Can I spin balance with Ride On installed? What’s proper F3 belt tension?

[Tourer]

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

I did searches and have read about these items here, but so many different answers.

Replaced all three tires with 175/55r15 Vredestein and Altimax Rt45. Took them to 5 tire places and nobody can balance them. Had some dynabeads left over from one of the other bikes so installed them in the rear. Up front have read they don’t perform well. So installed 10 ounces of Ride On in each tire.

Went for a test drive and the shaking and wheel bounce begins a 50mph. Gets worse from 50-55 and at 60 to 70, the front wheels bounce violently and the handle bars shake like a paint mixer.

Between this and trying to get the belt aligned, not too pleased. It keeps changing when I tighten the wheel. I tighten towards the front. Ended up with the belt off the inner rear pulley at 4mm and belt tension on the ground at 200 on the Krikit.

Can I get the front tires spin balanced with the Ride On installed?

Secondly, there are many different opinions on belt tension on this forum. Can I run the 200 without problems?
Thanks.

[Knizar]

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

I did searches and have read about these items here, but so many different answers.

Replaced all three tires with 175/55r15 Vredestein and Altimax Rt45. Took them to 5 tire places and nobody can balance them. Had some dynabeads left over from one of the other bikes so installed them in the rear. Up front have read they don’t perform well. So installed 10 ounces of Ride On in each tire.

Went for a test drive and the shaking and wheel bounce begins a 50mph. Gets worse from 50-55 and at 60 to 70, the front wheels bounce violently and the handle bars shake like a paint mixer.

Between this and trying to get the belt aligned, not too pleased. It keeps changing when I tighten the wheel. I tighten towards the front. Ended up with the belt off the inner rear pulley at 4mm and belt tension on the ground at 200 on the Krikit.

Can I get the front tires spin balanced with the Ride On installed?

Secondly, there are many different opinions on belt tension on this forum. Can I run the 200 without problems?
Thanks.

Front tires: Honestly, I have never heard of it being done that way. Some have had there tires spin balanced and then added Ride ON.
Sorry man, but I believe your wasting your money on this one. Did you remove the weights from the previous wheel balance? Are you the person that remounted the new tires? Sometimes it takes some EXTRA air pressure to get the tires to seat or pop into place on the rim. Did you try driving the bike before you added the the Ride On? It probably doesn't need anything in the tires. Same with the rear...
I'm a believer in the Centramatic Balancers myself. They keep the tire balanced as it wears.... They can be used repeatedly, tire after tire, bike to bike.....

[happyspyder2039]

Balancing depends on the place doing it. Most don’t want to mess with any kind of add on wheel stuff. I bought the auto formula for my Spyder. I think I added 10-12 ov per tire. Works great for balancing and flat repair. If parked for a length of time will settle and be a little awkward.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

I did searches and have read about these items here, but so many different answers.

Replaced all three tires with 175/55r15 Vredestein and Altimax Rt45. Took them to 5 tire places and nobody can balance them. Had some dynabeads left over from one of the other bikes so installed them in the rear. Up front have read they don’t perform well. So installed 10 ounces of Ride On in each tire.

Went for a test drive and the shaking and wheel bounce begins a 50mph. Gets worse from 50-55 and at 60 to 70, the front wheels bounce violently and the handle bars shake like a paint mixer.

Between this and trying to get the belt aligned, not too pleased. It keeps changing when I tighten the wheel. I tighten towards the front. Ended up with the belt off the inner rear pulley at 4mm and belt tension on the ground at 200 on the Krikit.

Can I get the front tires spin balanced with the Ride On installed?

Secondly, there are many different opinions on belt tension on this forum. Can I run the 200 without problems?
Thanks.

200lbs. ... well that's close to OEM spec, but I use 160lbs. with wheel on ground and have No noticeable vibes ...... I bought my first Spyder in 09 .... I have had many, many tires ( Fronts ) " Spin Balanced " at a few different shops ..... I have not found a tire shop that " CAN'T DO IT " with their equipment. Spyder ( front ) wheels are just not that ODD. I had ONE rear tire " balanced " and none ever since. Frankly the rear ( if using an Auto tire ) doesn't need Balancing..... If you start with a Spin Balance nothing else is needed. .... If what your using - is to prevent flats, then add that AFTER the Spin Balnce .... JMHO .... Mike

[troop]

If you put the Ride-On in BEFORE balancing, you'll never balance out on a balancing machine. Been there/done that

[slhanks004]

I don't use that Ride On stuff. Dynabeads are a better way to dynamically balance a tire.

[fatboy]

yes you will get some shake until ride on gets to where it needs to be doesnt take very long then all will be good

[Tourer]

Thanks for all the responses. I did remove the old weights. Tires were mounted properly and beads are seated.
Ride-on recommends adding 2 more ounces per tire and if that doesn’t work they say add too more. If it still doesn’t work, then will have to remove it. In retrospect should have went with the dynabeads.
The shops couldn’t balance them because the rim holes are too small for their balancer shafts.
None of the shops would even consider to mount the rear tire. Tried Discount tire, Pep Boys, Walmart, and a few independent shops.

