Kenny Pfeifer at Boulder Choppers made an interesting discovery: every bike he tested wasn’t aligned quite right. So he built a custom rig for measuring and aligning bikes horizontally and vertically. He claims that these tweaks will give you a smoother ride, less wear on your parts, and easer control through turns. Special thanks to Shannon “Dazzlin” Venturo, Sr. Writing Contributor to Motorcycle Rider News and Marketing Director at Full Throttle Law for interviewing Kenny at the Boulder Choppers shop. Boulder Choppers is located at 1101 N Boulder Hwy, Henderson, NV 89011.
Check out this video to see a quick overview of how Boulder Choppers does alignments. Special shout-out from Kenny to Rack and Pull for pioneering this method of alignment and the parts that make it possible! https://www.rackandpull.com/
What Are The Benefits?
Better tire wear, better handling, and safer handling, and your chain will be running straighter, your belt will be running straight which will allow it to last longer, as well as the pulleys or sprockets to last longer, and how much time does it take to do it properly?
The Difference Between Tire Balancing and Wheel Alignment
Wheel alignment and tire balancing are different things. Both should be part of your regular motorcycle maintenance. Aligning the wheel involves correcting the tires’ angles to correct their position as recommended by the motorcycle manufacturer. Alignment gets the wheels traveling in the same direction and ensures that the tires are making contact with the ground properly.
While wheel balancing should be performed frequently, wheel alignment, sometimes referred to as “front end alignment” or “tire alignment”, is not needed often. During wheel alignment, the technician will inspect the tire tread for any sign of poor alignment and the wheel orientation. To know if you need an alignment, check each tire and look for uneven patterns of tire wear. But a wear on the tire might be a late symptom of a tire that needs to be replaced already. Most motorcycle manufacturers recommend getting a wheel alignment check-up every 10,000 miles.
In tire balancing, on the other hand, the tread wear’s effect on the distribution of weight around the tire will be checked. During wheel balancing, the technician uses a calibrated spin balancer and will check the static and dynamic wheel balance.
