[Clooless]

They fitted my new tyres without balancing them, saying that they were "self-balancing"... Needless to say I took the bike elsewhere (Eric Rees on Barton Road), cause if I've got to argue with a mechanic over something he should know, then I can't have faith in any work he does.

 

[bladeracer]

If balancing was part of the deal and they didn't do it then I'd agree with you. Are you saying that when you discovered they hadn't balanced them you asked them to and they refused to do so?
They're not self-balancing but they shouldn't need balancing either.
I change my own tyres and haven't balanced wheels on my sportsbikes in many, many years with no problems at all. Modern sportsbike wheels and tyres are already balanced to incredible tolerances.

 

[setanta]

If balancing was part of the deal and they didn't do it then I'd agree with you. Are you saying that when you discovered they hadn't balanced them you asked them to and they refused to do so?
They're not self-balancing but they shouldn't need balancing either.
I change my own tyres and haven't balanced wheels on my sportsbikes in many, many years with no problems at all. Modern sportsbike wheels and tyres are already balanced to incredible tolerances.

Crikey better take my car tyres off the bike then

 

[bladeracer]

Crikey better take my car tyres off the bike then

I've seen car tyres on the back of bikes but I don't know that too many car tyres fit 3.5" front wheels?
Car wheels and tyres in my experience are way off balance but I still don't bother balancing those either.

 

[setanta]

I've seen car tyres on the back of bikes but I don't know that too many car tyres fit 3.5" front wheels?
Car wheels and tyres in my experience are way off balance but I still don't bother balancing those either.

Dont you get annoyed by the feel of an unbalanced car tyre, drives me nut, which isnt very hard to do :rotfl:

 

[bladeracer]

Dont you get annoyed by the feel of an unbalanced car tyre, drives me nut, which isnt very hard to do :rotfl:

Yes, but I've not had any of my own that have been bad enough to annoy me. If I did I'd whip it off and balance it

 

[Clooless]

When I arranged to take the bike in I asked if balancing was included and was told yes. I watched the fitting and they didn't do it so I asked and got the response as above. Fair enough, on a 'modern' bike they might not need to be balanced, but this would be the first set this '92 bike has ever had that haven't had weights attached to the rim.

When I took the bike elsewhere to have it rechecked, they found it needed a couple of grams on each wheel - was I being played for a sucker by these guys?

On a car, a little bit of eccentricity of centripetal force probably isn't going to affect handling significantly, but on a bike isn't it safer to try and line everything up to give yourself the best chance of aiming it well? A little snaking while braking or fishtailing while accelerating, might be exaggerated to a dangerous level by a little imbalance, wouldn't it?

I honestly don't know - I'm a layman, but this seems to make intuitive sense to me.

 

[bladeracer]

When I arranged to take the bike in I asked if balancing was included and was told yes. I watched the fitting and they didn't do it so I asked and got the response as above. Fair enough, on a 'modern' bike they might not need to be balanced, but this would be the first set this '92 bike has ever had that haven't had weights attached to the rim.

When I took the bike elsewhere to have it rechecked, they found it needed a couple of grams on each wheel - was I being played for a sucker by these guys?

On a car, a little bit of eccentricity of centripetal force probably isn't going to affect handling significantly, but on a bike isn't it safer to try and line everything up to give yourself the best chance of aiming it well? A little snaking while braking or fishtailing while accelerating, might be exaggerated to a dangerous level by a little imbalance, wouldn't it?

I honestly don't know - I'm a layman, but this seems to make intuitive sense to me.

Since you asked for fitting and didn't get it you shouldn't have paid until it was done.
When you rode it elsewhere to have them balanced did you notice any deterioration in the handling?
I am not for one second suggesting we should be getting around on wildly unbalanced wheels. I'm saying that modern sportsbike wheels and tyres are _already_ very well balanced, more closely balanced than I'd expect the average shop monkey to be able to get them.
Balancing is primarily to maximise tyre life which is hardly a problem on bike tyres that last a few thousand kms at most.

 

[LoopyLee]

I had new tyres on my 400 a few months back and straight away noticed a 'thump, thump' thump' feeling coming up through the the bars when up to speed :eyebrows: on the motorway.. It was really annoying and made my hands start to go kinda numb, which really wasn't a good thing.. :crap:

I took my bike back to the shop and they needed weights to balance the front wheel properly.. Once they were on, no more 'thumpy' feelings and she went down the motorway a treat again

 

[Clooless]

I can't say as I've noticed a difference in the handling and you're right I shouldn't have paid until the work agreed had been done. Lesson learned, just figured it was worth posting wrt feedback on named vendors/monkeys.

 

[RICK-ITFC]

I too have heard that modern bike tyres dont need balancing, but i have and always will have them balanced,same goes for the car, As far as i know they dont put balance weights on my bike for fun.....:idunno:

 

[bladeracer]

As far as i know they dont put balance weights on my bike for fun.....:idunno:

Balancing is abut maximising tyre life.
The "thumpy" feel Loopy described will wear a flat spot on the tyre and balancing will prevent that so the tyre will last significantly longer.
If I were a shop I would balance every time just to prevent any customer coming back with symptoms like Loopy had (or going online and ruining my reputation). Balancing is quick, cheap insurance when you're trying to keep customers. For my own vehicles I'd only balance if I had a problem.