Wheels out of balance?

[JustPassinThru]

So. Playing around with my new-to-me 150...it's an improvement over the 125, no question.

But. I find the ride is suddenly noticeably "busy" at higher speeds. Our roads out here are not-so-good, but this is the first time I've really noticed a "busy" ride on a PCX.

Ripples and dips in the pavement are there, sure. But now I'm feeling kind of a "triple-bump" on rougher pavement, where I didn't with the 125.

How hard, how expensive, is it to get wheels balanced? Generally I've had all my motorcycle tires balanced at the shop - they use glue-on weights on the rim surface. Always works fine....but, now, this.

Tires are good, otherwise, so there's no real point waiting for the next tire change.

[k2apache6.0]

Doesn't sound like a wheel balance problem really. Are your tire pressures correct?

[JustPassinThru]

Yes.

No, it's not like a constant vibration/shimmy. But when a wheel is MARGINALLY out of balance, it will sometimes start bouncing when it hits a dip or pothole, and then settle back.

Everything else seems good, too. The fork bearings are where they should be - more so than my other PCX.

[springer1]

But. I find the ride is suddenly noticeably "busy" at higher speeds.

Does it still feel "busy" if you 1) reach this higher speed and simultaneously go wide open throttle and LIGHTLY apply the LEFT brake (both front & rear) and then 2) resume higher speed and then simultaneously go wide open throttle and LIGHTLY apply the RIGHT brake (just front).

Don't do this if there are other vehicles around you, wait until you first have some space around you on the road.

[JustPassinThru]

But. I find the ride is suddenly noticeably "busy" at higher speeds.

Does it still feel "busy" if you 1) reach this higher speed and simultaneously go wide open throttle and LIGHTLY apply the LEFT brake (both front & rear) and then 2) resume higher speed and then simultaneously go wide open throttle and LIGHTLY apply the RIGHT brake (just front).

Don't do this if there are other vehicles around you, wait until you first have some space around you on the road.

I will try that.

[JustPassinThru]

Had a chance to play with it.

Revving it up on the center stand, it walks across the garage floor. It's not as obvious as I'd have hoped, but I guess it is what it is.

If it were the front wheel, taking it off and to the shop for balancing would be easy. Or even balancing it myself - there's some interesting tutorials.

But. You gotta, gotta get the wheel off; and rear wheel removal is something I don't know how to do.

[Mel46]

You might also try to determine if the vibrations are in the front or the rear. Many of the members have changed their rear shocks which has improved the riding dynamics. Also make sure your front struts are good.

I haven't had to do much on my bike after changing the rear shocks, though now that I have the Kawells on the front forks I will get some vibration at higher speeds.

I did find that if the tire pressure was low the riding dynamics were different as well, though you say that the tire pressures have been checked. Recommended is 29 psi front, 33 psi rear (36 psi with passenger).

[JustPassinThru]

Tire pressure is as specified.

The rear tire vibrates - that's been demonstrated by spinning it on the center stand. That's not to say the front tire is not ALSO out of balance, but it's a good place to start. Since I know there's something going on with the rear, I'm not going to solve everything by monkeying with the front.

When/if I get the rear to spin true, or get it balanced (once I figure out how to get the wheel off without breaking everything) I can then move to the front tire.

I'm guessing that in cleaning this bike (it is very clean and was obviously garage kept) the PO, who didn't ride much (1300 miles in five years) saw the glue-on weights and, not knowing what they were, removed them.

[gn2]

There's a way of balancing it without removing the wheel.

Do a search for "Dynabeads"

[JustPassinThru]

Don't you have to get the tire off the rim, to get those beads in there?

[Jge64]

No… Google them… It goes down the valve stem

[springer1]

The rear tire vibrates - that's been demonstrated by spinning it on the center stand

I donno about that, there’s a lot of drivetrain activity going on back there, not just the rear wheel spinning.

[JustPassinThru]

There's a way of balancing it without removing the wheel.

Do a search for "Dynabeads"

That may be the best way.

I see a RideApart review, where he identifies their pluses and minuses. They apparently, because of their nature, work fine on motorcycle tires - the important balance factor is only vertical - and not so good on car/truck tires, where there can be horizontal as well as vertical imbalances.

Given the cost/hassle/my own time in removing the rear wheels, Dynabeads seem worth trying.

[zroger73]

A couple of weeks ago, I bought a new 2019 PCX150 and noticed a vibration that seemed to be coming from the front end, but didn't worry too much about it. A couple of days later, I bought a barely-used (437 miles) 2018 PCX150 and was surprised that it rode much smoother than the 2019.

The first thing I did was check the tire pressures and found both tires on both scooters to be about 10 PSI too low. I inflated them to the correct pressures (29F, 33R).

The vibration is still there. Next, I lifted each tire off the ground and spun them by hand to check for irregularities. Both tires on the 2019 appeared to have very slight flat-spotting (from sitting - not from skidding). I decided to overinflate the tires by about 10 PSI and regularly change the tire position. The vibration seemed to improve slightly.

I contacted the dealer and they want me to bring the scooter back for a thorough inspection. The service manager was concerned that since the tire pressures were incorrect, the tech may have missed other inspection items. Everything else appears to be okay, so I told him I'd give the flat spots a bit of time to see if they work themselves out before taking it back for a possible tire replacement. He was in agreement. Unfortunately, the dealer is a 1.5-hour round-trip for me, so it's not exactly convenient.

[Jge64]

Before I did all that I shoot some ride-on fluid in the tires....it smoothed out my ride and yes, its water based so any tech wont bitch that its a mess to rinse out if you need be:

https://www.ride-on.com/

[easyrider]

Doesnt sound like a tire balancing issue.If it were you would notice the vibration on a smooth stretch of pavement.Since it is wheel hopping on the bumps consider air pressures and or the dampeners ie front forks and rear shocks .