New K bike wheel balancing

[ROB]

This post is about the Marc Parnes balancer and the new K bikes.

I'm just about to change out my first rear tire on the R Sport. I've had the tire for about a month, but have been working to get the last miles out of the old tire (will hit 5K with the original Pilot Power tomorrow).

I mount the tire by hand, then use a Marc Parnes balancer to balance it. For those of you who are not familiar with it, it looks like this:


The shaft runs through the center of the wheel, and the cones snug up to the edges of the hub of the wheel, where you tighten the thumb screws to hold them in place. Then you put the whole works on a stand and balance away. I bought one very much like this for my 1990 K75S, and it also worked on my KRS and, with different cones, on the Ducati Multistrada.

Like I said, this is my first time doing this with the R Sport, and I've discovered something as I looked at my rear wheel. Unlike the older K bikes, there is no tube running through the wheel.

Here are pics of the rear wheel from my old RS (this wheel is for sale, BTW).
The side that faces out:


And the side that bolts up to the rear hub:


You can see how thick the center of the wheel is, and how the cones would fit into the center tunnel, which is about 2+3/4"L.

On the other hand, here's a picture of the R Sports rear wheel.



The dark gray is the wheel; the shiny silver is the hub to which it bolts. So the wheel itself is less than 1/4" thick at the hub. That means that the cones on the balancer would touch each other at the points, but they would not suspend the wheel/tire package so that you could spin it and balance it.

There is, however, a solution. Marc Parnes makes an adapter plate that attaches to the wheel so that the cones will work on this type of wheel. Only $35, including postage and handling. Here's a picture of it, from his website:



I ordered one today, then noticed the announcement that he is on vacation until next Monday, so nothing ships until then, if then. I'm planning to head out to Canada on Thursday, a week from tomorrow. Cutting it a little thin,wouldn't you say?

I left a voicemail at Marc Parnes shop, asking for FedEx or something else fast, but I'm not all that hopeful.

SO, does anyone in Piedmont North Carolina have this adapter plate that I can borrow for 24 hours? I would sure appreciate it. Six-pack of your choice. Even I.P.A.
Anybody?

[Lee]

I saw in another post by Kneedragger, that Beech also makes an adapter for the S. http://www.i-bmw.com/member.php?u=170

Post number 74 has a picture of Beech's adapter. http://www.i-bmw.com/showthread.php?p=230594#post230594

[ROB]

Thanks, Lee, but I have this time element working against me now. If I can't get the part, I'll have to ask the dealer to do it, if he will. I have the 6000 mile service scheduled (early) for next Tuesday, but I was hoping to have this finished before then.

[Kneedragger]

Originally Posted by Lee

I saw in another post by Kneedragger, that Beech also makes an adapter for the S. http://www.i-bmw.com/member.php?u=170

Post number 74 has a picture of Beech's adapter. http://www.i-bmw.com/showthread.php?p=230594#post230594

Yes Rob, I've got one of Beech's adapters and it is very precise... you may want to contact him and see if he'll overnight one of them to you. If you can't get in contact with him, I can loan you mine and overnight it to you if there's no other option... seems like you should be able to find one closer to you...

[Bertbrumfield]

Rob check out this item from harbor freight:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/pho...8499/98490.gif

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=98490

Fits a 1/2" diameter shaft. isn't that what you are using? The winston salem store on peters creek [south] just next to K-mart had them in stock last week.

With 8 mounting holes, it fits more than one bmw wheel. I bet that it will fit the r-sport [and S] wheels.

If not bring the wheel to my house and I will balance it on my bubble balancer. pm me for my address and phone no. [or just google it]

[ROB]

Originally Posted by Kneedragger

Yes Rob, I've got one of Beech's adapters and it is very precise... you may want to contact him and see if he'll overnight one of them to you. If you can't get in contact with him, I can loan you mine and overnight it to you if there's no other option... seems like you should be able to find one closer to you...

