Are Balance Beads a thing?

[tsmitty]

Ok, I've been out of the game for a long time, when I had the front tire mounted on my 86 700 (87 Hurricane 17"} the dude said they use Balance Beads to balance tires? Is this a thing? Say it aint so!

 

No but are they any good? Back in the day we had the jell in a bottle, but I don't think it was ok on the track.

Are balance beads ok on the track?

 

You'all must git a kick out of how this broke sport tourer/privateer hobbled together his bike...well hell I'm lovin it. 

None of my old hacks have come-un-done through the years! 🙂

[DannoXYZ]

They are around and they do work. I don't like the second or two after hitting bump dislodges them and wheel has to re-balance and reach equilibrium again.

[Captain 80s]

I static balance my wheels on my wheel stand.  Usually takes me about 3 or 4 rounds til it's stopping randomly.  No issues, tested 130mph+.

[tsmitty]

yeah, I think I'll use stick-on's. So I'll spend today looking for my set of cones..that sucks..

Nothing else to do, waiting on some parts to put my forks back together.

[Thumbs]

14 hours ago, davidhamilton994 said:

Citeam despre Balance Beads și mi-am dat seama că după o zi lungă în garaj sau cu hobby-urile tehnice, e plăcut să te relaxezi puțin online. Eu mă joc pe chicken road game, optimizat pentru jucătorii din România, și jocurile rapide și bonusurile locale fac timpul liber mai distractiv. E o metodă excelentă de a te deconecta și de a te relaxa după orele petrecute cu motoarele sau alte proiecte.

In English?

[Captain 80s]

Translation:

 

Balance Beads should not be a thing.

[FromMaine]

Balance Beads are not my thing, but they do have utility.

 

I have used them twice when I had to swap a rear tire  when about 2,000 miles from my garage.

 

First time was in Wisconsin coming back from a cross country. Had a tire sent to a buddy who did not have a garage or tools. I managed to get the tire off and the new one on with my tire irons, but having no real option to balance properly I just used beads. I.knew this ahead of time so ordered them with the tire.

 

Second time was when I bought my 4th Gen from a fellow in Iowa. I was headed to Colorado from there, so sent a rear tire and beads ahead as I flew in to pick it up. Again I knew ahead of time he lacked much in the way of tools. In fact I used a 2×4, hammer, and a door frame to break the bead cave man style. Then borrowed a neighbor's pancake compressor that surprisingly managed to set the bead.

 

I have done a few other tire swaps on the road,  but it was in really well equipped garages, so I used a static balancer and weights as I do here in Maine.

[mello dude]

The motorcycling collective kinda goes and I agree with my experience....In big cruisers and touring bikes, they are useful and work ok.. 

(I am running them in the Valkyrie, they do the job there,.... the thing has big heavy wheels)

But in the more sport orientied bikes... dirt/standards/sport bikes and of course the VFR, a normal style balance weight is prefered... 

I tried balance beads on my VFR once and in the triple digit territory, they arent balance beads any more! (imbalance beads?)

[BusyLittleShop]

Balance Beads are a silly thing...

 

[DrErgal]

Theoretically they work.
But... dunno... I feel much more comfortable in stick-on weights set with static balancer.

 

[vfrgiving]

After years of using Hazard Fraught stick on weights and static balance, I tried balance beads for the first time on my 1800 cruiser last tire change before a cross country run.  I poured in amount recommended in pamphlet by motorcycle tire size  (2oz front and rear), even used one of those tiny Walter White scales to get the measurement. 

 

Cruiser has been doing this weird 

wiggle shimmy on acceleration since.  Especially disconcerting leaving a light for a left turn. Around 24-35 mph, but then everything quickly smooths out.  Interstate speeds absolutely flying is butter, no problems.

 

I've been looking at this more closely since getting back from my trip a few weeks ago.  The wobble definitely felt like a wayward mass that was distributing out at speed (how the beads work) but besides balance beads, looking at other possible causes.

 

Running 65L top trunk, but I was before the beads and this shimmy wasn't there.

 

  Front steering bearing preload could use a little snug up.  With bike on a stand,  font tire falls too easily to the stops and bounces one too many times, but it's not like the steering stem is flopping around in the head.  Bike is currently at 122K miles, and I don't think bearing preload has changed significantly just for this last tire set.  I'll get some lock washers on order and tackle this winter.  1800 has the nice bearings from the factory that 1300 owners upgrade to.

 

Rear shock bushings are toast, and they have been forever, lol.  I have parts on order for this fix, but again no shimmy before beads.

 

Well, rear tire was at wear bars and rear brake pads down, so I replaced all yesterday.  No beads this time, just the static balance and stick on weights.  While I had the Rabaconda out, I ripped off the front wheel, broke the beads and pulled one side over the wheel.  Vacuumed out the beads, reset everything and did static balance.. back on the bike.

