BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

I found yesterday two of those Ballance little "weight-stickers " that are on the centre of the wheel..on the floor neat the bike,( not sure what they are called ) is it safe to ride without them ...??not

Did they look something like this, can you tell if they are from the front or rear wheel, any evidence of adhesive tape marks on the rim.



IMO, it wouldn't be unsafe to ride, you may or may not notice any (new) unusual vibrations or wobbles.

If you do notice any changes in how the bike rides, best get the wheel balance(s) checked.

Yes,,,two of those.  The black adhisive was not holding,,, probably from the front. I'll phone the mechanic to ask….I now you can balance it yourself with the right tools….it is not for me.

If I find where they use to be, what Glue shall I use ..??

If it was me I would go to a local tyre shop and get two new ones as they come with the adhesive on them.  Even better get them to stick two new ones on if you can see where they came off from.  If you do it yourself you will need to clean off any of the old glue from the rim with brake cleaner .

Ventura wrote:If I find where they use to be, what Glue shall I use ..??

I use petrol to remove the remnants of the adhesive material.

If you can identify where they have come from, clean/degrease the area first, then use some strong double sided sticky tape, may save you a trip to a tyre fitter or BMW dealer.

Some tyre fitters don't clean/degrease the area of the rims prior to sticking the balance weights on, then they fall off.

DaygloDavid wrote:

Some tyre fitters don't clean/degrease the area of the rims prior to sticking the balance weights on, then they fall off.

Agreed, having watched countless tyre changes on my loose wheels at various local tyre shops I have only noticed one place where they cleaned the rim with propriatory cleaner before attaching the weights. "Automoto" Bellerby, North Yorks.

A few years ago we had new tyres fitted to our K1200LT at another "local" tyre shop just before a long trip to France. Somewhere in the Auvergne the front wheel weights disappeared causing a right steering shake. Had to have wheel properly balanced at a Yamaha dealer in Clermont Ferrand.

Our Gee wrote:Agreed, having watched countless tyre changes on my loose wheels at various local tyre shops I have only noticed one place where they cleaned the rim with propriatory cleaner before attaching the weights.
"Automoto" Bellerby, North Yorks.

Do National Bike Tyres at Newton Aycliffe clean the rims prior to fitting balance weights.

Think his bike is new. But to find two of them on the ground next to the bike seems very odd.  Maybe used some very strong type of cleaner that has attacked the adhesive or he has a fandom weight remover in the garage. 

DaygloDavid wrote: Do National Bike Tyres at Newton Aycliffe clean the rims prior to fitting balance weights.

Couldn't say for sure. I was there  there recently but I wondered into the waiting area whilst the tyre was fitted.

Never had a problem with balance weights fitted by NBT falling off.

I use Muc-Off to clean the wheels before applying AYB Halo Smart Wax.

(The wheels are always cleaned & polished before taking them to NBT for tyre fitting.)

DaygloDavid wrote: I use Muc-Off to clean the wheels before applying AYB Halo Smart Wax.

That's brave.  If you listen to half the bods on here and UKGSer, you'd expect the wheels to have dissolved by now if you use Muc-Off!


bebe

Didn't want to point that out but areas like valve stem drillings will be very venerable to the stuff. 

A new valve is fitted to the rear wheel every time the tyre is replaced & the front wheel valve is bolted to the side of a spoke.

If air can't get out, how does Muc-Off get in.

Have now owned 3 RT's over the last 9 years without any problems.

In both cases when trading in old for new, the dealers commented on what excellent condition the bikes were in for their age & mileage.

I have seen many instances of corrosion on GSs where the owners insist they have always kept their bike sparkling clean.  Without exception they have used MuckOff.  It might be that they didn't fully rince it off and on machined alloy it's leathal.  As you say it's not affected any of your bikes.