Harbor freight motorcycle wheel balancer
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- Опубліковано 15 вер 2024
- I purchased this harbor freight wheel balanced, even with the horrible reviews on the website. I just went to home depot and purchased a steel rod the same size as the current one and cut to size.
I was going to make my own balancer. Then I thought that with the brake calipers off during the tire change and no pads touching the discs, the axle can be used to accomplish the same thing (CBR1K). It did and that's what I've been doing the last several tire changes. Tires run smooth as silk.
What about the rear wheel? Mine doesn't have bearings and the shaft is what turns it.
the less money spent on tire balancers, the more money you have for beer!
If you can get one of the 20% coupons it really helps to lower the price of the w/b.I don't see why this wouldn't work with most other motorcycle tires, but then you would have to make sure of that when u purchase it. If it doesn't fit up right then just return it, and go with something that actually does work ..
Very helpful and preciate cha on that. I found the wheel balance stand, and the weights on the harbor freight website 😁
In just use balance beads now
@@dbest1aVlogs yeah ok and preciate cha on that.
3years later people still waiting for the size of the rod in the description.... lol!
5 years later, that's funny,
7 years now
Let ya know at 10.😂
So what is it?)
Just the same diameter as the one that comes with it. Just go to the store and match it up ... In reality though another commenter pointed out that the bar being straight doesn't fully matter as the wheel is held in place by the two cones. The real important part is the bearings on the balancer.
All said n done, I now I balance my tires with either Ride On liquid , or balance beads . Both work great, and smooth as silk.
Good luck n ride safe.
A slight bend in the axle is negligible during balancing because or the relative mass of the wheel. Bad bearings on the other hand are detrimental.
No - a bend in the axle allows the entire wheel assembly to become eccentric, and it makes a huge difference!
Hello. thanks for nice video.
What is the diameter of shaft?
Actually, it looks like maybe no adapters are needed. Just put the axle through the wheel?
I got this same unit for $25 ..
I modified it to ALSO balance my car and truck tires.
Car tires ... really.... how did you do that ?
I use either balance beads or ride on tire sealant in the bikes now a days.
Well, this unit can support a 12 inch WIDE tire & up to a 30 inch diameter tire ... Look at it very carefully and see.
I have a genesis coupe with a 20x10 wheel on a 305/30/20 for the rear and its literally 11.95 inches wide and 28.5 inches diameter .. And it fit very close and it worked.
Of course the rod that came with this unit does not and will not work with a car wheel ... SO, here is when my mind went to work :-)
i got a 5/8 inch threaded rod that was 24 inches long. IF you use a 24 inch long rod, you will NEED to remove and FLIP that metal triangle piece that holds the rollers UP SIDE DOWN so that the sharp triangle side is now facing DOWN ... This way you can drop the rod onto the rollers without the rod hitting the metal piece because that triangle tip protrudes over the rollers ... OR cut the threaded rod down to match the length of the rod that came with the unit, then you wont have to swap the metal piece around ....
I also got 2 washers and 2 nuts for the rod. I got some 3/4 inch plywood and cut out a 5 inch diameter circle, like doing a speaker box hole ... In the center of the plywood i drilled out a hole for the threaded rod to fit snug. Both these 2 round pieces of plywood will sandwich up to the car wheel (front and back side) where the lug nuts are... Try your best to get that round plywood centered around the lug nuts. Then with the washers and nuts you tighten then down until you got both plywood panels SNUG on that wheel ... Now your threaded rod should be as close to center of that wheel hub as possible ... Nothing is perfect but its damn close enough... Then you raise it up and drop that rod into the rollers of the HF balancer and watch that tire do just as your motorcycle tire does ... spin until the heavy side falls to the bottom ... I have balanced probably 12 tires since i did this mod and no complaints about shaking on the hwy even at 80 mph ...
If you have any tires larger than 12 inches wide and more than 30 inches diameter, well then more mods can be done to the unit i can imagine OR pay someone to do it on those fancy high $$ machines OR use the HF horizontal bubble balancer which i also have and use ....
Not sure if I get what you are doing. You put the weights on the opposite side of the heavy spot which is at the bottom so your weights go to the top. When you tested this, the weights are still at the top. I would think you would want the weights after balancing on the side but I may have it wrong
The heavy point of the tire would fall down to the bottom, so you would put xx amount of weight at the opposite (light) end to counter balance that. Then test at a few different positions to see if the wheels balances out.
I don't do this anymore though. I just use either a tube of ride on tire balance and sealer, or some balance beads.
take care.
I am glad it has worked out for you. I have no complaints with it at all. I am by far no pro at riding, and most likely rarely go over 70mph on my bike, but guys on superbikes that like doing 140+ may want to stick to letting the pros do this ... for obvious reasons.
The reasons aren't obvious. What are they?
Did your bearings rotate smoothly out of box? Two of mine seem to be binding.
They did on the replacement bar ... yes ... I am not sure on the stock bar HF includes in the box, as It is umber crap and not straight ...
what about at high speeds like 105 110 and how do u know how much to used
Been up to 90 on the Vstar , no issues .
For dyna beads check their website to see there scale of how much to use per your tire size. Just google dynabeads balance beads. Their site should come up. They are sold on Amazon also.
ive been up to 140 on unbalanced tires and mismatch tire size 190/55 instead of 180/55 on my f4i
Good video. I'm thinking about getting one of those Harbor Freight balancers and doing the same thing. Some have said there are no wheel adapters with it and none available, but it looks like you are using some. I have a Softail and my son has a Sportster. Would this tool work for these bikes out of the box (except maybe the steel rod) or would I have to buy or make some adapters? Thanks.
