95 Ultra Classic. My rear tire is just about slick. Figured since it's cold outside, I'd go ahead and replace it. Here's the deal: Nearest Harley dealer is 70 miles each way. An old friend of mine owns a local Honda motorcycle and ATV dealership. He can order me a Harley tire and put it on the rim if I remove the wheel and bring it to him. Only catch is that he doesn't have a tire balancer. I just looked in the shop manual on replacing tires and it just "recommends" balancing. My rear rim is cast, not spokes, and it says for cast wheels that you use adhesive weights to balance it. I looked on my rear wheel and sure enough, it had a couple of weights, but they've flung off somewhere on the road, only the adhesive is still there. I always thought these cast wheels had alignment dots on them, but the shop manual doesn't mention them, and I don't see one on the rear wheel. Two questions: Is it critical to have the new tire balanced, and if so, can it possibly be done at a car tire place, or do I have to go to the Harley dealer??? Thanks.

 

Buy a package of dyna beads, put them in to the tire via the valve stem with the valve removed or have your buddy slip them in before he seals the tire bead on your rim and call it a day. The beads will balance the tire and I plan on going to them myself. Your buddy will likely know about them as well.

You should always balance your tires, I have had mud tires unbalanced on my 4x4. But I don't have the ***** to ride my bike with unbalanced tires personally.

 

+1 on the Dyna Beads.

http://www.innovativebalancing.com/gallery1.htm

 

I use to balance my own tyres on spoked wheels, but my local Yamaha dealer does them nowadays. Yes, balance new tyres. There is a remote chance your new tyre won't need balancing, but I wouldn't gamble on it!

 

As the other members have suggested definitely go with the Dyna beads.

We highly recommend them, been using them for about 2 years now and have had great success.

 

Never balanced a m/cycle tyre in my life, never needed to.....taken the weights off of several H-D's and solved severe speed wobble though.

Looks like you been riding it with no balance weights and not noticed so why worry now?

Get the red dot on the tyre lined up with the valve when you fit the tyre.

 

Gotta follow up with Spanner and have never balanced a tire and have put 5 on the white bike and several for my friends with no issues and we don't putt around on the roads

Do you guys across the pond know you spell tires wrong

 

Phew! I'm glad I wasn't the only one. I never balance any of my bike tires. I may try dyna beads just for fun one day, but I just never have "needed" it. The second part of the question is YES. Theres a hot tod shop right here in Mechanicsville. He will swap tires for 15 bucks. He uses the same machine that does car tires (tyres to Mr. Brown). He also said not to worry about balance. Just sayin'.


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Have never balanced a tire, just put the dot to the stem.

 

I usually have the tire balanced, but I've put them on myself (only when I HAD to, I HATE tire tools) and not balanced them. Couldn't tell the difference, actually.

The shop manual has (at least mine does) a procedure for balancing the tire yourself. Stick your axle in a vice, put the wheel on the axle, spin the wheel, note where it stops. Put weights on the opposite side of where it consistently stops until it won't consistently stop in the same place. Balanced.