How to Balance a Motorcycle Tire on a Static Stand

The result is a wheel that no longer has a heavy spot: left alone on the stand, it stays in any position. No source we read gives a time for the job. We have run no trials with balancers. The order of work below comes from the tire makers' motorcycle bulletin, from one stand maker's description of its own tool and from the manual of a shop balancer; where a step is our own description of the principle, it says so.

What you need

• A balancing stand that fits your hubs. Shaft diameter and cone range have to match the bearing bores of both wheels; how to check that is on the page about motorcycle wheel balancers.
• Wheel weights. Check whether your stand comes with any; Rabaconda says its balancer does not. Motion Pro, for example, sells adhesive steel weights in segments of 7 g, which is 1/4 oz.
• Cleaner and a rag for the rim, masking tape for trial weights, a marker.

Step by step

1. Finish the mounting first

   Seat the beads within the tire manufacturer's maximum bead seating pressure, or never more than 40 psi without such a figure, and set the operating pressure. Check that both beads sit evenly all the way around.

2. Strip and clean the wheel

   Remove all old wheel weights and their adhesive, clean the rim where new weights will sit, and inspect tire and wheel.

3. Set up the stand

   Place the stand on a steady bench and adjust its feet until it sits firmly. Follow the stand's manual on leveling.

4. Mount and center the wheel

   Slide the shaft through the wheel bearings and center the wheel with the cones in both bearing bores so that it turns without wobble.

5. Find the heavy spot

   Let the wheel turn freely and come to rest. The heavy spot settles at the bottom. Mark the top of the rim.

6. Add weight at the top

   Tape a weight to the marked point, opposite the heavy spot. Turn the wheel a quarter and let go. Add or remove weight until the wheel stays wherever you leave it.

7. Fix the weights and refit

   Press the weights firmly onto the clean rim, check run-out and bead seating again, and refit the wheel as the motorcycle maker describes, arrow in the direction of rotation.

Where each step comes from

Before the first weight: the balance dot

The cheapest balancing happens during mounting. The bulletin notes that some manufacturers provide a balance dot to be aligned with the valve stem. If your tire has one and it does not sit at the valve, that is a mounting question, covered in how to change a motorcycle tire.

Typical mistakes

• Balancing a tire that is not seated evenly. The bulletin asks for a re-check of bead seating at this point. Weights do not cure a tire that sits crooked.
• Leaving old weights on. They belong to the old tire.
• A wheel that is not centered. If the cones do not sit in the bearing bores, the wheel turns around the wrong axis and every reading is off.
• Reading a wheel that stopped by friction. Stiff or dirty stand bearings hold the wheel where it happens to be. Nudge it and see whether it returns to the same place.
• Sticking weights on a dirty rim. The adhesive needs a clean surface.
• Expecting a number. A stand shows a direction. It corrects static imbalance in one plane, as explained under static vs dynamic balancing.

Single-sided swingarms and large hubs

Wheels without a through axle need an adapter that the stand maker names. Rabaconda sells adapters for 32 to 68 mm hubs separately; Motion Pro says its Axis stand is not designed for single-sided swingarm wheels or wheels with a centerless hub. Without a matching adapter, let a shop balance that wheel.

The rest of the kit for the job is listed under motorcycle tire changing tools, the store-bought stand is described under Harbor Freight wheel balancers, and the tools that mount the tire are sorted by type on the overview of motorcycle tire changers. For choosing a stand, the one buying page is motorcycle wheel balancers.