Charlie, you're a prince to offer to do that, but as you say, I will be able to find a more local solution, even if it's to pay the stealer. Who are you, Al Gore, with his huge carbon footprint? Not that there's anything wrong with that!

Thanks again.

[ROB]

Originally Posted by Bertbrumfield

Rob check out this item from harbor freight:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/pho...8499/98490.gif

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=98490

Fits a 1/2" diameter shaft. isn't that what you are using? The winston salem store on peters creek [south] just next to K-mart had them in stock last week.

With 8 mounting holes, it fits more than one bmw wheel. I bet that it will fit the r-sport [and S] wheels.

If not bring the wheel to my house and I will balance it on my bubble balancer. pm me for my address and phone no. [or just google it]

You da man, Bert! I thought you would have a solution. That Harbor Freight store is about 12 miles from my house. I may make it there tonight. Thanks a bunch.

[Bertbrumfield]

Rob, i just went out and looked at the r-sport wheel. the harbor freight adapter is too small. probably only fits the older rs, rt, gs etc. I will pm you with my address and phone number if you wnat to bring the wheel over.

[ROB]

Well, Bert, that was the question. The Harbor Freight adapter has 8 holes and is 3.5" in diameter. The R Sport has 5 holes, so I was wondering how that was going to line up. Apparently not at all.

I got your PM, and will give you a call. I may mount the new tire this evening.

Thanks again.

[Louis]

Originally Posted by ROB

This post is about... planning to head out to Canada on Thursday, a week from tomorrow. Cutting it a little thin,wouldn't you say?

Anybody?

You got a week to plan that trip!

Get a grip !














:rof lol:

[RFW]

Your wheel has a 5-bolt pattern, and the photo of the adapter plate has only a 4-bolt pattern. That plate will not work.

[Louis]

Originally Posted by RFW

Your wheel has a 5-bolt pattern, and the photo of the adapter plate has only a 4-bolt pattern. That plate will not work.

Problems, problems, problems...

Guess ya need to go to a dealer bud...

Yeah, I know, I'm no help !

[RFW]

Originally Posted by Louis

Problems, problems, problems...

Guess ya need to go to a dealer bud...

Yeah, I know, I'm no help !

Neither am I.... I made my own balancing stand, and also made (using a lathe) the adapter hubs for both my old K100, and the new (5 bolt pattern) K1200GT. Whole thing cost $25 in materials.

[McFly]

Dyna Beads!!!! Seriously...

[K12RKEN]

I use the Nomar stand with their special shaft and cones for single sided wheels,works great.They sell it on their site,and it fits any and all wheels no matter the diameter of the center hole

[K12RKEN]

They'll also do any kind of shipping you want due to time constraints

[guitarian]

Hi Rob,
I have the Marc Parnes and the adapter that fit the K1200S and the K1300S also. I think it may be what you need. Let me know if you still need it.
Nash

[Louis]

Originally Posted by guitarian

Hi Rob,
I have the Marc Parnes and the adapter that fit the K1200S and the K1300S also. I think it may be what you need. Let me know if you still need it.
Nash

See... this guy can help...

I knew there would be a solution somewhere...

Now if Rob can only wake up and smell the coffee...

and turn on his computer !!!

[Louis]

Originally Posted by Louis

See... this guy can help...

I knew there would be a solution somewhere...

Now if Rob can only wake up and smell the coffee...

and turn on his computer !!!

Just got off the phone with Rob.

Had to call him to give him his answers... and solutions

Man, these guys post but don't stick around for replies...

They use excuses like "had to work"... HA !

Maybe next time he has a prob, give me a holler, I got his # !!!

[ROB]

Is this a great community or what? I've been covered up with offers of help, and phone calls reporting of offers of help. How can I lose?

