIRE/Wheel on a balancer?

LIKE at a motorcycle shop or car tire dealer.

Why are so many people using the Dyna Beads Etc?

Just a question.

once you balance the tire it can get unbalanced and when that happens you get cupping and other things. if you use the beads it will rebalance itself everytime you take off and you will get at least 30% more milage out of the tire if you keep the pressurs right..

Makes sense. I had that problem on a Kawasaki 1500 Vulcan Classic, I actually had to

take the front off, take it to the shop and rebalance/ reassemble. This happened more than once.

But not on any other bikes I have had. Cupping on almost all of the tires on the rear.

Has occurred, no matter which brand. The Michelin Commander II's I have now, with dense rubber

technology, cupping is a thing of the past. Mileage is doubled, whatever you got before, double

that. That takes riding style out of the equation. Remember that Jess, when you change tires.

Michelin Commander II's are the hot setup for cruisers.

Thanks Jess.

[Jess Tolbirt]

I have a dumb question.

Why not just balance the TIRE/Wheel on a balancer?

LIKE at a motorcycle shop or car tire dealer.

Why are so many people using the Dyna Beads Etc?

Just a question.

once you balance the tire it can get unbalanced and when that happens you get cupping and other things. if you use the beads it will rebalance itself everytime you take off and you will get at least 30% more milage out of the tire if you keep the pressurs right..

Makes sense. I had that problem on a Kawasaki 1500 Vulcan Classic, I actually had to

take the front off, take it to the shop and rebalance/ reassemble. This happened more than once.

But not on any other bikes I have had. Cupping on almost all of the tires on the rear.

Has occurred, no matter which brand. The Michelin Commander II's I have now, with dense rubber

technology, cupping is a thing of the past. Mileage is doubled, whatever you got before, double

that. That takes riding style out of the equation. Remember that Jess, when you change tires.

Michelin Commander II's are the hot setup for cruisers.

Thanks Jess.

thanks Al, gonna check on that now,,,

[old2soon]

I was driving for an outfit that had 500 company trucks. Just the tractors took 5000 tires. JUST the tractors. This was the first outfit I had driven for that used balance beads. At that time they were getting 25% to 35% more wear out of the tires that had the beads. First line tires at that time were in the $400.00 range EACH. Had it been ONLY been a 10% saving that much would have been significant in a fleet of any size. And proper air pressure as stated before is also important. What I noticed as a driver was a much better ride and with less shaking coming thru the steering wheel while still tired at the end of the day I wasn't whipped. Using beads on my cage and my Valkyrie makes sense to me cause I used them for over a million miles on big trucks. I KNOW and LIVED with the results of balance beads for a million miles or better. And-YES-I'm convinced of the benefits of these beads. Was looking at my Shinko S E 890 yesterday and while it has a bit over 16000 miles on it the wear is even and I'd feel comfortable putting another 1000 on it. When he new tires go on the beads will be part of the package-AGAIN!   RIDE SAFE.

[The emperor has no clothes]

+1, got a big bag at Loves Truck stop.

You're using the ones for trucks, seriously?

They are the same balancing beads used for cars & motorcycles. Just in bulk. I weigh them out on a little scale that my wife got for dieting. Put them in a little squeezable bottle with a hose thru the tire valve. Works great, I'll never go back to weights

Hey Rob, how much per tire?

Bill, I'd have to look it up but if I remember it was 2 oz in the front and 3 in the rear C/T. They have a website that has a chart for the size of the tire. 

[The emperor has no clothes]

I have a dumb question.

Why not just balance the TIRE/Wheel on a balancer?

LIKE at a motorcycle shop or car tire dealer.

Why are so many people using the Dyna Beads Etc?

Just a question.

once you balance the tire it can get unbalanced and when that happens you get cupping and other things. if you use the beads it will rebalance itself everytime you take off and you will get at least 30% more milage out of the tire if you keep the pressurs right..

Plus it's easier to clean the wheels without the unsightly weights

[saddlesore]

I used the ceramic beads and they stuck together too.  The problem was I couldn't keep it dry inside the tire.  I don't know how if possible to keep the tire lubricant out.  I use Ride on now .  Only had cupping when I let the pressure get too low. 

[Mr Whiskey]

Bought some, thanks Mr. Whiskey!

Welcome Pappy!

[Mr Whiskey]

From Counteract Site.............
What size do you need?

Motorcycle - Front
80 - 120 mm tire width - 1 oz
80 - 120 mm tire width with spoked wheels - 2oz
80 - 120 mm tire width (BMW Telelever only) -2 oz
130 mm tire width - 2 oz
Motorcycle - Rear
130 mm - 240 mm width - 2 oz
250 mm - 360mm tire width - 3 oz
195 - 205 car tires on the rear - 3 oz

Dual Purpose / Off Road with Rim Locks
Front - 80 - 120 mm tire width - 2 oz
Rear - 130 -230 mm width - 3 oz

Scooters
10" diameter wheels - 1 oz
12" & Up diameter wheels - 2 oz

ATV
By tire width

<10" - 2oz
<12" - 3oz
>12" - 4oz

 

PLEASE NOTE- Exceptions

1. Front tires on sport bikes at triple digit speeds can experience vibration because too much balancing product was added. Please start with 1/4oz.

 

 
For additional help, please contact us directly at 800.572.8952, we are happy to help