1980 Build for Dad

I static balance my wheels using just the axle, no spacers on the sides, and it's always worked fine. But, since I have no spacers on there, I level the axle in my stand where it's going to be used so the wheel won't "walk" side to side as I spin it .....

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Raymond said:
FWIW, I don't think wheel balance is a very big issue for bikes like ours. I have experienced vibration from badly balanced wheels on cars, more than once. But never with a bike. The m/c engineer in the village agrees and says it's sufficient to place the spot printed inside the tyre opposite the valve. YMMV.
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Now Raymond - you are not suggesting that the XS650 vibrates so badly that a bit of wheel assembly unbalance is swamped by the quaking of the engine - are you, young man?

Perish the thought! ;)
 
MaxPete said:
Now Raymond - you are not suggesting that the XS650 vibrates so badly that a bit of wheel assembly unbalance is swamped by the quaking of the engine - are you, young man?
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:):):):);)

We all know XS650s don't vibrate, Pete. Not real vibrations, like a Buell.

Years ago, a guy who understood the maths better than I ever will, explained that vibration from an unbalanced wheel depended on the harmonics, which depended on the diameter of the wheel. I seem to remember he told me vibration on a m/c wheel, with its large diameter wouldn't occur until Mach 0.8. Or at least some not very likely speed.
 
Raymond said:
We all know XS650s don't vibrate, Pete. Not real vibrations, like a Buell.
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The tool kit on my 650 it little used. That's not how it looks. The plastic pouch is full of holes. The tools are blackened and most of the plating is worn off. I wonder how that could have happened.
 
I've always changed my own tires. For many years, I never balanced any of them, I didn't have the means to, and I never had any handling issues that I recall. Most all of the wheels had balancing weights on them from a previous shop tire install, and I always left them in place. This leads me to believe that when you balance one, you're balancing mostly the rim, not the tire. To this day, I still leave the weights on then check the balance after the new tire is mounted. It's usually still good. If a change is required, it's usually just a minor one.
 
:poke: :D
I always remove the weights start fresh. Cuz I don't trust the work of the lowest guy at the motorcycle shop or wherever that wheel was last balanced.
I have balanced a few bare wheels just to see and yeah mags can be WAY out of balance.
Spoke wheels not as much.
Have noticed vibrations on a previously smooth, balanced wheel/tire and found, stick on weights missing so they make a difference.
Have found a few tires that needed a lot of weight and still shook. One so bad I removed and scrapped the tire. I believe those tires were internally flawed. Always good to take a good look on the balance stand for any obviously lumpy tires. check that the "seating rib" shows evenly all around the tire on both sides, if it doesn't; deflate, lube, and try again. While I usually obey the speed limits I like to keep my motorcycles capable of extra legal speeds cuz, well, me. :p
 
jetmechmarty said:
The tool kit on my 650 it little used. That's not how it looks. The plastic pouch is full of holes. The tools are blackened and most of the plating is worn off. I wonder how that could have happened.
Click to expand...

Evil plot by space aliens irradiating you, your motorcycle and the tool kit Marty - be afraid!
 
Quick question...

I was able to get the fork studs replaced and the front wheel on. Took it for another test ride and found that the front tire has a wobble to it. I observed it carefully and the wheel is true, but the tire is wobbling from side to side at one spot. Could I have damaged the tire while wrestling it back on the rim? Could the tube be out of position somehow? When I got the bike it had a little flat spot from sitting for so long, but it self-corrected after being at pressure for a couple of rides, could it have something to do with that? Any ideas?
 
If the rim is true, then it could be that the tire isn't seated properly on the rim. The tire should have some indicator lines that should be even around rim...if one side is sitting lower/higher than the other, you'll see the indicator lines dip under the rim's edge. deflate the tube and push the tire into position and refill. However, if it is seated correctly, then is it an old tire? Old rubber gets hard and keeps its shape...it may straighten out after a few heat cycles, or it may just be time for a new tire.
 
The tire may not be fully seated on the rim all the way around. If you look closely all around rim where it meets the tire, you should see a narrow rib of rubber next to the edge of the rim. It should be popped out past the rim equally all the way around .....

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When mounting the tire, it usually takes quite a bit of air pressure to pop the bead out properly all the way around, like 50 pounds or so.
 
if needed deflate, brush or spray ru-glyde in the gap, reinflate, so the tire can slide against the rim to the proper position. Sometimes you can watch it slide other times it "pop"s into place.
 
Thanks all for the feedback.

Brassneck said:
is it an old tire?
Click to expand...

Yes and no. The PO bought and mounted a new front tire for it, spliced some 12 gauge Romex into the battery bay :shrug:, and seemingly never touched it again. The tire still had all of its casting marks, but I have no idea how old it actually is, or how long it was sitting on a flat.

Looking closer, I think the tire might be a little cattywampas, hard to tell for sure. I will try to deflate and adjust, sounds like it will be time for a new tire if that doesn't work.

Good news is that all the other systems are working perfectly. Getting close to closing the book on this one, hoping to move in the '71 this next weekend!
 
You can be a little more aggressive than hoping air pressure and lube will fully seat the bead. A rubber mallet smacking the tire side wall and or the tread can help slip the tire bead into position. In this particular pic example I used air pressure, (approx 45 lbs)
Soapy water in the bead crack, warm air from the room heater, and the mallet.
Finished up very well seated and true running.
20200104_123001-1.jpg
 
When the weather allows I leave "to be installed" tires in the sun til they are good and warm. In the winter they sit in front of the wood stove.
You should be checking that date code!
https://www.tireamerica.com/resource/tire-date-code
I've tossed a lot of brand new 3 number coded tires that came on barn bikes.
These are sitting in the shop, new tires, 3 number date codes, might use em for a spring road test then they get scrapped.
cool wheels.jpg
 
gggGary said:
You should be checking that date code!
Click to expand...
Ha, I am showing my automotive ignorance here, but I had no idea tires were labeled with the date. The tire in question is "2711". Am I correct in reading that my front tire is ~10 years old? Google is telling me that 10 years is too old for a tire, would you all agree with that?
 

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