I talked 20 minutes ago with guitarian, who has the adapter plate that I need. I'm headed to his house to pick it up at lunchtime. Bert also offered to balance my wheel with his bubble-type balancer. But I have the Marc Parnes set-up already, so I'd like to get started using it on the R Sport wheel. I mounted the tire on the wheel last night, so I expect to be riding again tomorrow morning.

The one thing I have noticed when I changed the tire was that there are absolutely no weights on the wheel coming from the factory. It was a Michelin Pilot Power that was the original tire, and Michelins have no dots on them showing the lightest spot. So it would be a very slim chance that the wheel would be balanced correctly just by mounting the tire in a random position. So is BMW saying that it doesn't matter about the balance? Well, it does to me. I have to say, though, that if it was out if balance from the factory, it was not enough to degrade the ride.

Thanks again everyone.

[Bertbrumfield]

Originally Posted by K12RKEN

I use the Nomar stand with their special shaft and cones for single sided wheels,works great.They sell it on their site,and it fits any and all wheels no matter the diameter of the center hole

But the cones won't work with the new S, R, R-Sport wheels with the 2" + hole diameter and 5 mounting holes.

[vchoq]

Rob:

I may get excommunicated from the site, but I've never balanced my rear rear wheel on replacement. I haven't had any issues with it (i.e., noticed any vibrations) in 15,000 miles. The weight I took off the rim the first time was 2 grams. When compared to the total mass of the tire and wheel, it's like 0.02%.

[alanp]

Seems like a heck of a lot of hassle which I don't have. My guess is that you all live so far from a motorcycle tyre depot that you have to fit and balance the tyres yourselves. Over here we're so packed together you're never far from any facility. I doubt anyone over here knows what that gadget is. Anyway, hope it all works out.

[Htheater]

Originally Posted by RFW

Your wheel has a 5-bolt pattern, and the photo of the adapter plate has only a 4-bolt pattern. That plate will not work.

Originally Posted by Bertbrumfield

But the cones won't work with the new S, R, R-Sport wheels with the 2" + hole diameter and 5 mounting holes.

Bob and Bert,

You did what I did and didn't look closely at the picture.....the wheel bolt holes are farther outside at the edge of the pic....the adapter plate goes in the center of the BIG (2" or so) hole so it is only just bigger than it....those 4 screw holes you see are used to allow screws to clamp this adapter to the wheel by threading into a plate on the other side of the hole.

[ROB]

Originally Posted by alanp

Seems like a heck of a lot of hassle which I don't have. My guess is that you all live so far from a motorcycle tyre depot that you have to fit and balance the tyres yourselves. Over here we're so packed together you're never far from any facility. I doubt anyone over here knows what that gadget is. Anyway, hope it all works out.

Alan, there's a dealer about 13 miles from my office. Basically we do this for three reasons. First, we're cheap. From various online distributors, I can can buy a set of tires for around $250. The same tires at the dealer will be more than $350, maybe more than $400 (I haven't bought any tires from a dealer in 4 or 5 years, so I'm not sure). And then the dealer will charge $50 to $75 per tire to mount and balance. So when I do it at home, it's $250; at the dealer, maybe as much as $550. There's another set of tires, and these bikes do eat tires. The tools required to do the work can be paid for with the first set. For instance, here's the set-up I use to break the bead of the tire off the wheel.

Pretty high tech, eh? But it works like a charm!



The second reason is that when I do it, I know it's done right. Shop mechanics will automatically assume that the air valve is the heaviest point on the wheel, and will mount the light spot on the tire at that point. When I do the work, I put the bare wheel on the balancer and determine the actual heaviest spot. That way I am likely to use less weights to balance the wheel. Also, since I'll be using this tire, I will spend more time to get the balancing right than will a mechanic in the shop who has the service manager rushing him to mount those tires in 30 minutes when they are charging me for an hour. The mechanic has other time issues that I do not.

And third, I like working on the bike. Modern electronics have taken away me fiddling with timing, ignition and most instrumentation. But I can still change a tire.

