New GS? Are your wheels balanced?

[Andrew Lodge]

Hi Sproggy

I will take the D607's off you for £90 the pair. I think they are the bees b******ks on the GS and am on my second set.

I have thought about swapping to 020's but as the 607's have enough grip for me after jumping off a mille R I think I will leave well alone.

Where are you, I travel a lot so if you are not in a rush I may well be able to meet you at some point.

Andrew

 

[Wapping]

I only got the GS as I was fed up with all the blinking cobble stones and speed bumps around Wapping.

You should try them on a CBR1000RR or an SP1. The farmers have never been right since!

 

[Stu-13]

You should try them on a CBR1000RR or an SP1. The farmers have never been right since!

I did, I've had five years worth of different CBR's beofre the GS. I now spin pass low slung sports cars at warp instead of crawling behind them!

 

[Paul Wakefield]

I was at Micheldever on Monday and the tyre fitter mentioned as we were chatting that one of the tyre companies (Michelin?) had recently been testing bikes without balancing the wheels and had found no noticeable difference.

He wasn't happy as part of their bonus is dependent on the weights they fit!

Paul

 

[sproggy]

I was at Micheldever on Monday and the tyre fitter mentioned as we were chatting that one of the tyre companies (Michelin?) had recently been testing bikes without balancing the wheels and had found no noticeable difference.

Maybe Michelins are better balanced from the factory than Dunlops....

 

[Miriam]

Hi Sproggy,

Went to the dealers today, and they put a 10gram weight on the front wheel rim and two 15gram weights on the rear. I didn't notice a lot of difference though on the short ride home. Not sure what to expect to be different, but I'm happy things are as they should be now.

 

[GrinningGSer]

I punctured my Dunlop 207 rear after 500 miles on a new 05 1200GS

Dealer plugged the tyre and said that it was 80grms out of balance

 

[Graham G]

Wired Spokes any Different?

Mmmm...after reading this thread I checked mine...no weights front or back. Mine have wired spokes, so not sure if this makes a difference. Have to admit to not noticing anything odd about the wheels - the tyres are the standard Metzeler Tourance that come with those wheels. I didn't see 'wheel balancing' as part of the pre-delivery check list - so presumably this is something that get's overlooked by BMW - and ignored by the dealer?

Mmmm...where's all the German efficiency gone? OK, can someone tell me what I would be feeling with an unbalanced wheel, something that I would notice on fairly bumpy roads? I admit to probably not having enough experience of unbalanced wheels on bikes.

Thanks in advance.

 

[sproggy]

I didn't see 'wheel balancing' as part of the pre-delivery check list - so presumably this is something that get's overlooked by BMW - and ignored by the dealer?

Wheel balancing isn't part of the PDI - as far as my dealer is concerned it's something that should be done at the factory. When I was at the dealer yesterday (waiting for them to diagnose a chronic misfire - turned out to be a duff spark plug) I conducted my own mini-survey of the new GS's in the showrom and of 4 new, unregistered bikes only one had balance weights at all - on the front wheel only. All wore Anakees.

OK, can someone tell me what I would be feeling with an unbalanced wheel, something that I would notice on fairly bumpy roads?

On bumpy roads you'd probably feel nothing at all as a result of unbalanced wheels - the wheels are already shaking around all over the place over the bumps. My problems were most apparent at motorway speeds - vagueness from the front end, a wandering/shimmying sensation (and at some speeds) vibration through the bars. Also, 'flapping' of the bars (not quite a tank-slapper) when running over cats eyes. Generally speaking the faster you ride the more apparent out of balance wheels will be, although mine weren't significantly worse at....um.....high revs in 6th....than they were at 60mph.

 

[Graham G]

Thanks Sproggy

Thanks for that Sproggy. Next time I am on a smooth stretch I'll take a little more notice. A few nights ago I was doing about 80 mph +. The bike felt fine, but somewhere in the back of my head I thought the steering just felt odd - a little light. Thanks for the explanation. When I come to get new tyres I'll be interested to see if any weights appear then (same make tyres of course!)