How to Balance a Motorcycle Tire

Have you ever had a chance to ride on a motorcycle with unbalanced wheels, then you understand how difficult it is to enjoy the ride? You will not like the vibrations and the wobbly feel that the wheels bring. To avoid this, all you need is to balance your bike tires before hitting the road. By making sure that the wheels are balanced, you will enjoy a controllable and fun riding experience. All you need is to get a balance for that to happen. As long as you get the right information and tools, you can easily balance the wheels on your own and safely get back on the road. Read on for more on how to balance a motorcycle tire!

Step 1: Set up the balancer

Before commencing on the balancing, make sure that the balancer sits stable on the ground and that the shaft is at a level. As long as you get the right level, you are good to go.

Step 2: Mount the bike wheel on the balancer

Now that the balancer is sitting well on the ground, remove any of the center shafts on the wheel and slip the hinge via the center of that wheel. After that, put back the centering cone and place the wheel on the balancer. At this point, make the screws on both centering cones tight to make sure that the wheel is secure on the balancer. This is to stop the wheel from moving sideways.

Step 3: Wipe the bike wheel

You can use a degreaser to wipe the wheel to make sure that no grease throws off the balance. Also, by wiping the wheel, you need to make sure that adhesive wheel weights stick on well if using one. Also, make sure you wipe all the weight from the previous wheel balancing.  

Step 4: Check the balance and mark its lighter side

Spin the bike tires gently and wait for it to stop on its own. Due to gravity, the wheel will stop spinning with the heavier side on the bottom. Pick a masking tape and mark the point with the rim.

Step 5: Add weight to the lightest side of the wheel

Add some weight on the lightest part of the tire and if you are using adhesive weights, it is good to use tape to hold them in place. The good thing with adhesive weights is that they come with strips that are easy to cut off until you get the required weight. There are also spoke wheel weights that you can use which come in various weights and you can stack them if you need to. As you do this, rotate the tire until the heavy and the light side of the tire is equal. 

Step 6: Recheck the wheel balance after you add the weights

Continue repeating the process on step 6 to make sure the wheel no longer rotates on its own when you release it. To know if the tire is balanced, make sure it stays still when you release it and that no part is heavier than the other. 

Step 7: Take away the bike wheel from the balancer

If using spoke wheels, your balancing process is over once you remove it from the balancer. However, if using adhesive weights, mark the edge of the line of weights before getting rid of what is holding the wheel temporarily. Once you are done, remove the supporting materials that hold the weights and squeeze them harder towards the wheel so that they remain intact. If your wheel is well-balanced, it will remain in place when you release it no matter the position.

Conclusion

There you have it! Haven’t you seen how simple it is to balance your bike wheel? As long as you follow the above steps, you will get balanced bike wheels and a smoother ride.