well whats your opinion ?
after riding most of 2009 with beads , I went back to the weights
the last 2 months and I find the overall "ride" better maybe its just me ..
(not sure if you guys discussed this already in the past)

Note: I used the Dynabeads which are ceramic, never tried the Dynaballs
that are stainless .

 

I have not used beads. I have read both great and bad things from those who have. I have never read much credible either way. Never seen a test using them - for instance on a dynamic balancer. I have to say I don't understand completely the principle of how they would equalize an imbalance. Anyway, I find the weights incredibly easy to do balancing it myself so that is what I use.

 

I personally think Dynabeads are snake oil.

 

Dynabeads and the like do work when you look into the physics.. but a properly balanced wheel will be better since it will be balanced at all times and speeds. Edit: without getting upset by other forces.

I say leave the dynabeads to the truckers who have 18 large wheels to balance and don't accelerate and corner like a MC do. But to each their own.

 

Hmmmm... I had not heard of dynabeads so I just checked out the site. I'm a bit dubious. I think I would believe it of a fluid. Fluid is going to transmit the forces to all parts of the fluid and spread out. Beads are discrete. How does one bead "know" what another is doing that is not in contact with it? I would think they would be in constant motion until "perfect" ballance is obtained. How long does that take? and what about road bumps that will up set that and then put them in motion again?
I'd like to see some kind of demonstration on a see through wheel and tire.

 

Exactly how does one bead know what the other is doing ? But I had to try it for myself then I could make the judgement call .. I put 3000 km on the twin with the beads .. there were times the rear tire was balling up in the center under normal conditions riding on the hwy doing the speed limit .. Moral to the storey "lick it before you stick it " I mean stick with what you know works !!

 

They are nearly fluid like, they can be applied through the valve stem, think about how small that is.

They apply the weight to the needed parts first through centrifugal force and Newton's Third Law of reciprocal actions. After that the unused beads will spread out evenly and have little to no effect on the balance of the tire. The extra weight on the outside may have an impact on the tire wear though...

 

I put on new tires at the beginning of the summer and added the Dynabeads when I mounted the tires. I did a static balance before putting them in to get an idea how much weight would be needed. Not too much but clearly each tire needed some weight.
Since adding them in I've probably only put on 1500 miles or so. While we don't have too many roads where you can hit top speed, over 130 is doable for short stretches of a mile or so. So far no perceptable shakes or gyrations.

I can't say anything bad about them yet and it was worth the short money to try them. I did make sure the compressor wasn't blowing a bunch of moisture into the tire as I understand that makes the beads clump together. I also tried to make sure I didn't get any lube inside the tire while trying to pry the new tires over the rim.

For what its worth, 2-3 oz of the stuff wont break the bank to try. You can always add weights later if you don't like them.

 

Just because something works on paper doesn't mean it works in the real world.

 

Copied from my brother's NoMar website. I couldn't say it better:

"I plan on using Dynabeads for balancing my tires. If I use the paste that comes with your m/d bar, I am worried that the beads may stick to the paste following installation and not allow the beads to work as intended. Can you offer any other suggestions for installing without paste, or does the paste sort of dry out after a short time period?

Dean, Dynabeads do not work on motorcycle tires despite their faithful followers opinions. They can't work and it has been proven in published tests in Motorcycle Consumer News a few years ago. **What happens to the beads under hard acceleration? **What happens to the beads under Hard Stopping and re-acceleration? **What happens to the beads when there is a heavy spot in the tire that elongates the tire. They certainly don't move to the opposite side. **Have you ever tried to install a tire without tire lube? **Tests prove that there is better results with no beads and no weights than adding the beads. **It is faster and less frustrating using a static balancer than feeding the beads through your valve stem. **If they actually worked, or even worked better, Don't you think they would be the preferred way to balance a wheel? The beads were designed for non-pliable, non high speed rated Tractor Trailer tires which have a square tread design. (Which probably don't matter much anyway). Trailer companies generally do not balance trailer tires. It would be equivalent to balancing an ATV tire or a kids dirt bike tire. Many people want to believe the beads work like a "Magical Goo" spreading themselves amongst the tire and evening everything out. The only basis for this "wish" is the hope of an "easier softer way", instead of learning something new. There should not be any mystery in wheel balancing after kindergarten. It is the same principle as the "Teeter Totter". If two kids of equal weight are on each end they balance. If one kid is fatter, then he sinks to the ground. The fat kid won't lose weight (we've seen that before)so we need to add some weights to the skinny kid's side to get it to balance. It is the same with a wheel and tire on a static balancer. Heavy spot sinks to the bottom. Add weights to the top. Turn it a little and adjust the amount of weight until it will not move on it's own. Pro-Race teams have been using this method for years. It is fast, simple, and perfect. Steve "

 

if the tire does not spin true in its inner diameter, the beads will not work. For the faithful that were willing to try them, go without any balancing next year and see how much better or worse that is. I just don't understand why people wouldn't want the tire just balanced and done with. Wait, wait, I need to get up to speed to balance this thing... oh shoot, hit a bump, hope it comes back into balance.

Better yet, why not fill your tires with slime.

 

The theory behind it is sound... In a lab... Physics say that it balances out a tire as long as it's spinning at a constant rate... As soon as it's not spinning at a constant rate physics say you are screwed... Ie bumps, fast cornering, fast acceleration or braking... And bikes never experience that?! Do they...

 

slightly off track but this reminded me of the nomar changer and I just had occasion to use it this weekend when putting on new wheels and transferring tires from the old ones.

I bought a no-mar tire changer with some friends: myself and about 4 close friends use it - lots of bikes between us and a fair number of track days. In less than a year, figuring in the money we save buying cheapest tires online and mounting costs, it has paid for itself. not to mention convenience of being able to do when you have a minute in the garage. And the machine and company are one of the great american products - incredibly easy to use, takes minutes on most sportbike with no cussing involved. very highly recommend.

 

Thanks Cliby. I'll pass it on.