If you like our site, please consider joining our club!
By joining you will help ensure that we can continue to provide this service
JOIN HERE!

Flywheel - to balance or not to balance? This is the question

Post Reply
User avatar
Micha
Posts: 759
Joined: Fri Oct 12, 2007 2:24 am
Location: Israel
Has thanked: 10 times
Been thanked: 4 times

Flywheel - to balance or not to balance? This is the question

Post by Micha »

I know that during the motorcycle production, this wheel was balanced.
The question is, today, after about 70 years, should I invest time and money and find someone who knows how to test and true it?
Or is it an unnecessary action?
Have any of you ever done this before?
Michael Steinmann
R51/3 1952
Engine Nr. 529466

weh8127
Posts: 198
Joined: Tue Jan 16, 2018 11:28 am
Been thanked: 5 times

Based no my experience with

Post by weh8127 »

Based no my experience with an R75/5 where we balanced the piston and rod assemblies with each other as well as the fly wheel I can tell you that it does make a noticable difference in smooth running. However, that work is easier on a /5 than it is on a /2, and considering the sedate around town use the bike gets these days, I don't think I'd bother again. My R60/2 has new 1st over pistons with no special attention to balance and runs just fine. Unless you're doing something exotic like building a vintage racer or something, or if there is an obvious problem, I think flywheel work is overkill.

Bill Husted
Barre, MA
Bill Husted
Barre, MA USA
1963 R60/2 w/ 1955 Steib S500
1973 R75/5

User avatar
Micha
Posts: 759
Joined: Fri Oct 12, 2007 2:24 am
Location: Israel
Has thanked: 10 times
Been thanked: 4 times

Thanks Bill.

Post by Micha »

Thanks Bill.
Michael Steinmann
R51/3 1952
Engine Nr. 529466

User avatar
jwonder
Posts: 784
Joined: Wed Nov 23, 2016 7:50 pm
Location: Long Island, New York
Has thanked: 3 times
Been thanked: 7 times
Contact:

There is no need to balance

Post by jwonder »

They are done at the factory and unless something happens to take metal off the flywheel I would say no. I have not balanced any of mine.
James Wonder
Vice President, Vintage BMW Motorcycle Owners
2022 BMW Friend Of the Marque
Long Island, New York

Post Reply