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Tire Beads

4K views 54 replies 21 participants last post by  Hoghead 
#1 ·
Hello all...I am on my 5th set of tires on my 2014 RT....I have so much fun riding her and I try not to abuse the tires...but I have no fun taking her to the dealership and paying way to much for tires and way way to much to mount and balance......so this last go round I ordered a set of PR4's on line 340.00...and I found a tire shop locally that would dismount and mount for 15.00...but they had no way to balance...so I tried the tire beads...I removed the weights on my wheels and the tire shop put the beads in for me....they left them in the bag and claimed the bag would wear away....so I thought I would try it....well I think the results are okay...but over about 75 mph I think there is a slight vibration...I am really not sure and this might be air buffeting or me just being to critical...because I tried something different.....I am concerned that the beads should have not been left in the bag...that even when the bag breaks that it may interfere with the beads doing the job.......thanks
 
#2 ·
I stopped going to the dealer for tire changes also

I bring both my wheels to my corner garage who dismounts and mounts the tires and balance the rear which fits on a regular car balancer ( On my 07 anyway. I don't know if the 14 is the same)

When I get back home I use the Mark Parnes wheel balancer to balance the front wheel. ( I could use it for the rear also if needed)

It only takes a few minutes to do and it's very precise.
 
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#3 ·
Some dealers do use the break away packets others buy bulk and load them via the valve stem to maximize profit. HOWEVER, dyna beads are only effective to speeds up to 65 according to what I have read. So you may have a little buzz above 65. I only balance the front tire.
 
#5 ·
Some dealers do use the break away packets others buy bulk and load them via the valve stem to maximize profit. HOWEVER, dyna beads are only effective to speeds up to 65 according to what I have read. So you may have a little buzz above 65. I only balance the front tire.
I don't think that's a fair statement to be made. Just like most products if you read reviews you will find some both favorable, and unfavorable. I'm confident you will find substantially more favorable reviews for dynabeads. I did plenty of research and read many reviews before installing in my bikes. used them in my HD & GoldWing and they worked great. There were no issues above 65.

When I went to have my second set of tires installed on my 14RT, I asked the tech to install them, he recommended I wait until it was out of warranty because if there were TPMS issues BMW would not warranty them.
 
#4 ·
The Counteract beads are packaged in various weights so you can do exactly that, toss in the sealed bag. I do my own tires also and even though I now have a no mar balancer , I have used the beads in the last 3 or 4 tire changes I have done. I do not find any difference from weights at all.
 
#6 ·
Michelin won't warranty the tire either as mentioned by USA reps at the Billings rally this past summer. The engineer also said they work well for the first harmonic but none of the rest.
 
#8 ·
I've ridden 120mph on the RT and over 140mph on a Suzuki B-King, both with Tire Beads and both smooth and balanced. My RT has had Dyna Beads for the last 50,000 miles and I ride 75mph on interstate on a daily bases. Never any buzz over 65mph.
 
#9 ·
I highly recommend Ride-On, you get balancing and puncture protection in one product. I have been using for 12k miles and cannot be happier, there are no vibrations at any speed and tires appear to be wearing evenly.

I am a believer and will continue using for each tire change moving forward.

Aloha.

Scot
 
#25 ·
Perfect statement! I have balancing equipment. I have never had a dealer change a set of tires for me. I have one thing to offer. I didn't balance the set of tires on my RT at the moment. I did balance the sets before that. Just wanted to get a feel for whether the rim and those components were "in balance".

There is no difference in feel between this set and the others. Speeds over 120. Tire wear very even.

If I should feel a problem after mounting, but not balancing a set of tires I would carefully look them over for a bead not seated or other obvious problem. If none are found they are going to come off one at a time till I find the bad tire and send it back!
 
#15 ·
Guys, relax. I have simply stated that dyna beads lose effectiveness above 65 mph. I am THRILLED that you have not experienced buzz at higher speeds, BUT the FACT remains that they lose their effectiveness above 65 because the manufacture says so after extensive r&d.
Dang folks love to argue, lol
 
#17 ·
Guys, relax. I have simply stated that dyna beads lose effectiveness above 65 mph. I am THRILLED that you have not experienced buzz at higher speeds, BUT the FACT remains that they lose their effectiveness above 65 because the manufacture says so after extensive r&d.
Dang folks love to argue, lol
Yes Teach, you certainly do.

Could you please post the factual information from the manufacturer, or provide a link? I'll be the first to bow before your superiority.
 
