I bought this thing 27 years ago, used it a bunch of times, I always re-read the enclosed directions and follow them to the letter. I used it on the front wheel of my vintage Commando, but the thing took a TON of weight I ran it all last season, it seemed to gallop pretty hard. I am suspect of it's accuracy, I just re-checked with the Dangle, it showed balanced... but when I used a conventional shaft style balancer, it needed way less weight, in a total different area. Does anyone else use one of these? Results? Comments?
^Think of yourself as a brave pioneer, Concours! At least, at some point it worked for you. Over 30 years ago I bought a "Breezer Tool" thinking it would make changing tires easier It worked slightly worse an a canoe paddle would have. Remember this POS?
I've seen an Old Dunlop bubble balancer which I assume works on the same principle. Works OK on car wheels but it won't fit moto wheels. Dynamic balancing is probably more accurate for Moto applications. You could probably make one of these in a few minutes.
I have a Coats bubble balancer. It has a rod with 2 cones and the bubble on one end. You put it through the wheel and tighten it, then hang the wheel and rod on the balancer base. I've been using it for years, and it works fine.
Looks like the one I borrowed... which is a hand built (in a prominant turbine engine manufacturing facility) must have had an example like that to copy!
I wouldn't make a threaded cone, Turn a cone to the size of the axle you plan on using, drill a hole and tap it for a set screw to lock onto the shaft. HDPE would be fine for that, You only need to stop the cone sliding out of the bearing.
Had one of them made at work out of Alu, easy job for the marine engineer.But I wanted brass..... Still have to drill and tap it but a note on the set screw is not to use a real Allen type set screw, they are pretty hard and will mark the shaft and then the cone won't slide off easy. Had that little problem on another application and then switched to a regular soft bolt as a set screw.
Back in the early 80s a friend of mine got his wheels balanced at an old tire shop in Wichita. They did on-car spin balancing and man, was that a smooth balance. There was a gizmo that clamped onto the wheel in place of the hubcap and it had four dials protruding from the center. Spin the wheel up to 60 mph (using the engine for the back wheels and an electric motor for the fronts), then turn the dials until no vibration could be felt. It was slick, but there's probably a bit of artistry to knowing which knob to turn which way to get it right. Then you have to stop the wheel, read the dials, and hammer the weights on. I've not seen one since, but I'd sure like to have one. It's the one bit of tire work I can't do for myself.
I've used those. One pair of knobs adjusts the amount of weight, and the other pair positions it around the wheel. The advantage of this is that you are also balancing the wheel hub and either the drum or rotor.
As I understand it, Road Force balancing is the automotive holy grail. I had to purchase the service to try and solve my 'Burban shakin like a whore in church with brand new Michelin LTX M/S LRE's. In the end, the Mich's had been "touch sanded" in an attempt to round up a poorly molded tire. Almost $1000 after all the shit (three sets of tires, all out of tolerance) http://www.gsp9700.com/
You could probably find one some place. It is what I was taught to use in H.S. shop class. Now I teach that class.