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BMW R1100 GS Based Rig Project

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(@miles-ladue)
Posts: 836
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Posted by: @dirtydr

Posted by: @scott-h

  Have his site bookmarked now for future adventures. 

 

Did I miss where you posted his site?

 

Yes, Dana, you did miss where Scott posted that link to the website. Two posts above yours.....

Scott said, "Need to order up an adapter for the balancer shaft to fit the rim center.  It looks like Marc Parnes offers what is needed (item CNB), but will call first to confirm.   http://www.marcparnes.com/BMW_Motorcycle_Wheel_Balancer.htm "

http://www.marcparnes.com/BMW_Motorcycle_Wheel_Balancer.htm

 

Two Million Mile Rider...All 7 Continents
Exploring the World in Comfort

 
Posted : July 8, 2024 6:42 am
sheath reacted
(@scott-h)
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Posted by: @dirtydr

Posted by: @scott-h

  Have his site bookmarked now for future adventures. 

 

Did I miss where you posted his site?

 

It's in the post of mounting the rear tire.

Here is the "home page" for all his products:  http://www.marcparnes.com/index.htm

 

Hold my keyboard and watch this! 🙃

 
Posted : July 8, 2024 9:19 am
(@dirtydr)
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Thanks, both of you.

 
Posted : July 9, 2024 6:09 am
sheath and FlyingMonkeys reacted
Quick_Cal
(@calvin-watson)
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Just seeking knowledge here.

 

I thought everyone preferred balance beads over manual balancing?  I actually have a Mark Parnes balancer that I mounted to a Harbor Freight stand with some brackets I made.   But then I got on the balance bead band wagon.

 

If you can stand to watch it. Here's an old video of mine using the balancer to polish my Yamaha XS2 650 wheel hub,,,lol. Just showing how I merged Mark Parnes and Harbor Freight.

 

 
Posted : July 9, 2024 7:53 am
FlyingMonkeys and sheath reacted
(@scott-h)
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Posted by: @calvin-watson

Just seeking knowledge here.

 

I thought everyone preferred balance beads over manual balancing?  I actually have a Mark Parnes balancer that I mounted to a Harbor Freight stand with some brackets I made.   But then I got on the balance bead band wagon.

 

If you can stand to watch it. Here's an old video of mine using the balancer to polish my Yamaha XS2 650 wheel hub,,,lol. Just showing how I merged Mark Parnes and Harbor Freight.

 

The video was great! Thanks for sharing! 👍  We need a picture of the finished bike! 🤩  That looks like a fun winter project.

If Necessity is the mother of invention, Ingenuity is definitely the dad.  Great job.  Marc notes the quality of the bearings he uses, and it is very evident in the video you made. 

I prefer not to put anything besides air in the tires.  A buddy who runs beadlocks on his rock rig swears by them though.  On the road he says the tires run smoother than any other way he tried previously. 

I like the lead weights.  They taste better than paste, or the windows on the "short bus". 

 

Hold my keyboard and watch this! 🙃

 
Posted : July 9, 2024 9:17 am
Brstr and FlyingMonkeys reacted
(@miles-ladue)
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When and where possible...Ceramic Balance Beads are FAR better than lead weights. The Ceramic Balance beads keep a tire balanced throughout its' life, from beginning to end, whereas the lead weights balance a tire on day # 1, but as the tire wears, that balance point shifts, and 5k miles later those lead weights are no longer serving the purpose they were intended to serve.

Of course, those of you that can't even get 5k miles out of a tire....it is all moot to you.

Two Million Mile Rider...All 7 Continents
Exploring the World in Comfort

 
Posted : July 9, 2024 2:59 pm
(@scott-h)
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Posted by: @miles-ladue

When and where possible...Ceramic Balance Beads are FAR better than lead weights. The Ceramic Balance beads keep a tire balanced throughout its' life, from beginning to end, whereas the lead weights balance a tire on day # 1, but as the tire wears, that balance point shifts, and 5k miles later those lead weights are no longer serving the purpose they were intended to serve.

Of course, those of you that can't even get 5k miles out of a tire....it is all moot to you.

