Bead balancing. Does it work or is it snake oil.

I'm running dyna beads in my front and rear tires on the mean streak. Love em! no issues with hop or wobble in excess of 110mph. the beads shift continuously and from what I can tell I'm getting very even wear.

I have to admit that the video demonstration with the strobe light is impressive and makes you want to believe in it but: 1) Your only seeing the balls at a fixed speed? 2) That product in the video is completely different, in that their balls are contained in a dedicated ring with dampening fluid? 3) What happens to the loose balls inside your tire when you hit the brakes or accelerate? How often do you stay at one speed on a motorcycle? My guess is that you are actually "out of balance" more often than "in balance" while this pile of beads is seeking a good low spot in which to stay.

4) The "goo" products make sense for flat protection, but not balancing. Centrifugal force simply makes an even band of goo all the way around the inside of the tire. It's the same as just making the rubber thicker. I'm also curious if the product couldn't cause you to drive extended periods with an object in your tire that you couldn't detect? Is it really "blow out" protection or just "leak" protection?

I think the belief in this stuff is more a matter of people being sold the idea and trying it with a brand new tire installation. They feel the incredible difference in the new tire ( which happens every time I get new tires without additives ) and then they attribute the great difference to the miracle product instead of the new tire.

I believed in STP "motor honey" for a long time in my teens!

I use Ride-On in everything I own, including my Jeep! I guess the beads work, but I've heard a few tire changers complain about how the beads fall out and jam the tire machine on occasion, and just make a mess in general. The Ride-On stays stuck inside the tire, not loose and runny like other liquid sealants, and it balances very nice too. Also, I usually pass 100mph at some point, every time I ride. I'm in Florida, so no worry about the cold weather, but I have read that Ride-On can take a mile or two to warm up and flow, when the temperature is low. No big deal. I started using Ride-On in my new Bridgstones, after I picked up a bolt in my new (1500 miles) Metzler rear. Took 4 plugs and 2 cans of fix-a-flat, and 2 trips to the shop to re-fill the portable air tank, just to be able to limp home.

These work on the same principle Whole Assembly Balance for Motorcycle from Centramatic - Rockets are not listed - but one can only ask.

Same physics as using 'fluid' to balance one's tires. I have been using various "fluid"/puncture preventatives like "Slime" for decades to balance my tires, and with GREAT success! Warnings(fear-mongering) from tire dealers/installers about "corroding" the alloy wheels is for reasons of justifying the $10,000 dynamic tire balancing machine the shop invested in.
8-oz of Slime or similar product in each motorcycle tire has proven to keep multitudes of tires/wheels perfectly balanced for their entire service life and without ugly lead weights or their residual glue residue after the weight prematurely flew off. Rarely have these gooey, viscous balancing fluids/sealants prevented a flat, but they work brilliantly to balance your tires.

barbagris said:

These work on the same principle Whole Assembly Balance for Motorcycle from Centramatic - Rockets are not listed - but one can only ask.

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Interesting vids, thanks for posting.

Good thread, Zone III, but your survey questions are flawed.

?
Does bead balancing work or is it snake oil?

1. Yes
2. No

If a respondent answers "yes", that means that bead balancing works and also that it is snake oil.

If a respondent anwers "no", that means that bead balancing doesn't work and also that it isn't snake oil.

Both answers, by design, yield responses that at odds with each of the two queries you put to us in the form of one question.

My answers to both of your questions are simple. I have used the DynaBeads brand for every tire change I have made to three different motorcycles I have owned over the past decade. Yes, if used per instructions they absolutely work and they are at least as or more dependable than using weights your tires rim. Therefore, at least for me, there is no snake oil involved at all, provided that you use a reliable, proven product and follow the use and application instructions provided by their manufacturer's.

Dyna Beads for Motorcycle Riders and Dealers

I have used both. Both work. I used Ride-on for years in my Venture and it worked like they were supposed to. That being said, be sure to clean your rims after every tire change to remove the old stuff. I used Dyna Beads in the same Venture after I installed chrome wheels as I did not want weights on the rim. Once again, the beads worked fine. Now, all that being said....DO NOT MIX THE TWO PRODUCTS!!! I'll let you figure it out........

If you haven't used them you can't know more than those of us who have. We have housed your method and know the difference. We chose to use the "Snake Oil" and will until something better com e s along. After all but it was said that the automobile was just a fad to. When a mind is closed it ma yu be stuck there.

1olbull said:

Interesting vids, thanks for posting.

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I be more inclined to try them than the beads - mainly because my tyre place HATES the beads.
They've had a couple of "spills" and the beads went everywhere. Was like covering the floor with ball bearings.