[BajaRon]

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

I did searches and have read about these items here, but so many different answers.

Replaced all three tires with 175/55r15 Vredestein and Altimax Rt45. (Good Choices) Took them to 5 tire places and nobody can balance them. (Very strange. They should have been able to do this easily. Sounds more like they just didn't want to mess with them. Any standard tire machine will do the fronts. Most can't do the rear.) Had some dynabeads left over from one of the other bikes so installed them in the rear. (DUp front have read they don’t perform well. (People seem to have varying degrees of success with balancing beads. I think it has to do with how much balance is needed.) So installed 10 ounces of Ride On in each tire. (I assume you mean the fronts)

Went for a test drive and the shaking and wheel bounce begins a 50mph. Gets worse from 50-55 and at 60 to 70, the front wheels bounce violently and the handle bars shake like a paint mixer. (How far did you ride? What was the temperature? Did you use motorcycle or auto version of Ride-On?)

Between this and trying to get the belt aligned, not too pleased. It keeps changing when I tighten the wheel. I tighten towards the front. Ended up with the belt off the inner rear pulley at 4mm and belt tension on the ground at 200 on the Krikit. (We recommend 220-260 belt tension on the 1330 machines - On the Ground measurement. This seems to work very well. When changing the rear tire. You should never mess with the axle adjusters. Pull the lower shock bolt and drop the swing-arm. The belt falls right off without altering belt adjustment. Then it's a simple matter of reinstalling the belt and the lower shock bolt. Once you change the axle adjusters, you run into the situation you're having.

The best way is to remove the wheel sensor, lift the bike to where you can run the engine in 1st gear and let the wheel spin while making adjustments. This way you can see how the belt is running. Leave the axle nut just loose enough so that the adjusters will move it. Leaving the axle nut too loose will allow to much slop in the bearing alignment. So that when you tighten the nut, that slop is removed, changing your alignment and you're no better off than before.

Always move the adjusters to tighten. Making sure there is no slop in the adjusters when you tighten the axle nut. This way, what you see before you tighten the axle nut is what you will see after it is tightened.)

Can I get the front tires spin balanced with the Ride On installed? (No. Balance first, then add Ride-On. You cannot spin balance a Ride-On tire. Did you remove all wheel weights from the previous tire install?)
Once
Secondly, there are many different opinions on belt tension on this forum. Can I run the 200 without problems? (If you are not getting vibration. You can run 200 without issue)
Thanks.

Highlighted answers above. Hope this helps.

[Tourer]

Thanks for your response Ron. Put 10 ounces of the automotive Ride-On in each of the fronts. You suggested the auto formula in one of your posts. When replacing the rear tire, I taped up the belt adjusters, but the belt was riding too close to the wheel after tightening.
Am sure I’ll get it sorted out.

[troop]

I don't use that Ride On stuff. Dynabeads are a better way to dynamically balance a tire.

Well .. If you never used Ride-On, how would you know?

[troop]

yes you will get some shake until ride on gets to where it needs to be doesnt take very long then all will be good

And .. If your Spyder sits for awhile and your next ride is in cooler temps, you'll also experience some shake until the tires warm.

[troop]

Thanks for your response Ron. Put 10 ounces of the automotive Ride-On in each of the fronts. You suggested the auto formula in one of your posts. When replacing the rear tire, I taped up the belt adjusters, but the belt was riding too close to the wheel after tightening.
Am sure I’ll get it sorted out.

Actually, the Ride-On techs recommend motorcycle formula for trikes (Spyder/Slingshots/Tri-Glides), as the formula is a bit more viscous than the auto formula. If you have some initial shake, it may take a bit longer to distribute with the auto formula, especially in cooler weather.

[BajaRon]

Actually, the Ride-On techs recommend motorcycle formula for trikes (Spyder/Slingshots/Tri-Glides), as the formula is a bit more viscous than the auto formula. If you have some initial shake, it may take a bit longer to distribute with the auto formula, especially in cooler weather.

True. The Auto version is more targeted towards enhanced balance. The motorcycle formula is more targeted towards puncture seal capability. I prefer the auto version. Even with the downside of a longer unbalanced period when first installed and after sitting for longer periods. This goes away pretty quickly at warmer temperatures. Takes longer at colder temps.

[Tourer]

Just a follow up post on the wheel balancing. Added 3 more ounces of Ride-On to each front wheel making a total of 14 per wheel. Noticed a significant improvement as soon as I hit the paved road. My driveway is a mile long dirt road.
Ran the bike up to 65-75 mph and things smoothed out.

On the belt. Noticed a whiff of burnt rubber after stopping. Running too far off the rear pulley. Will readjust the gap.

Thanks again to all who responded for taking your time and sharing your expertise. Ride Safely.