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[nomad56]

Just read an article in Baggers Magazine about the "Centralmatic Wheel Balancers". They loved them ,so do the guys riding gold wings. Claims to smooth the ride and make it handle like on rails.  Anybody on the site have any comments about them.

[GregKhougaz]

Did you see this thread?   Anyone using Dynabeads?

There are a couple of other threads as well. Try searching Dynabeads.

[nomad56]

Thanks GregKhougaz, I believe the dynabeads are inside the tire. The Centramatic Balancer is a disc that is bolted to the rim between the rotor and rim. It looks like the concept is the same.

[slimdude]

Recently replaced the tires on my scoot and went with the counteract beads. She's smooth as silk at all speeds!

http://www.counteractbalancing.com/counteract/

[longlast]

 

         I can see were thy can work. any throw out the beads would bunch up in that area until it balanced out.
         A good and when you think about it a simple idea.
         Don't know why it's taken so long to come up with it
         I for one will definitely give them a go. If I can get them from here?

[Hotrod50]

Love my Dyna beads in front.  Won't ever go without.

[SimonNottsUK]

 

         I can see were thy can work. any throw out the beads would bunch up in that area until it balanced out.
         A good and when you think about it a simple idea.
         Don't know why it's taken so long to come up with it
         I for one will definitely give them a go. If I can get them from here?

http://www.dynabeads.co.uk

I'm probably going to try them as well.

Simon

[grc]

Check out the fine print, FAQ's, and forums on those beads (any brand) or the Centramatic device and you'll find that they seem to be somewhat beneficial in most people's opinions if the tire and wheel is already balanced pretty well in the first place.  Not so much if your tire and wheel are more than just a tiny bit out of perfect balance.  I've spent some time reading  comments from various types of users, from bikes to cars to trucks, and a common thread seems to be that for best results they have to do a conventional balance first before adding the beads or Centramatic device.  This leads me to wonder if the reported results are in fact real, or just the result of people wanting to believe they spent their money wisely.

None of these "solutions" seem to work with tires and wheels that have any significant amount of imbalance, they also don't fix lateral imbalance or runout issues.  As anyone can see in the video's they post, these things cause severe imbalance themselves when starting out and running at low speeds, since the beads tend to drop to the lowest point thanks to Mr. Gravity, regardless of where the light spot of the wheel/tire assembly actually is located.  That of course doesn't happen with good old fashioned wheel weights.

My take on this entire subject is that it's not unlike the modern engine management systems that utilize closed loop feedback to tweak the base map for best operation over time as components wear or other factors change.  The system doesn't make up for a bad base map, it just keeps a good base map working well.  I believe the beads and Centramatic can be looked at in the same way, they can't fix a really bad balance but perhaps they can maintain a decent one over time.

JMHO - Jerry

[longlast]

   Jerry
  I can see what your saying and were your comming from. But reading up on the useage of the beads is with
  no other whites, but saying that if you were to need 5oz or more in balancing I would be looking for the
  reason why it's so high. At the end of the day to give it a go in order to be rid of the lumps of lead stuck to
  the rim and then find it's a load of hog wash well lesson learned and back to the lead. check out the video
      
    
   
http://www.counteractbalancing.com/counteract/en/products/motorcycles.html
  
   Pete

[nomad56]

I'm with grc on the fact if the tire / rim is a ways out of whack, then you would have to find the root cause first then add the centralmatics or dynabeads. I,ve had wheel weights come off on a few occations so I think I'm going to try the centralmatics wheel discs. At least they can be removed easily. Not sure what would happen to the dynabeads if you were to have a flat out on the road somewhere. Keep the shiny side up.

[grc]

One other point I'd like to make about the various aftermarket "solutions" like the beads and the Centramatic:  if this stuff is so great why do you suppose none of the auto companies use these things in production?  I can guarantee you throwing a handfull of cheap ceramic beads into each tire as it is mounted to the rim would be much less expensive than the procedures we used in the auto industry to assure proper balance and vehicle dynamics.  I can also guarantee you that the cost savings would lead the typical auto executive to have wet dreams, since we considered cost reductions of pennies per unit to be a big deal in an industry that cranks out many millions of vehicles each year.  If these "solutions" were as good as the marketing hype, there would be no wheel balancer and wheel weight industry left.  Last time I looked every auto manufacturer still balances wheels, every dealership and tire dealer and independent shop still has wheel balancers and weights, etc.  This should tell you something.

Jerry

[petewerner]

with my new wheels and tires, I used the amount of "Ride On" another brand that plugs small leaks and has the balls to balance them as well. I poured it in and then refilled with air, no other balancing, spooned on the new rims and filled. They run very smooth, I am happy with this stuff and it appears to work as advertised. I used Ride On stuff prior to this and it also promised to balance and fix small leaks, I never had a leak(that I know of) but they were balanced well!

[Thermodyne]

My TRX has had a balance issue with the front end from day one.  I pulled the front wheel twice to check the balance, even remounting it the second time.  Switching to Dynabeads did cure the 60-70 mph shimmy that I had, but it still vibrated a lot after 70.  Lots of peeps were convinced that it was the nature of the TRX front tires, so I figured I'd ride it out till it was time to change the tire.  This winter I added lowers to the scooter and the 70+ mph vibrations have all but gone away.  Scooter is nice and smooth now.  It still transfers every little ripple in the road right to the bars, but no more speed related vibrating.

[nomad56]

hey grc, I think you defeated your own point. That is what the industry wants you to do is go to the local dealer for all your needs (parts ,repairs,etc) . Maybe it's all about the MONEY they would loose if they promoted these products, as people would find another reason not to spend their money at a dealership or a prefered shop. Don't know what the Dealership shop rates are in your area but here on the West coast of Canada it can be upwards of $110 / hr. I'm still going to try the centralmatics

[donald p]

The BAD thing is you do not know how bad your tire is really out of balance,when new from tire company.