How to balance tires/wheels with limited tools

[cuong-nutz]

I'm just bored and figure I post up something of what I did. KKim's DIY tire change/install and balance has covered this already. One more wouldn't hurt I guess

Balancing motorcycle tires is something ANYONE can do. You do not need fancy tools unless you do a lot of tire changing and balancing. YOUR OWN BIKE IS YOUR OWN STATIC WHEEL BALANCER!

An unbalanced or improperly balanced tire will cause a vibration as the wheel travels faster. One side of the wheel/tire is heavier than the opposite side, so the centrifugal force causes a paddle-ball effect with the energy transferring to the forks causing it to extend and collapse as you go faster. Ask me how I know Kelly where you at

From the dealership, our Ninjettes use the clamp on weights which attach to the center lip of the wheel. These are fine to use and do not leave a sticky mess as compared to stick-on weights. I personally find the stick-on weights easier to work with.All you do is get some wheel weights which can be bought online or head to a local tire shop and get some there.

Tools:
same as you would to remove the front tire:

• 22mm wrench/socket
• 17mm wrench socket
• 12mm wrench/socket
• front triple stand (or at least a jack and rear stand or even a stand that lifts from under the fork)
• torque wrench
• Pliers

Materials:
rags/paper towels
wheel bearing grease
oil
wheel weights

Remove your front wheel as covered here: http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=93061

Wipe the axle bolt clean.
Apply a thin coat of grease (or oil if you're working in cold weather) to the axle bolt. Grease tends to be thicker in cold weather.
Now, what you are going to do is reinstall the front wheel WITHOUT the speedometer housing and wheel spacer. You can loosely reinstall the castle nut so you don't lose it. What you are doing in this step is creating a shaft so that the wheel can spin freely without any resistance.
Remove old wheel weights or you can leave them on and see if the tire just so happens to be balanced with them.
Just spin the wheel slowly and let it come to a stop. Make a mark on the tire where it's lowest to the ground. Opposite of that mark on the wheel, attach a wheel weight to the wheel. If you are using stick-on weights, make sure the area is clean to attach the weight. Otherwise you might put a hole in your radiator. Spin the wheel again. If the wheel stops at the same spot you marked, you need to add more weight to the opposite end. The goal in balancing is when you spin the wheel, the wheel stops at different locations.

You can kind of gauge how much weight you need by how much the wheel rocks back and forth on the heavy spot. The more it rocks, the more weight you need.

Once wheel is balanced, reinstall.

Rear tire is essentially the same method as the front except you have to remove the chain.

Short video to give you an idea:

Link to original page on YouTube.

I ended up using 4 weights (1 oz total).

[Alex]

/linked from main DIY sticky

[alex.s]

i use two jack stands since the wheel is already off from changing the tire. also people say its best to put the weights evenly on both sides of the wheel instead of only one side.

side note- if your wheel seems to "stick" when you spin it instead of spinning freely even though it doesnt have the caliper or speedo hub on, you probably need new wheel bearings.

another side note- if it takes way too many weights to balance it, spin the tire on the rim 180degrees, it should take far fewer weights.