First off, I would agree that it is more important for the front wheel to be in balance than the rear.
Next, it should be noted that an imbalance will show up only at certain speeds, not necessarily get worse at higher speeds. It is a resonance of the rotating speed of the wheel, tire pressure, and the suspension on that end of the bike. The vibration may be felt at 60 mph and then null itself out at higher speeds.
The fact that Michelin refuses to mark their tires for imbalance is a pain in the ass, IMO. They infer that their tires are so perfect they require no additional balancing. That is horse cock. Some of the worst imbalanced tires that I've ever mounted were rear Michelin PR2's and 3's.
By having already balanced the bare wheel once, and knowing by how much it is out (then removing the weights), even when mounting a MIchelin you can tell how much is the wheel and how much is the tire. For instance, last year I mounted a rear PR3 for a friend. We already knew that his "bare" wheel was heavy at the valve stem by 35 grams due to a TPMS sensor mounted there. After mounting the new tire the valve was still heavy and by a lot more than the 35 grams. It was going to take more wheel weights than I had on hand so we re-broke the bead, lubed up the tire well and spun it 180 on the wheel and reseated the beads. Now the opposite side from the stem was heavy by about 20 grams. That tells me that that "perfect" Michelin tire is actually out of balance by about 55 grams. That's a lot IMO.
Manufacturers that do mark the tires are doing us a big favor because then we can mount the tire in the right orientation the first time and use fewer if any weights. And good luck to those who do not believe in balancing. For the extra 5 minutes it takes me, I'll continue to do it.
YMMV
Next, it should be noted that an imbalance will show up only at certain speeds, not necessarily get worse at higher speeds. It is a resonance of the rotating speed of the wheel, tire pressure, and the suspension on that end of the bike. The vibration may be felt at 60 mph and then null itself out at higher speeds.
The fact that Michelin refuses to mark their tires for imbalance is a pain in the ass, IMO. They infer that their tires are so perfect they require no additional balancing. That is horse cock. Some of the worst imbalanced tires that I've ever mounted were rear Michelin PR2's and 3's.
By having already balanced the bare wheel once, and knowing by how much it is out (then removing the weights), even when mounting a MIchelin you can tell how much is the wheel and how much is the tire. For instance, last year I mounted a rear PR3 for a friend. We already knew that his "bare" wheel was heavy at the valve stem by 35 grams due to a TPMS sensor mounted there. After mounting the new tire the valve was still heavy and by a lot more than the 35 grams. It was going to take more wheel weights than I had on hand so we re-broke the bead, lubed up the tire well and spun it 180 on the wheel and reseated the beads. Now the opposite side from the stem was heavy by about 20 grams. That tells me that that "perfect" Michelin tire is actually out of balance by about 55 grams. That's a lot IMO.
Manufacturers that do mark the tires are doing us a big favor because then we can mount the tire in the right orientation the first time and use fewer if any weights. And good luck to those who do not believe in balancing. For the extra 5 minutes it takes me, I'll continue to do it.
YMMV
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