interesting way to balance tires?

[Mike]

So Phil (who's on this forum) told me today that he balanced his new tire with... get this, Airsoft pellets inside the tire. My first thought was... WTF?! I'd never heard of this being done on motorcycles, but he says that it works great.

He pointed out a site: http://innovativebalancing.com/motorcycle.htm

My question is, if this is so great, how come it's not done by everyone, hell, anyone that I've ever heard of? Certainly not in MotoGP...

[Chris]

i have seen it before in big tires...like 33's or bigger also semi tires.....

[Chris]

http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/5728243-description.html

[Chris]

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=23041&hl=Dyna+Beads

[Chris]

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=33599&hl=Dyna+Beads

[DK]

The pellet shot is not going to stick itself to the lightest point of the tire....

Which is why it is not implemented in the racing paddocks....

You must achieve a balance of the tire...... Not let crap fly around inside of it..

I have even seen balancing fluids..... Don't know how they work dynamically,
but trail braking into a corner with crap inside my tire does not lend itself to be too confidence inspiring.....

The weight belongs in one place...... The correct one to balance the tire.....

You can't fool gravity.

[DK]

Even the tire chart they use is pretty damn generic as to effectively influence the amount of weight needed .....

:eek:

[the_MAC]

maybe these things would work on the street for the 'cruiser' types or those who ride within the confines of the speed limit, but i'd never trust them... :twocents:

[JAFO]

The pellet shot is not going to stick itself to the lightest point of the tire....

Which is why it is not implemented in the racing paddocks....

You must achieve a balance of the tire...... Not let crap fly around inside of it..

I have even seen balancing fluids..... Don't know how they work dynamically,
but trail braking into a corner with crap inside my tire does not lend itself to be too confidence inspiring.....

The weight belongs in one place...... The correct one to balance the tire.....

You can't fool gravity.

Well I gues sI'm special, 'cuz I'm doin' it.

I've been using this stuff in my Jeep, my wife's Jeep, my Blazer, and my Fiero tires for years.

While true a motorcycle is short 2 tires and leans the proper way when compared to a car, the tires balance the same way.

The advantage of an internal balance media is that the tire is continuously balanced while in motion. I understand your confusion because I've been right there myself. Until I tried it.

BTW- tire's balanced to at least 120. :wtg:

[JAFO]

Even the tire chart they use is pretty damn generic as to effectively influence the amount of weight needed .....

:eek:

the extra media finds a neutral place in the tire. This isn't rocket science. If it was rocket science you couldn't train a person to balance a tire in 20 minutes or less the old way.

[JAFO]

on further thought, I think I understand why you might misconstrue this.

The media does not stick to the low spot and stay there. You're absolutely correct. The media does, however, *constantly balance the tire, dynamically, as it revolves*.

What you end up with is a tire that's always balanced. There is a caveat though- and it is that the media doesn't work with a wide rim that's out of balance laterally (left bead to right bead) because the media isn't subject to force across the axis of revolution. IOW, if the inner bead is heavier than the outer bead, you will still need balance weights on the rim.

That's just what I do on my Fiero, which has low-profile, wide, tires. I balance the rim, then throw a couple ounces of balast beads in the tire, and get great wear and never have an issue with shimmy or the like from an out-of-balance condition.

I'll look into the physical principles involved for the naysayers. All I know is, it works. It's the same principle as the Centramatic balancers that OTR truckers use, or the Equal powder that the same industry uses.

BTW, I think the primary reason it's not used in MotoGP is due to the obvious "driving on ball bearings" issue in event of a bad crash or other safety-bead rupturing event on the track. Some might say that there's a concern with the RPM of the tire and the bead's weight punching through the tire. Doubtful-- each bead weighs something like .006 gram, IIRC. I've had the 35's on my jeep up to 90 and that obviously causes more stress than a 17" bike tire.