Tire Balancing Beads
Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:55 am
A few of us have gone together to learn tire mounting and balancing for our R's. Beemeridian, myself and a new R owner and longtime friend, Paul.
Beemeridian did some research and found this balancing product called Dyna Beads. Tiny ceramic beads that you pour into your tire by way of the valve stem (after removing the valve).
We mounted a new front tire for David two weeks ago and used the balancing beads. A little trouble at first getting them into the tire but finally figured it out. He seemed very pleased with the resulting performance. We rode the rest of the afternoon and he commented how smooth the tire was.
Yesterday we met again and this time installed a new front tire on my 04 R. After mounting the tire and setting the tire bead (s) we let the air out and I poured in the 1 ounce of ceramic beads thru the valve stem. (For our bikes the manufacturer recommends 1 oz for the front and 2 oz for the rear tire).
The kit comes with a small applicator bottle and clear tube to attach to the valve stem. I found that the beads will sorta "stop up" around the valve stem if poured too quickly. A slow and gentle hand works much better. A judicious use of tire lube is probably wise as well to minimize the amount of water and junk inside the tire itself. Too much might interfere with the beads and cause them to stick and not move around.
Long story short----I was very impressed with the performance. Tire seemed to be very smooth at all the speeds we ran yesterday. Matter of fact my mirrors were clearer than I remember them being. Did not have the fuzzy headlights in the mirrors that I usually have. I realize many things cause vibration in the mirrors---tb sync for example. But they are notably clearer now.
I read on a BMW LT forum where many of their members have used these with good results, and some have even said they get better milage (life) out of their tires due to the continual balancing of the tire. Eliminated tire cupping and so on. If all of this is true then I will truly be pleased---more so than I already am.
At any rate I am impressed so far. I plan to remove the wheel weights on my rear tire and install the 2 oz package in the rear.
Here is a link to their site.......
http://www.innovativebalancing.com/
Wayne
04r
Beemeridian did some research and found this balancing product called Dyna Beads. Tiny ceramic beads that you pour into your tire by way of the valve stem (after removing the valve).
We mounted a new front tire for David two weeks ago and used the balancing beads. A little trouble at first getting them into the tire but finally figured it out. He seemed very pleased with the resulting performance. We rode the rest of the afternoon and he commented how smooth the tire was.
Yesterday we met again and this time installed a new front tire on my 04 R. After mounting the tire and setting the tire bead (s) we let the air out and I poured in the 1 ounce of ceramic beads thru the valve stem. (For our bikes the manufacturer recommends 1 oz for the front and 2 oz for the rear tire).
The kit comes with a small applicator bottle and clear tube to attach to the valve stem. I found that the beads will sorta "stop up" around the valve stem if poured too quickly. A slow and gentle hand works much better. A judicious use of tire lube is probably wise as well to minimize the amount of water and junk inside the tire itself. Too much might interfere with the beads and cause them to stick and not move around.
Long story short----I was very impressed with the performance. Tire seemed to be very smooth at all the speeds we ran yesterday. Matter of fact my mirrors were clearer than I remember them being. Did not have the fuzzy headlights in the mirrors that I usually have. I realize many things cause vibration in the mirrors---tb sync for example. But they are notably clearer now.
I read on a BMW LT forum where many of their members have used these with good results, and some have even said they get better milage (life) out of their tires due to the continual balancing of the tire. Eliminated tire cupping and so on. If all of this is true then I will truly be pleased---more so than I already am.
At any rate I am impressed so far. I plan to remove the wheel weights on my rear tire and install the 2 oz package in the rear.
Here is a link to their site.......
http://www.innovativebalancing.com/
Wayne
04r