The Samual Adams Tire balance experiment

[hooligan971]

We mounted tires on a friends sv650 rims today. according to my balancer, his rear called for 1.25 oz. The voices from the Sam Adams gave us an idea, so we broke the bead and moved the paint spot on tire 1/4 turn from stem and weight requirement went down to 1oz. that was the best we could get it after moving tire 1/4 turn on rim at a time. Same experiment on front ended up with paint spot at stem being best and calling for .5 oz. We both have decided to try Dynabeads, even though in our collective brains, we cant fathom how they can possibly work, even after a couple more Sam Adams.
So I read about the Dynabeads in several places and the subject of "gyro-stability" keeps coming up. Not sure if it's a big deal or not. Not sure how it will affect the steering on our bikes. I'm thinking that the more beads, the more  affect it would have. The Dynabeads site recommends 1oz front 2oz rear on the sv but, since they only call for .5 front and 1oz rear, we are gonna try another experiment, minus the tasty chilly pops as there will be riding involved. First we'll ride the bike with no beads just to see if there is a noticeable vibration. Next we will only add the weight of beads that the balancer tells us are needed. If there are still any vibes we will add .25 oz at a time up to recommended amount.
I know we have too much time on our hands, but what better way to waste it than fiddling around with bikes ?

[jphish]

I'm no physicist - but was initially a skeptic on the whole "dynabead" thing. However...an experienced fellow rider who is pretty "particular" & not subject to hype - had used them & concluded they worked. So I tried 'em. Verdict: they DO work...somehow. Did a 14,000 mi trip on 1 set of tires (PR2's on an 08' Uly) and smooth / vibration free at all speeds. I usually end up loosing the 'stick-on' weights eventually. Dynabeads don't come off, are NOT lead & reusable. You're beer induced inquiry may prove valuable. TTFN, j

[hooligan971]

I did Tiggers tires and didn't have time to include it in the test. Now I think I know what they are talking about the gyro effect , but not sure if it's all from the beads or partly from the tires I'm not used to. Today will be the first step on the sv. Riding with no weight at all there isn't much vibration at all, feels like mostly in front. We're going to add just the amount of weight the balancer calls for and see what happens.

[hooligan971]

Well, That step didn't change much but when I let the air out to add more beads, there was lots of moisture and I realized Andy had hooked the hose directly to the compressor and not the dry air line and I can't remember the last time I drained the tank so I did and there was lots of water  :?  so off the tires came to be dried .there really wasn't much moisture inside them but I wanted to be sure there was nothing to compromise the test and change the way the beads act in the tires. We didn't bother re-using the beads already in there and just re-weighed the tires and added the amount the balancer said we would need if using lead. We couldn't really tell which was more out of balance so we put the rest of the 2 oz in the rear because we figured we could feel the front better. That pretty much smoothed everything out with just a slight vibe in front so we added .25 oz more beads and that made things perfect.
Conclusion.... according to the DB website, the sv would normally call for 1 oz front 2 oz rear. We took rear out of the equation so don't know what would have been just enough, but the front called for .5 oz if using lead and .75 oz of beads balanced it fine .25 less than recommended.
Was this worth all the time and trouble ? Will we be recommended for the Nobel Prize for farting around with this all weekend ? Do they even have a Nobel Prize for Motorcycle farting ? Is Sam Adams REALLY the breakfast of champions ? How many fingers am I holding up ?

[Mustang]

to hell with the beads ............how much of Boston's finest did it take to get the job done  :D

[hooligan971]

I'd say maybe only 4 apiece per session for 3 sessions but we will try to do better next episode, when everybody tunes in for "The Great Yuengling fork experiment" When we install cartridge emulators on the SV and intiminators on Tigger.  Which has not yet been rated, but may contain violence and profanity :D

[jphish]

Sounds like samual Adams should sponsor your next 'experiment' - the first one went so well. I ended up with about 1.25 oz front - 2 oz rear - smooth as glass.

[Bob Tosi]

The Samuael Adams recommendation for tire changing is at least 2 if not 4, just so you know. I called them and they let me know