Do they come in chalk flavor? 😀 

 

Hold my keyboard and watch this! 🙃

 
Posted : July 9, 2024 3:47 pm
 MGV8
(@mgv8)
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@miles-ladue I am of the other camp. Tried beads a few times, couldn't get them out of the tire quick enough.. I prefer lead, for both balance and hitting targets. basic_smile

 
Posted : July 9, 2024 3:48 pm
FlyingMonkeys and sheath reacted
(@brstr)
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Never having any exposure to ceramic balance beads and not truly understanding how they work in practice.

Or where to get them etc.

Has anyone put a wheel on a wheel balancer to verify that they actually work?

With documentation/ U tube videos? 

Inquiring minds an all.

 
Posted : July 9, 2024 10:10 pm
sheath and FlyingMonkeys reacted
(@miles-ladue)
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Posted by: @brstr

Never having any exposure to ceramic balance beads and not truly understanding how they work in practice.

Or where to get them etc.

Has anyone put a wheel on a wheel balancer to verify that they actually work?

With documentation/ U tube videos? 

Inquiring minds an all.

Oh, Bruce, why did you have to add that qualifier....with documentation and a YouTube video ???

I don't do YouTube videos, in fact I don't do videos of me riding down the road, or jumping off a cliff, or being struck by lightning either. Shocked  

But I have actually put a tire/wheel onto a Snap On electronic tire balancer, and checked to see if the tire is actually balanced with 2 ounces of Ceramic Balance Beads in the tire. The result was that the tire balancer could not find a light spot on the tire, or a heavy spot on the tire, and continued to come up with 000 on the machine, which shows it is fully balanced.

Testing these Ceramic Balance Beads in real world experience, they work, and they work at ANY speeds above 10 mph. They are inexpensive, readily available to purchase online, from several vendors, and even Amazon. I make sure I buy the real ones, and not some cheap knock-off beads.

It is IMPORTANT to inform your tire changing shop that you have Ceramic Balance Beads inside the tire, before they remove that tire, as otherwise they end up with one bazillion beads all over the floor of their shop, and they are now mad at you.

Lead weights are fine, and for a 19th century product, they still work as intended. But as stated above, they balance a tire on the day the tire is first installed onto the wheel, but as the tire wears over miles ridden, that tire is no longer "perfectly" balanced with the lead weights in the same location on the wheel. Most riders, or car drivers, don't notice any change in tire balancing, especially if (meant to be puny) they are busy balancing their Grande' cup of Mocha in one hand, whilst riding their BMW-GS away from the local Starbucks with the other hand.

But, you ride a 2 wheeled motorcycle at over a "ton", and you can tell if a tire is out-of-balance with those lead weights.

The Ceramic Balance beads are itsy bitsy tiny beads of ceramic, and in a 2 ounce package of them there will be a bazillion of these itsy bitsy beads, and they rotate inside the tire to find the lightest location inside the tire/wheel, and they stay in that lightest location, as centrifugal force keeps them there.

It's okay that Brian in Canoe, B./C. doesn't like Ceramic Balance Beads, but one has to ask the important question...why does a guy living in CANOE....drive a BMW sidecar rig, versus paddling a CANOE ?  I mean, come on Brian, live up to the town name of Canoe, that is why they called it that.

Razz

Edit, with caveat:  I am truly impressed with what both Brian in Canoe, B.C., and Dane in Skunk Hollow, AZ do with their sidecar rigs. Those two guys are out there...and I do mean OUT THERE...driving their rigs through any and all terrain, and raking up the miles/kilometers. Kudos to both of you.

Two Million Mile Rider...All 7 Continents
Exploring the World in Comfort

 
Posted : July 10, 2024 8:17 am
MGV8, Ben Franklin, Brstr and 1 people reacted
(@brstr)
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OK. 

 

 

 

😎

 
Posted : July 10, 2024 11:09 pm
FlyingMonkeys and sheath reacted
(@scott-h)
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Rear tire/wheel is balanced.  3-1/4 oz, in comparison to the 5/8 oz required on the old car tire. 

Rear Tire Balanced

Caveats: 

* It is possible the car tire was rotated during install to minimize the weight needed to balance.  Like a dumby I didn't look at wheel balance w/o tire installed.

