High speed vibrations with Dyna Beads

Ya know that some people believe in a witching rod to find water for a well or precious metals! I mean, really believe it, even educated science type people. I've seen dowsing with a piece of wire in action. An unnamed oil company hired a professional dowser to find water in 1981 after drilling 3 dry wells. Note very remote area. Oil drilling requires lots of water to mix mud concrete etc. The dowser failed and no water was found. The oil company had to "steal water at night' to drill the well. But that is another story. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
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Dyna beads though, appear to real have real physical properties to test. I am a skeptic in all things, see it to believe it guy, but thought I would give the beads a try because the concept seemed reasonable.<o></o>
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I mounted new Mefo explorers front and back on my 990 without balancing or beads. Took the bike out and ran up it and settled at a cruise speed of 75-80. The bike vibrated from out-of-balanced wheels/tires. I put in the beads... 2 ounces rear and 1 ounce front. Ran the bike again and most of the vibration was gone. Added about 1/2 ounce more to each tire and ran the bike up again. Not perfect but they did appear to balance the tires. The balance was not as good as before but I had gone from stock scorpions to an aggressive tread with harder rubber. I had to figure that these tires would never be as smooth as the stock tires. <o></o>
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For what it's worth I am a believer in the beads. <o></o>
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Just saying that dyna beads can be scientifically tested with the right experiment. My test while convincing to me is no scientific method of testing. If I managed a mc magazine I sure would conduct a scientific test and get the facts out one way or another.<o></o>
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KJ<o></o>
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Amen!!

A tire shop didn't have the correct adapter to balance the wheels on my Ford F450 and tossed in the beads instead. From expeareance, they did not work at all.

You ride a Harley and you actually noticed vibration? Never heard of that before!

The balance test test for them could be done using one of the on-the-car balancers. I've never understood why that test has apparently never been done by either the pro or anti folk. Seems to me, that would be the test to do.

Here is a "test" for balancing beads.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB5m79SYgt8

This is is an example that is not conclusive or even acceptable as a scientific test.

Glaring questions:
Are there really beads in that tire?
If there are beads how about adding some more!
How about a pre run without beads and then with beads?
How about first balancing a tire to show that the machine works?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ullnFQD4F1I

Example of dynamic balancing principle.

I've used them in, I think, ten sets of tires over 35,000 miles. D-606 Knobbies and Metzeler Enduro's(think all terrain tread) and had a smooooooooth ride each and every time.
If they didn't work they would have been out of the tubes within 50 miles and I would have gone and gotten them balanced.
So yeah, I like them.

I put a new (used) set of tires on my winter set-up (Jetta, non TDI)

I balanced the tires with airsoft BB's. I have driven the car pretty extensively since October. Including a few interstate trips at cruisin speeds. (not as fast as the OP though:eek1). But they have performed just as I would expect a computer balance to ride, no shakes or weirdness.

I ran them for the first time in my old CB, which I ended up trading for the Jetta.

They make a nice soothing "rainstick" kind of sound if you can roll them around a bit, but other than that I have been very pleased with the BB's. I've yet to dismount one however, and I expect that to be interesting, unless I can come up with something clever.

I know this thread is about the Dyna beads, so hopefully I've muddied the waters a bit more.

I use air soft bbs, too, on my BMW GS Adv. My tires wear real fast but no instability at WFO. And yeah, I am there pretty often. 126.8 on the Big Ugly with TKC's. If they will handle that, they will handle most anything you can throw at 'em. JMO.

I've never used the beads, and I don't intend to try them. I own a Coats bubble balancer, and I can balance a wheel in about 10 minutes. Why mess with something that's worked for me for about 30 years?

Fitted new tyres yesterday - took the tubes out, fitted them into new tyres, the Dynabeads stay in the tubes. That saved me 20 minutes of balancing by those times.

Yea how come they work for most people then? I'd have to say that at least 75% of people around here like them, including me. Just because you didn't doesn't give you the right to call the company a scam.. Get a grip, pal.

I have been using dynabeads then airsoft BBs for the last 30+ tires


most of my prevous bike had nice oz, marchesini cast and forged wheels. they usually take a quarter oz to balance. so beads would work fine

my zrx has some HEAVY wheels which took 1.5 oz to balance without tires as I found out for the first time last week. I mounted a used angel (pirelli) but the paint spot faded so I did not clock and just put in my usually amount of BBs. got a vibe above 80mph so I balanced it the old fashion way.

In cars, which have a longer radius from the axle to the tires' edge, I find a static imbalance to emerge around 45-55 mph.

If I balance said tire and I have a vibration around 65~75 mph, I am suspect of a road force induced imbalance. A road force caused by rim run-out or imperfection in the tires' construction.

Sometimes the road force imperfection can be alleviated by reclocking the tire on the rim 180 degrees. Most of the time it's a runout issue with the rim. ie... bent lip, broken spokes, etc....

The other kick in the nuts is that if you ride a bike with an imbalance for a while, say 500+ miles, you end up wearing the tire circumference into an oblong shape. (Think egg shaped) The oblong shaped tire induces a vibration no matter how many times you put weights on it or put balancing media into it. Dynabeads only work with a good true rim and a new tire. Worn/questionable tires (track take offs) will not always balance out because you don't know if it's worn evenly.

This is why some people bitch that dynabeads didn't work for them. Their used tires are F'ed.

Good for you! But I'd say you're the only person on this thread with a tire balancer.
For people like me who change their own tires and don't own a balancer, and have no need to since using Dyna Beads, they are a lot cheaper than taking the tire/rim or the whole bike to a place that will charge, what I consider a healthy fee to change and or balance them. I also don't have to buy and fool with lead weights.

I run tube tires. After the two minutes it took to put the beads in the tubes on the first set of tires I changed out, I have never have to balance any of other five pairs of tires in 30,000 miles. I don't change tubes until they are toast.
Bottom line for me is...they work! For an initial up front cost of 10-20 bucks, I'll keep using them until they stop making them.

Another thing, I've only been riding four years and had never heard of the paint dot on a tire until about a month ago so of course all my tire changes didn't line this dot up where it is supposed to go....Still no vibration! Even more of an endorsement for Dyna Beads. Next tire change I may have to try this dot thing out.

Where is the dot supposed to be again? Across from the air valve?

That's the light spot. Valve goes to the dot if there is one. You'd be surprised how good tires can be now. I've mounted many that didn't really need any weights.

I lucked out on the balancer, picked it up at a swap meet years ago for fifty bucks. But there are balance arbors out there that are really inexpensive, and It's not difficult at all to balance with one of those. Try Harbor Freight.

Thanks! I have four tires to mount soon so I'll be looking for the dot.
I've seen homemade balancers on here somewhere. I've had zero problems with the magic beads so I'll stick with them for the time being.
I've been wanting to try the air soft BB's in my truck tires but haven't gotten around to it.

Hey Kurt,

Next time you get your bike up to 60 mph .......... pull in your clutch and let your motor go back to an idle while the bike coasts down the road. I'm guessing that most of your vibration will go away when you do this.

Next time you want to have your tires balanced, call me. I'll do it for $250!

Welcome to ADV Rider! Angry, spiteful and uninformed ............. you're gonna fit in here just fine!

I wish he would have told us how he really felt about them instead of beating around the bush...