 

This morning commute on the cruiser, no shimmy shake on acceleration.  Not a hint.  Guess it was the beads.  Now I'm sure some bead fans are gonna say "2oz?!  That's way too much".  So what? 1.85 oz for slightly less shimmy, 1.5oz maybe not enough and I get vibration at speed?  No thanks, I'll stay with the static balance.

[DrErgal]

20 hours ago, vfrgiving said:

Now I'm sure some bead fans are gonna say "2oz?!  That's way too much".  So what? 1.85 oz for slightly less shimmy, 1.5oz maybe not enough and I get vibration at speed?  No thanks, I'll stay with the static balance.

That's the core of the entire issue: how much weight?
With a static balance you can detect the required weight easily and accurately.
With the beads... well... it's a sort of gamble

[vfrgiving]

My understanding of the beads is that even if you get the "exact weight"... the lump of them is going to be sitting randomly at any location around the tire when stopped (which most likely isn't going to be the exact lightest point).  At really slow speeds they will just stay pouring to the bottom.  Get moving enough and centripetal force will pin them to an area but not where needed (this "wobble" feeling)   The wheel needs to get up to speed for them actually to distribute where needed so the tire needs to pass through this "wobble" zone at lower speeds on your way there.

[gropula]

I haven't used them but there's science behind it and it works. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T47s4L1Wje4 It does need to reach critical speed for the beads to settle in the right spot. Once they're in the right spot they stay there until you stop or slow down significantly. I think it's not a good solution for motorcycles because your tires will be significantly out of balance until you reach the critical speed for them to self balance. What if you stop, accelerate to sub critical speed of 40mph, hit a pothole or something and the unbalanced wheel starts to wobble more than it would if balanced by weights?

[vfrgiving]

Spending hours on the highway, they're great.  However, I use my bikes for commuting, which is a lot of stops and starts and passing through the sub-critical zone..  This rear tire lasted something like 15,000 miles so that's how long I experimented with a balance bead install.

 

A lot of things "work" on bikes in one way or another.  These balance beads work great flying across Kansas.  Slowing down in corners in the mountains or commuting brings sub-critical wobble zone time.  Darksiding "works", which I experimented with for 11,000 miles before this last moto tire set with the beads.  Wet traction was amazing. There was no catastrophic bead failure tire auto-dismount.. but the handling feel was atrocious and having to hold counter-steer once leaned in a corner was annoying.

[mello dude]

I'm still at using for 700 lbs + bikes.... I have none of the slow speed wierdness or wobbles on the Valk, nothing but smoooooth...everybodys experience is different... 

... Lighter bikes than that... definately go with wheel weights... 

[Terry]

10 hours ago, gropula said:

I haven't used them but there's science behind it and it works. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T47s4L1Wje4 It does need to reach critical speed for the beads to settle in the right spot. Once they're in the right spot they stay there until you stop or slow down significantly. I think it's not a good solution for motorcycles because your tires will be significantly out of balance until you reach the critical speed for them to self balance. What if you stop, accelerate to sub critical speed of 40mph, hit a pothole or something and the unbalanced wheel starts to wobble more than it would if balanced by weights?

In my experience wheel balancing doesn't really matter until you hit 80km/hr or more. Up to that point there is not enough centripetal force to cause any obvious vibration, then you hit the "sweet spot" where the tyre bounce frequency coincides with the rotation speed and the shudder starts. So from that perspective, the fact that balance beads are not nicely distributed at low speed shouldn't matter. Having said that, I've never used them.

[Gen5FIYUK]

On 11/21/2025 at 12:15 PM, Thumbs said:

In English?

It looks like a spam account that replies just so it can mention some online mobile game you can go sign up to.

 

Look at the post history.

This post from 2023 as well they've bumped.

[mello dude]

1 hour ago, Gen5FIYUK said:

It looks like a spam account that replies just so it can mention some online mobile game you can go sign up to.

 

Look at the post history.

This post from 2023 as well they've bumped.

I Banned the guy...... 

[vfrgiving]

5 hours ago, mello dude said:

I'm still at using for 700 lbs + bikes.... I have none of the slow speed wierdness or wobbles on the Valk, nothing but smoooooth...everybodys experience is different... 

... Lighter bikes than that... definately go with wheel weights... 

 

Maybe some current condition on my 1800 was exacerbated by the balance beads, but my rig is pushing 800 lbs.  😕  Cruiser was bike of choice again today, no acceleration shimmy.  Felt comfortable enough to have just right hand on the throttle for a slow speed roll-on.  The beads will never be going near the VFR.