Tyre Balance

[glo]

After I had new Metz. Me 880 tyres fitted a couple of weeks ago I noticed that the Shop had fitted 30 grams of weight to "one" side only of the Front Wheel. I didn,t think anything of it at the time and went out on a hundred mile ride to "scrub in" the new tyres. Since then the Bike has been garaged. We are off to France later today and during last minute check around I noticed that the Front Wheel Weights had moved from the curved section (just inboard of the flat section) of the Rim where they had been fitted to the more commonly used Flat section. (centrifugal force). They do seem to be securely attatched and in the correct position as the tell tale traces of adhesive show, but now I am concerned as to wether the Fitter really knows his business and would a last minute "Wheel Out" and rebalance be advisable.
Any Advice Appreciated
Mike Tee

[DaveDragon]

Well hello glo and welcome to the board!

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As to the wheel balance, Try this: Put the LT on the Center Stand and add some weight to the back seat until the LT tips back to rest on the rear wheel.

Now, check the balance of the front wheel by turning it so that the Weights are at the 3:00 or 9:00 position and release the wheel.

Does it rotate? If only a small amount of rotation, it may be good to go.
If it rotates 90 degrees or so in either direction, I would remove it and balance it.

BTW: Several of us here balance our own tires using the Marc Parnes (http://www.marcparnes.com/) balancer.

Let us know how it turns out.

[Hilton]

Hi GLO, Generally good practice to split the required weight equally to both sides of the rim width. Not so important for the front as it's narrower than the rear. (30 gm would mean 15 gms each side) They should be on the "flat section" though as the dynamics will get them there sooner or latter. IIRC 60 gms is the max BMW suggests to balance a tire, but some techs go more. As Dave said, get a static balancer (I also use the MP) Enjoy the Zen moment to find the "sweet Spot" I also re-balance about half way through the wear cycle, quite surprising how far out it can be after 4-6 thousand. But that's me. Cheers

[Rick-L]

I also re-balance about half way through the wear cycle, quite surprising how far out it can be after 4-6 thousand. But that's me. Cheers

A good idea that most people probably overlook.
Anyone who has large truck tires knows that it goes a long way to keep the wear even. A bike tire would be the same, though to a lesser degree.