#22 ·
There is no true substitute for a properly balanced wheel. Beads and goo can only do so much as they migrate around ( or do they ) but the imbalance remains in a single area on the tire. Not something going in my tires. Not when keeping the tire in contact with the ground is so important. JMO
 
#31 ·
I understand the science behind the beads and believe they work, at least to the degree we need them for street use. I've considered them and may use them when I change my own tires but so far someone else has done the work and used traditional weights. I'm ignorant of how cars and motorcycles balance their tires in the racing venue, I'd be curious how they do it and why that method. I assume the manufacturers don't want an unknown wearing the inside of a tire for warranty and liability reasons. Other reasons they may not be used in most shops is the inability to control how much the tire guy drops into the wheel so there may be to much or to little to compensate for the initial imbalance. The mess that can be made (and safety issue) of those beads getting dropped on the floor as they pull tires off rims or just happen to drop a container of them. Sure they can vacuum them out but that adds time and expense to the process. Also it's easier to teach the new shop rat how to add the weight the machine tells him to versus expecting him to know how many ounces for a front versus back tire for this type bike and so on. No great magic or conspiracy to the whole thing, just some simple reasons in my opinion.
 
#32 ·
I understand the science behind the beads and believe they work........
Really! I would love to hear the explanation! Do keep in mind though that I am a mechanical engineer, and so I would like to hear the technical details behind it! :)

BTW, I am not going to argue as to whether they work or not. It really doesn't matter to me. If they work for you, fine. No issues.
 
#36 ·
And the thing is: considering the amount of defective parts coming out of manufacturing BMW, the engineers that create aftermarket products have even less resources and savvy at their disposal.

I do declare, I have wastes a lot of money on aftermarket gadgetry that don't work that well.

Either way you look at it, the consumer gets the shaft

Some owners are like Catholics who believe in the infallible pope...BMW engineers in their case.

Maybe they burn candles to the bike in the garage while reading excerpts of the Owners Manual out loud
 
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#38 ·
My suspicion is that on a given set of corcumstances, it is possible for those beads to impact the TPM.

Hitting a bump on the road.
When you are slowing down and the centrifugal force is at minimum.
If the Earth's present wobble catches the beads at the right rotation
If there is a Sun flare that passes throgh the magnetic fields.
If a bead break up in pieces.
If Trump decides he wants to be a Democrat instead.

You never really know what can happen with those beads flying around in there.

I don't trust this centrifugal force thingie.
I have seen plenty of motorcycle racers crash trusting centrifugal force.
 
#39 ·
Well, I am balancing the old way with weights. I have only one question. If you are balancing a tire, how much weight is significant? I don't do racing but I might get up over 90MPH on the highway. Balancing a new set of tires and the rear won't settle. One weight too much and it rolls to the bottom. Take it off and it rolls back to the top. They are steel 1/8 oz weights and I tried to cut one with my tin shears but it was impossible. I think they are hardened LOL. I might try clamping one in a vise and using a cut off wheel.

If a 1/8 oz on or off is too much or too little ( seems a very sensitive balancer) where should I leave it. It seems to roll slower with the extra weight but just barely. I wish they still made lead weights. I could cut those to be as exact as i needed.
 
#40 ·
The faster that you go the more important that the wheel is balanced. Can't give you a specific good/bad number, but you should aim for perfect whenever possible. One hint about the weight - instead of cutting one up to get smaller weight, try using TWO weights, spacing each at some distance to either sides of the spot where you would have placed the one weight. Increase or decrease this distance until you get the desired balance!
 
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#44 ·
I'm ignorant of how cars and motorcycles balance their tires in the racing venue, I'd be curious how they do it and why that method.
Back in the 1990's, I watched them do tires at AMA superbike races at Mid-Ohio & also at Road America. They static balanced them , used stick on weights , then they put duct tape over the weights.:wink:
 
#45 ·
For those that use Dynabeads, good for you if you are happy. From experience, I do not believe they work at all but to keep the peace in this thread I will claim that they don't work reliably in all conditions. Weights do work perfectly, every time, under all conditions. My tires and wheels are all I have keeping me upright and safe on a motorcycle so real time R&D with this F'n beads in my tires was very short lived. They have been permanently discarded as an option for balancing my tires. For every story I have read where the writer says they work great, there is at least one story where it is said that they don't. Again, for tires & wheels, I need 100% perfect every time.
 
#46 ·
I have a friend that rides the BMW GS and for years all he has used is Dynabeads and swears by them......I tried them for the first time and now going to take them out and put weights on like I should have when changing them....Mine starts bouncing at 70 and at 95 I need to slow down due to the extreme vibration. I guess live and learn.......
 
#49 ·
From what I understand, the original balance bead idea was used in big trucks. They run all day at a more or less constant speed. They don't speed up or slow down too fast. They may work OK in that application.

I don't ride my motorcycle like I drove my Dad's old dump truck...:wink:
 
#50 ·
Speed may be a factor in the effectiveness of beads as the slower you go, the less you need a tire to be balanced but it still comes down to, is there enough counter force to offset the weight that is uneven around the tire at any speed where it would matter. That would depend totally on the construction of the tire and how much weight was out of place versus the maximum ability of the beads to offset that weight at a single point around the tire being distributed evenly.
 
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