Yeah, you can save mega$$$ if you're willing to get a little dirty. My local dealer charges $25 for a tire change including ballancing if the wheel is off the bike. And something like $80 if it's still on the bike. If you don't already have them, get yourself a manual and a decent set of tools( I like craftsman myself), They will pay for themselves the first time you use them. Plus you get the satisfaction of doing it yourself as well as a better understanding of how your bike works.

 

Maybe I should just take the tires up there have them balance them and then put them back on myself.
Which might be really hard to do.


On a side note. Why isn't my avatar working?? It's the right size and everything.

 

Static balancing is the way to go. And it is easy to do as mentioned above.

 

Just look at it this way, a twelve year old could remove and replace the wheels. Don't be skeerd. Working on your bike is just part of the price of ownership. I see it kind of like packing my own 'shute so to speak.
Pulling the wheels is a good place to start. It may be a little challenging but not too much so. A good shop manual will guide you through step by step. Common hand tools will get the job done. If you run into trouble, there are plenty of cool people willing to help you on the forum. Trust me, it will be worth the effort in more ways than one.
One more thing, dynamic balancing rules!

 

I have a service manual but I don't have front and rear stands. There are plenty of tools around the house to do the job though. I don't have the cash to buy stands at this time. I'm a poor college student.
I do plan on doing most work on the bike myself.

I am not feeling any wobble from the bike so it must be fine. I tried shaking the bars back and fourth a little bit while riding and nothing happend and i can let go of the bars entirly with no wabble at all. If my tires needed balancing should I feel something if I tried any of this?

 

Yeah, if they were out of balance, you would know it. You would feel vibration and/or wheel oscilation at certain speeds. If your bike rides smooth and solid, I doubt you need to worry about wheel balance.

 

Thanks for all the good info.

 

HAHAHA, I am still thinking static. But oh well. Does dynamic have the sprocket on while doing this? Just curious.

 

not usually. static balancing is probably fine, but it doesn't account for all of the forces that can act on the wheel and tire at speed. I wonder which method race teams use? Not trying to be a smart ***, just curious.

 

pm me goodtimes