Maintenance & Technical > KX500 Original

Rear Wheel balance

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KXcam22:
That's a good idea to add a 2nd rim lock.  All my old european bikes had 2, but I never considered adding a 2nd to the KX.  I always wondered why they didn't put the single rimlock opposite the valve stem to help the balance, but It is propably to make tire changes (or manufacturing) easier.  I will definitely add a 2nd this winter when I put on a new rear. Cam.

Rick:
Ok, Paul, here I am, ready to post.

You guys with two rim locks must be moma's boy's with no sense of adventure...  :lol: (Just kidding).

On the balance issue, those who still run the Reno to Vegas event balance the wheels front and rear, but this is because of the sustained HIGH SPEED running.  If you're not running sustained high speeds, balancing should not be necessary.

With that said, you probably have another problem relating to the rim.  I think You mentioned you checked the side-to-side alignment of the rim, but don't remember you indicating you checked the outside of the rim in relation to the hub.  You can check this easily by clamping a srewdrive to the swingarm and rotate the tire while watching the rim's movement in relation to the screwdriver.  I would not be surprised to hear that the rim is not centered on the hub.  This is not real tough to fix, so just post up if that is a problem.

Finally, in my oppinion, balancing an offroad rim is a waste of time, as I do not believe any weights installed can stand the abuse of the offroad environment.  As for two rim locks, I stay with one, as it makes for a faster tire change.  With all the racing and riding, I have had two flat tires, both on the front.  However, even with only one front rim lock, I still rode just under 90 miles in a California National Hare & Hound without a problem...OK, the bike was a little squirrelly in the deep sand, but that was all the more reason to keep her pinned.  

Rick

I'll be curious to hear what you find as you investigate further.

GreenMachine:
I usually don't post after Rick, cause his 2 cents are usually the last thing that needs to be said. But I have been balancing my rims(both front and back) For a while now. I noticed alot of vibrations while doing top speed testing so I decided to balance the wheels to see if it was coming from there. This is how I did it. Don't need any fancy wheel weight or machines.  All ya need is a roll of solder and some time. with the bike on a stand you must take off the brake rotors. Then I do a 4 point static balance. Mark off 4 points on you wheels. (90 deg. apart from each other.) Set one of the points at the top and let the rim go. It will probably start to move. (oh did I mention I do this after changing bearings) Let the wheel settle. once it stops moving, take some solder and wrap it around the spoke right next to the nipple at the highest point on the rim. If the solder ends up at the bottom remove some of it. continue doin this until you can put all of the 4 points at the top and the wheel doesn't move.

This should not be used as a band aid fix for a out of true wheel. That should also be checked.

Just my 2 cents.
Later,
Wig

Rick:
Wow, now that's creative balancing!!  I've marked this post as being added to my book of tricks.  This process is so simple that it can be done every time you change tires.

A question:  How do you keep the solder from flying off the spokes once your done balancing?

Thanks

Rick

Rick:
Wow, now that's creative balancing!!  I've marked this post as being added to my book of tricks.  This process is so simple that it can be done every time you change tires.

A question:  How do you keep the solder from flying off the spokes once your done balancing?

Thanks

Rick

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