So I recommend it!

[MaicoBMW]

Originally Posted by Htheater

Bob and Bert,

You did what I did and didn't look closely at the picture.....the wheel bolt holes are farther outside at the edge of the pic....the adapter plate goes in the center of the BIG (2" or so) hole so it is only just bigger than it....those 4 screw holes you see are used to allow screws to clamp this adapter to the wheel by threading into a plate on the other side of the hole.

Just to clarify Randy, and not sure if this is what you mean to say, but the screws don't actually thread into anything on the other side of the hole, but rather secure the adapter to the wheel by holding the nylon spacers you see on the screws in place. The diameter of the nylon spacers is large enough such that they clamp on to the wheel and hold the adapter in place, and you only use two at a time. So yes, this is the correct adapter for the new K bikes, and it works great.

[MaicoBMW]

Maybe these photos will help illustrate how the adapter works.

[Big_Bend]

ROB, you're going to CANADA?!?


Oh man I'm so jealous! What is the occasion? Going to sell some lumber? Buy some plywood? Or is this the epic scenic camping trip to the great North we've been planning for years? I wana ride to Canada so freekin bad...

Have a great time man!

c-ya.. Allen

[digger]

Out of eight rear tires on my R Sport, only three have been balanced. No Problems.

[Htheater]

Originally Posted by MaicoBMW

Maybe these photos will help illustrate how the adapter works.

Jerry,

THANKS for the photos....they certainly clear things up. I thought that there was a second circular plate on the back side.

[ROB]

I hope I'm gonna sell some plywood and veneer. But I'm also going to see some friends from Brasil who are visiting family in western New York state. And I will see Martin and Louis and hopefully Eric in Quebec. And on the way back I'm gonna swing by the AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days at Mid-Ohio and see some friends/customers who are riding up there from Pascagoula, MS, on their Harley. A very full 10 or 12 days.

And on a new tire, which is now all balanced and on the bike. A PR2. I'm really interested in how it will do.

See you in Arkansas, if not before.

Originally Posted by Big_Bend

ROB, you're going to CANADA?!?


Oh man I'm so jealous! What is the occasion? Going to sell some lumber? Buy some plywood? Or is this the epic scenic camping trip to the great North we've been planning for years? I wana ride to Canada so freekin bad...

Have a great time man!

c-ya.. Allen

[Bertbrumfield]

Originally Posted by Htheater

Bob and Bert,

You did what I did and didn't look closely at the picture.....the wheel bolt holes are farther outside at the edge of the pic....the adapter plate goes in the center of the BIG (2" or so) hole so it is only just bigger than it....those 4 screw holes you see are used to allow screws to clamp this adapter to the wheel by threading into a plate on the other side of the hole.

Yes but we are not talking about the mark pharnes adapter, - but the harbor freight adapter:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=98490

This one obviously only works on the older RS, GT, and possibly RT wheels.

[Louis]

Originally Posted by Big_Bend

ROB, you're going to CANADA?!?


Oh man I'm so jealous! What is the occasion? I wana ride to Canada so freekin bad...

Have a great time man!

c-ya.. Allen

He's coming to see ME !!!

[K12RKEN]

Originally Posted by Bertbrumfield

But the cones won't work with the new S, R, R-Sport wheels with the 2" + hole diameter and 5 mounting holes.

Wanna bet?? I've used them twice on my 2006 K12R already

[K12RKEN]

Plus they have nothing to do with the lug nut mounting holes,just the center hub alignment hole.

[1DirtyGS]

i have changed over 24 rears and front on my personal bikes.. and 100s for others.. (love my no mar) and we never felt a need to balance tires.. and i have never noticed any problems.. save some money for some more fuel... Just my two 2 cents.. if anything i would go with the dyna beads...

[Bertbrumfield]

Originally Posted by K12RKEN

Wanna bet?? I've used them twice on my 2006 K12R already

Go back and read post no. 32.