Balancing act

[gspd]

On a perfect rim in a perfect world, the heavy spot of the wheel will be where the valve is.
In the real world, the heavy spot can change location over the miles, due to rim distortion from usage, corrosion, and other factors.
The red dot on the tire is the light spot of the tire.
Therefore the red dot should be aligned with the valve (or heavy spot).

If you need more than 2 oz. of weight(s), rotate the tire 180 degrees on the rim and try again.
If a (new) motorcycle tire needs more than 2 ounces to achieve perfect balance, it is considered defective and will be warrantied by the manufacturer. If your dealer disagrees call the manufacturer directly.

In all my years of balancing (motorcycle and car) tires, I've had only a couple of warranty duds.

[Zombie Master]

Apparently on some snowflake mags have a heavy spot marked on the rim.

BTW: I see some very good deals on the Bridgestone S11's that are now discontinued.

Any opinions on those tires here? Snowbum seems to like them.

[Seth]

If you're going to check the balance of the snowflake rim without tire, maybe slightly inflate the tube around the rim as you check. Then you can align the dot (light point) of the tire with the heavy point of the wheel/tube combination. Make sure you install the tube in the same direction after mounting the tire.

[Kurt in S.A.]

But what if I want to run the snowflake tubless? Ducking and running, bobbing and weaving!!

Kurt in S.A.

[Zombie Master]

But what if I want to run the snowflake tubless? Ducking and running, bobbing and weaving!!

Kurt in S.A.

Are you AKA Silicone James?

[Seth]

I'm not going to judge - tube or tubeless.
I run tubeless on Lester wheels.
I was just bringing up the idea of doing the wheel balance with the tube, if you are going to use one, when trying to determine where to align the dot if there is one on the tire.

[barryh]

If you're going to check the balance of the snowflake rim without tire, maybe slightly inflate the tube around the rim as you check. Then you can align the dot (light point) of the tire with the heavy point of the wheel/tube combination. Make sure you install the tube in the same direction after mounting the tire.

Good idea as my heavy duty tubes weigh several lbs. Will have to try that next time.

[Rob Frankham]

I guess not all tires have the little dot indicating the heavy point. But most do. The point your air valve comes through the rim may be most heavy (or not).

With most brands, the absence of the spot means that there isn't a 'heavy point' on that particular tyre. Check the tyre makers spec to see if they use the 'dot' system.

Rob

[jagarra]

I too have been figuring out how to position the tire on the rim so that they are in better balance with each other. When I do auto tires I position the tire/rim relation on the balancer till I get the bubble to almost center before I inflate and add weights. Doing so on a wire airhead wheel with a tube is a pain. I did find a product from: accessory 034--$38.00--wheel balancer Bench Mark Works LLC Exclusive that is a target balancer that is suspended from a rafter or a point above the wheel. It goes through the axel and is attached so that the wheels is suspended and one can get a reading. Sorry to say that Bench Mark has few pictures of products on their site. So I took some to clarify the design. The object is to get the bulls eye striped disk to center on the top portion of the the cone in the axle.

I haven't messed with the product yet as the tires on my airhead are balanced and I haven't had to change rubber yet

[gspd]

jagarra said: "The object is to get the bulls eye striped disk to center on the top portion of the the cone in the axle."

I wouldn't expect any degree of precision with that setup.
But then....
What degree of accuracy is actually required?
I anally strive for (almost) perfection when balancing my wheels, and like to get down to 1/4 oz + or - , but I also know that in the real world, a 1/2 oz imbalance is imperceptible.