Balance Masters® can smooth things
out between you and your H-D.
STAFF REPORT
Anyone who has ever ridden an unbalanced Harley-Davidson motorcycle knows
the "Bad Vibes" phrase could have been coined by a disgruntled
Harley-Davidson owner! These powerful, but inherently vibration-prone V-Twins
(fork and blade rod arrangement on a single crankpin) can create a degree
of vibration that subjects the rider of the bike to a level of discomfort
few other motorcycle riders experience.
 Harley experts know they can eliminate a fair amount of these
vibrations with close tolerance engine balancing, but this extra effort
and work can be expensive. Yet, if they don't take the time to do a balance
procedure, they also know the motor may not last as long as it should. Additionally,
they may be losing five to seven percent of the power potential of the motor.
Sun-Tech Innovations has developed a solution to this common and traditional
problem for motor builders of any Harley-Davidson motor. Bad vibes can be
caused by inadequate factory balancing, torsional vibrations, and all the
other factors that try to shake apart any internal combustion powerplant
(reciprocating or otherwise) as it runs.
 It is important to remember that a Harley-Davidson, as well
as any other motorcycle, faces accumulated imbalance from the engine, clutch
and jackshafts (if they have them), and, of course, from both wheels. In
reality, it is the total amount of imbalance a rider feels that must be
corrected to eliminate the problem!
A possible answer is this patented "Active Engine Balancing"
technology line of products for the wheels as well as the clutch and the
flywheel. These "Balance Masters®" are permanently installed in
the motor, or on the motorcycle. They contain a liquid metal balancing agent
that uses the centrifugal motion of the engine to find the optimum point
on the rotating mass and adjusts it to maintain it in as perfect balance
as man can make it!
Other devices, with solid metal balls or silicone as a balancing agent,
have been tried (on external balancing devices). Both of these methods simply
will not work, because of the influences of friction and changing temperatures.
Sun-Tech Innovations' "Balance Master" is the first internal balancing
system that balances a running engine actively. It adjusts to the motor
as the dynamics of motion affect it. Piston or ring wear, which actually
changes engine balance, will not affect a Balance Masters®-equipped engine.
Neither will clutch wear, nor the changing position of clutch friction plates.
Since the system is active, it is always in balance!
Installation is simple. If you want to place a balance master ring into
your flywheel, you send your flywheel (the drive side) to Sun Tech Innovations,
and the people there modify it by cutting a groove 0.438-inch deep x 0.380-inch
wide in the flywheel. This is where they install the Balance Masters® device,
which is permanently attached with a special high-temperature epoxy.
 After installing your Balance Masters®-equipped flywheel (or
compensator, if you do not want to take your engine completely apart), do
not add external weights to the components or add heavy metal to the flywheels.
No other balancing device(s) should be added to the crankshaft oil either
side-it will negate the function of the Balance Master and cause problems.
On a "Hot Bike" engine, you may want to match the pistons and
ring assembly weights. On a stock engine, don't even bother doing that!
Just assemble your engine with the Balance Masters®-modified flywheel, or
just add a compensator, and forget it.
What about the other rotating parts on your bike-the clutch and both
wheels? Sun-Tech Innovations hasn't forgotten them! It has created a series
of balancing devices to fit virtually any Harley-Davidson model. Wheels,
compensators, clutches, you name it-Balance Masters® probably has the application.
How good is this system? Drag racing legend Don "The Snake"
Prudhomme installed one on his "Custom Chrome" high-performance
Harley, and was more than just a little pleased. He also uses Sun-Tech Innovations
Balance Masters® on his top fuel dragster to balance all four tires for runs
at over 300 mph!
The flywheels you see here belong to Brad Lackey, ex-world champion motocrosser
from the 1970s and 1980s, and one of the most knowledgeable Harley owners
you will find. All engine work was done by Jacques Ellis, a highly regarded
Harley tuner who has prepared several Bonneville Salt Lake Harley bikes
to run in the magic 200-mph range; Ellis is installing them in Brad's bike
now.
(After a break-in period, we will run the bike with vibration analysis
instruments and get back to you with the results. Look for a report of this
installation, plus actual instrumented road test data about the Sun-Tech
Innovations Balance Master, in a future article.)
 But how is the seat-of-the-pants feeling after installation?
Of the people who have tried them, we have received everythi ng from rave
reviews to a simple "It's better now!" The bottom line: You have
to try them to understand just how well they work. A simple installation
and a few hours in the saddle will tell you what a difference they make
on your bike.
If you don't like them, remove them and return them in good condition
to Sun-Tech Innovations for a full refund. Sun-Tech knows its product is
good, and that's why the company guarantees that it will perform. With a
guarantee like that, you have nothing to lose-except a bunch of bad vibes
you don't want anyway!
SOURCE:
Sun-Tech Innovatlons
P.O. Box 9154
Dept. HB
Canoga Park, CA 91309
(818) 882-8431 |
