Balancing Motorcycle Wheels At Home.

Getting Balance In My Life.
Because I fit my own tyres, I knocked up a contraption to balance wheels ages ago, but it involved a couple of lengths of wood which needed to be supported high enough to get a wheel off the ground. All this took up space and was a pain to set up, even if it did the job ok.

What I wanted was the nifty little self-standing static balancer I'd seen online. A quick perusal of eBay had one snapped up and delivered for less than seventy of the finest Aussie dollars. And, what's more, it arrived two days later! In Australia that's pretty much unheard of.

Just a quick look at the box and you can already feel the quality can't you? 

"This twin purpose wheel balancing stand and stand..." I'm lost. And "twin purpose" means? Well, according to the destructions, either a biker or motorcyclist can use it. 

Alright, sarcasm over, let's have a little decko and see if it actually works.


It's very simple to put together, but the "precision, low-friction, fully shielded radial bearings" are as rough as a camel's ass. I flooded them with WD to try and wash out the grease and dirt, which improved things somewhat, but you get what you pay for. 
These certainly aren't SKF, but that's actually ok in this instance because the wheel will run quite nicely on the spindle and tapers alone. Heavier wheels will cause the bearings to move, but don't hold your breath.

The old ME33 Metzeler (remember the eighties?) mounted on a GSX750ES rim. Brings a tear to my eye thinking back of better times, quality engineering and grip levels which taught you how to ride accordingly. But again I digress, does it work?

Of course it does! The Chinese balancer works like a charm, and takes up very little space on a bench. The wheel actually turns easily while supported by the spindle and tapers, and these are held tight by grub screws. I'm impressed, the steel work is very strong and the powder coating is top drawer. Matches my welding bench too. For seventy groats, you can't go wrong.

Time to test it on something modern. 

So Dave's managed to wear out the centre on yet another tyre and, to add insult to injury, has bought some Nikes to match his KTM SMC. Strewth...

Rim protectors going on so my homemade bead breaker doesn't muller his rim. (That doesn't sound good at all.)

This bit is new to me. A thick rubber rim tape to stop the air getting past the spokes. Now that is a brilliant idea. Not sure how often they're meant to be changed, or how they're glued in place, but I like it.

The new Rosso II took a fair bit of pressure to get it to seat on the Behr Saxess rim, but soon we were ready for the ultimate test of balancing technology.

It spun up like a bought one, and needed a whopping 40 grams to get it somewhere near. I'm really impressed with it.

The verdict?
My advice, as usual in jest, is for Dave to try and use all of the tyre this time. 

As for the balancer, it's bloody cracking!

If you have something you want reviewed, get in touch and I'll be happy to try it out, with a direct link to you. And if you need copywriting for your products or website, please get in touch.

More soon...