* The TPMS cap makes about 1/4 oz difference in balance.

* Tire is mounted such that the yellow "light spot" dot at 10:30-ish compared to the valve stem, so not a perfect alignment on my part

* Rim has no perceptible vertical runout, but does have about 3mm horizontal runout.

* Tire is about 2mm out of round, with the furthest distance from the wheel center also being the lightest area.  I would have expected the opposite. lol

Unless there is a perceived issue with driveability, or the Motoz Tech Support group come back and request more info,  I have absolutely no plans to do anything further except run the tire until it is worn out.

What I did do to ensure balance is correct:

+ Ensured the wheel assembly was clean and dry, and ensured the WD-40 used to slick up the beads for tire install was well evaporated.

+ Removed old weights and removed adhesive residue.

+ Ensured the tire is properly seated and concentric to the rim on both sides.

+ Set tire pressure to 36 psi.

+ Started by indexing the cones to ensure they did not create an out of balance shaft assembly.  The orientation of the thumb screws definitely affect the balance and needed to be indexed 180 from each other.

Marc Parnes Balance Cones

+ With the shaft installed in the rear wheel and up on the balance stand, the wheel was spun to check vertical/horizontal run out. It doesn't appear BMW machined the hub to ensure the hub cap hole would be perfectly hub-centric.  On this specific rim, it is darned close though.  Definitely not far enough out to create a balance issue.

Rear Tire On Balance Stand

Reached out to Motoz, and asked what they consider maximum weight should be to balance this specific tire (not wheel/tire assembly, just this specific model/size tire).  Just asked the question, didn't elaborate on why I'm asking. KISS principle. 

While I've never had to use this much weight on a motorcycle tire, I'm not concerned enough to do anything about it if the drive-ability and wear aren't affected.  Might reach out on the GS forum just to see what others are experiencing with this tire as far as balance weights go. 

Certainly I do not hold anything against the tire, as this is a "case of one", and with caveats.  Will let the adhesive tape on the weights cure today, and go for a "first ride" tomorrow. 

That's all I got.  Happy Friday Y'all.  Hope you are looking forward to a great weekend of riding excitement and adventure.

Hold my keyboard and watch this! 🙃

 
Posted : July 12, 2024 1:48 pm
(@miles-ladue)
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Scott, just to be clear, are you saying that it took 3.25 ounces of lead weights to get this tire/wheel balanced ???????????

If that is true, from was I discerned from your post, I believe that I would have rotated the tire on the wheel 180 degrees, and tested the balance again.

Either that, or trade that bike in for an Africa Twin, attach the Africa Twin to your SYZ sidecar, and never have the need for more than 1 ounce of lead weights to balance tires again.

Two Million Mile Rider...All 7 Continents
Exploring the World in Comfort

 
Posted : July 12, 2024 2:46 pm
Brstr and sheath reacted
(@miles-ladue)
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And Scott, you are aware that 3.25 ounces is the same weight as a McDonald's Quarter Pounder, after the patty has been cooked.

Ergo, and therefore we can conclude that your BMW rear tire requires a McDonald's Quarter Pounder for it to be balanced.

Two Million Mile Rider...All 7 Continents
Exploring the World in Comfort

 
Posted : July 12, 2024 2:55 pm
Brstr and sheath reacted
(@scott-h)
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You are correct Sir!  3.25 oz.  Unless absolutely necessary I have no plans to do anything more.  Searching the GS sub-forum on the hoosegow for this tire.  No comments on weight, so guessing this is an outlier.  

Doing things correctly would have required labor time, instead of "play with the neighbor dog time".  I was slightly distracted as my neighbor's dog was visiting, and just too fun to play fetch with.  Throw stick, break bead.  Throw stick break other bead.  Throw stick remove tire.  Throw stick install new tire.  Throw stick inflate tire.  SQUIRREL!!! You get the idea.  🤣

Side note:  '24 Africa Twin is on the "test ride list", as are a couple of other bikes that would be a bit more difficult to hack (but not impossible).  😎 

Hold my keyboard and watch this! 🙃

 
Posted : July 12, 2024 3:07 pm
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