Did you ever use this balancer? Haha im in the same boat. But i dont know what else i need to modify to make it work on my harley dyna. Is it just the axel rod i need to replace?
Apparently people were saying the rod doesn't hinder the balance action or the movement on the bearings. So I'd say you can go ahead and mount the wheel up and try it. I do use this still to balance the rim with no tire when needed. Then add 2 Oz of beads or use ride on tire sealant.
@@Cheaps928 I never did use it
can you use the tool to balance car tires?
A guy commented that he did. He used plywood cut to the inside Diameter of the wheel and then a hole for the rod. He inserted the clamps and then put tire on spun and balanced with the clamp weights.
I never tried it.
Now a days I just use 2 Oz of balance beefs in my tires . Works great. I still have this unit though.
I wonder why they have not made something very similar to this but for car wheel ..?? I know they have the horizontal bubble balancer, but why not make this same thing but for car wheels ..?? Why are the car wheels balanced horizontally and motorcycle wheels balanced vertically ?
On the computer balancer they balance the car wheel vertically. This method did work good, an ounce of beads really seals the deal...
I didn't ask about the computer balancer, i already know that exists ... My question was why has someone NOT made a manual vertical balancer like this one for the motorcycle tire..??
The vertical balancer seems to be easier ...
Probably because you don't have two points for the cones to go in the hub, and then spin for the heavy spot. So I guess that's why they have the horizontal style. But I am no engineer so...
Yea now that i think about it... The motorcycle has one rod that goes thru and it will balance on that... A car tire has the center hub hole but its thin and wont support itself ... Then there are MULTIPLE bolt patterns involved .. Yea i guess just stick with the horizontal .. LOL
www.nomartirechanger.com/Monster_Balancer_p/bl-monster.htm
I just had a guy that rides a harley say he never heard of anyone balancing motorcycle tires🤣 I was like dude. Really
Lol. Hey ignorance rides many brands of bikes. I since use either ride on or balance beads . I do still use this balancer to static balance . The bearings are a little sucky.
To be fair most hardly ablesons are not able to go fast enough to need the tires balance. /s
Is the rod supposed to turn or all stay still
Turn with wheel
The cones are tightened down on the rod
I just use the axel and 2 jack stands
I use beads now. Or Ride on. Whatever works.
The rod turns.. Sorry for late response
If the shaft is bent just straighten it. Just roll it back and forth on the slab or any flat surface .... then just tap the high side with a hammer geeeeez fixed mine in 15 secs
Thank you for watching, and commenting .
I usually use balance beads now .
wat about car tire??? can do this of car tire???
I know one viewer said he did , but he had to build a spacer for the inner portion of the wheel (out of wood) so it could mount up.
in this balance??? can do the jop car tire just to change the metal ???
Thank you for the tip.. Very helpful
I got one and the bearings are crap. They bind and are gritty to the feal. I was going to change them but could not press out the old ones..I happen to have some great skate bearings the same size... now ill have to buy their bearing press.....
I keep telling myself stop being cheap...and this is the lesson again..I am spending more time dial this thing in then if i built one that was far better....UGG
Also the concentric cones are not even true...They wobble.. now ill have to spend time on the lathe truing them up a little. And that will compound itself at the edge of the wheel...really unhappy with this thing....
What is the bike, bro?
2002 buell blast.
lol. i gotta check mine. mines probly not true either.
Just hold it up to a true straight edge and you will see.
It’s a low process but it works.
You know I ended up using balance beads after this ... worked great. I never thought this video would get this much views, at all.
just bought mine and the darn rod is bent. sucks for quality control. now i got to go get another rod to make work. i will call them and give them grief anyway.
Yes, seems that 98% of them are bent.. It's crazy. I got a similar sized rod from home depot.. cut the rod to fit, and sanded the edges.. I use balance needs now though as I still had a slight vibration at 70 ..
what happened to just a little tape? looks like your ready to paint the house! lol
I actually need to paint the house.
heck me too!
still waiting for the new,possible straight axle to get to me. it is taking harbor freight 11 days to get here.if it is not ,they will get another call from me till they get it right.
Man good luck with that... I got a bar of matching size to the bent and just cut to fit and filed down the edges.. Works great.
I wish I would have known about harbor freight wheel balancers being garbage I bought one got it home found the barrings were shot. took it back the rod was not true wtf
+William Dolezal yea , I have heard some people complain . I used balance beads now. Either dyna beads or airsoft pellet beads..
+dbest1a Vlogs you use those for what?
+William Dolezal they balance the tires . I don't use weights anymore. In the Buell I have dyna beads, in the Vstar I have airsoft pellets .. Both balance well for a smooth ride.
How well did the airsoft balls work
+William Dolezal they worked great .. just there is a math formula to the amount needed . I added to few to the back on my vstar and ended up needing to pull the wheel to add more beads . now smooth as butter . I found the formula on some 4x4 site which gave me about the accurate amount I would have needed (2nd time around)
i dont understand, if you can buy this at lowes then say that its there to buy home depot suks go to lowes
How much?
Best to check the Harbor freight website. I use ride on or balance beads now a days
About 50 bucks
@@derrick.l1870 kool. yea i since bought one 3 years ago and use it pretty accurate
@@henryxavier3751 yeah ok and that good to know
Nice
too many counterbalances get a professional high speed balance alot less weight and time or invest in a highspeed balancer for 1.5k
***** I just use balance beads now ... works great .
What's that?
hahahaha. okay
Like watching paint dry this video...
Maybe I'll do a video on paint drying for you then
Dude, balancing is precision work. You need knowledge and patience.
If you don't have the patience to watch an excellent video on how to balance the two things between you and the rough asphalt speeding by, you'd just better save your money and pay somebody else to do it for you.