I had a talk with the head mechanic at my local dealer about the beads and he said he stopped using and recommending them after a conversation with the manufacturer. He said that after installing them for a customer and getting a complaint about vibration afterwards, the maker told him he had to put in more beads than the prescribed amount. He commented that doing that defeats the whole purpose of using them. If you have to add or remove beads based on riding feel they were useless. He then unmounted the tire, removed the beads, remounted the tire, balanced them with weights and the problem was solved.
Dyna Bead Issue?
- Thread starter Gitbox
- Start date
Help Support Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum:
Madmudder
Tim
Still no issues after using counteract beads they are glass not ceramic and develop a static cling and find a spot where they are needed and stick in that location.https://www.counteractbalancing.com/#/motorcycle/
wheatonFJR
...
I'm gonna copy right by own beads...Dyna Gravel...grab some from the sandbox and bag em up!
El Toro
Innocent Bystander
My results did not vary. Dynabeads were the dumbest idea I ever tried, and I tried it at the recommendation of a BMW parts manager who had them for sale. Nothing beats an honest spin balance. Nothing.
Redfish Hunter
Gone Fishing
I often wonder what would happen if the tire of a Dynabead user were secretly removed, the beads removed, and the tire re-installed unbalanced. Would the Bead User even notice?
NTXFJR mentioned 4 oz. of beads. 4 ounces? You gotta be kidding me. It did not take 4 ounces to balance a bias ply Buckshot Mud Grip on steel spoke wheels back in 1980. If it takes 4 ounces for a modern motorcycle tire...
In my lifetime I have wasted a lot of money on some mighty stupid things. I consider myself much too smart to waste money on Dyna Beads.
YMMV
NTXFJR mentioned 4 oz. of beads. 4 ounces? You gotta be kidding me. It did not take 4 ounces to balance a bias ply Buckshot Mud Grip on steel spoke wheels back in 1980. If it takes 4 ounces for a modern motorcycle tire...
In my lifetime I have wasted a lot of money on some mighty stupid things. I consider myself much too smart to waste money on Dyna Beads.
YMMV
HyperPete
Opinionated curmudgeon
When I got 18" rims on my VMax, I brought balancing beads for the tires. The guy selling me the rims had never used them. He put the recommended 3 ounces in the back tire, and put it on the balancing machine. He spun it, and it came up 1 ounce out. He spun it again, and it was 1/2 ounce out. He spun it a third time and it was perfect. The beads take a moment to distribute evenly, and this reflected that. Subsequent spins were all dead on.
JustinNck1
Well-known member
Hah, 4 ounces is nothing. I've had people bring bike tires for me to change with 5-6 ounces of stick on weights. They were "professionally balanced" by the dealer. Pulled all that off and replaced with 2 ounces of beads, no more issues.
Ummm, yeah... I don't think so. Stick on weights are (usually) 7 grams each (1/4 oz) so 5 - 6 ounces of stick on weights would be 20 to 30 weights.
Between this thread and the other one about "The Story Worth Living", I've come to the conclusion that balancing beads are the religion of motorcycle service. You have to have faith that they work for them to do anything.
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timk
timk
I use airsoft ammunition for beads.A guy posted this tip on this site. I find the problem of a front tire going out of balance at little over half way worn eliminated..
I've never had that happen before in many sets of tires on multiple bikes. I did have one Continental front that started oscillating (wobbles) after only ~ 500 miles, but that was not due to imbalance. It ran over a ton with no vibration, just wobbled on deceleration at about 45 mph.
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RossKean
Well-known member
Not quite sure how 2 ounces of beads can replace 5-6 ounces of stick-on weights. If the original balancer was absolutely incompetent and the "balanced" wheel is off by several ounces (seems likely) simple removal of ALL of the weights would probably be a vast improvement. Personally, I'm usually happy with a dynamic (spin) balance - never had a tire-induced vibration. Oscillation upon deceleration a couple of times but due to tire wear, not balance.
HyperPete
Opinionated curmudgeon
The problems with stick-on weights are that:
The only problems that I know of with balancing beads are:
You skeptics can continue to nay-say. I know that they work damned well, and I'll continue to use them. Of course, shops and interest groups that have an interest in making money by balancing tires will disclaim their effectivess vehemently.
Remember that there were a lot of people who were opposed to those damned "horseless carriages" when they were introduced too. They had all sorts of reasons against them too.
- They can come off
- As the tire wears, there is no compensation for the changes in tire balance.
- You are relying upon the skill (or lack thereof) of the person adding the weights to get it right. Granted, it's pretty brainless to use a computerized balancer, but according to JustinNck1 problems do occur.
- They are ugly!
The only problems that I know of with balancing beads are:
- Not following the directions, and adding the wrong amount of beads for your specific tire
- Not following the directions, and using too much tire lube
- They won't work with certain tire sizes (such as most passenger car tire sizes)
You skeptics can continue to nay-say. I know that they work damned well, and I'll continue to use them. Of course, shops and interest groups that have an interest in making money by balancing tires will disclaim their effectivess vehemently.
Remember that there were a lot of people who were opposed to those damned "horseless carriages" when they were introduced too. They had all sorts of reasons against them too.
Wow Pete. I see where the "Hyper" comes from.
Just kidding. Whatever works for you is great.
I've always done ALL of my own motorcycle service and maintenance except for tire mounting and balancing. Now I am going to do that myself also. I can't justify buying a dynamic balance machine so I will do it the static way like R/C props.
Just kidding. Whatever works for you is great.
I've always done ALL of my own motorcycle service and maintenance except for tire mounting and balancing. Now I am going to do that myself also. I can't justify buying a dynamic balance machine so I will do it the static way like R/C props.
John d
Well-known member
Let's say a tire is not quite perfectly round on the inside. Centrifugal force would place all the beads at the point furthest from the axle centreline after the wheel settles at a constant speed. That doesn't seem like the ideal scenario. I simply cannot grasp why beads would move closer to the axle to balance a wheel. Static weights would not be affected by that condition.
I balance with regular weights on a cheap 2"x4" homemade stand and have never had a problem throughout the tire life, yet there are still enough people using beads that do have problems.
Granted, small imbalances do not show up at any speed. Balancing within one 7 gram weight is close enough for any speed. I would hazard a guess that a wheel out by two 7 gram weights might not be noticed either. The most weight I ever added was seven pieces, and I never noticed them on the wheel until I had to change the tire again, but I'm not the spit and shine kind of guy.
I balance with regular weights on a cheap 2"x4" homemade stand and have never had a problem throughout the tire life, yet there are still enough people using beads that do have problems.
Granted, small imbalances do not show up at any speed. Balancing within one 7 gram weight is close enough for any speed. I would hazard a guess that a wheel out by two 7 gram weights might not be noticed either. The most weight I ever added was seven pieces, and I never noticed them on the wheel until I had to change the tire again, but I'm not the spit and shine kind of guy.
wheatonFJR
...
If you are using the "new and improved wave of the future technology argument"...I will start listening when you show me the video of a winning MotoGP motorcycle getting his winning tyres balanced with Dyna"whatever" beads....Remember that there were a lot of people who were opposed to those damned "horseless carriages" when they were introduced too. They had all sorts of reasons against them too.
JustinNck1
Well-known member
No one is ever going to agree on this stuff, just like car tire discussion(Not a fan BTW). Of course, everyone always wants to compare to MotoGP, the series that has tire failures for no apparent reason? To each their own i guess.
Auburn
Well-known member
One big flaw in your argument: MotoGP is all about gaining an edge over the competition through trying new things and paying attention to the details.
If Dyna beads were the best thing out there for balancing wheels, rest assured every bike in the paddock would be using them. None do, why is that? Because they don't work and do not provide a reliable method of balancing wheels, and don't give any advantages over the simple static balance. Keeping the weights coming off is simple to solve by putting duct tape over them, (and also a requirement on the race track).
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