Walneck's Classic Cycle Trader - July 2008 - (Page 30) SPECIAL FEATURE STORIES BIKER OF THE MONTH ? performance racing engines are also a big part of the business equation. However, balancing is only a part of overall shop activity. House of Balance also has the machine tools and skilled technicians to cut and drill keyways, fabricate parts from samples and engineered drawings, weld and metal spray, and much more. Rewinding electrical motors is also done in house. The company even does balancing and vibration analysis jobs on site. Doug sets up to balance a Harley crank. On the Personal Side “I was an industrial engineer at Bethlehem Steel and that just wasn’t cutting it,” Dick said of the beginnings of House of Balance, established in 1965. What Dick did find enjoyable was a job at the Coleman Brothers Speed Shop where he had the opportunity to be involved with race bikes like the Bridgestone 90, a motorcycle Dick recalled for having a nasty power curve. “You had nothing,” he said,“ or you had 50 horsepower.” One day a friend purchased a balancing machine, and the rest, as they say, is history. Today House of Balance employs over a dozen technicians in varying jobs that run the gamut from machine work to servicing industrial pumps. Dick, though, still has a soft spot for motorcycles. “I’ve always like British bikes,” Dick said. He rides a ‘71 Triumph Bonneville today, and like a lot of guys laments the fact that the seat hight is a bit too tall for his liking. Still, he finds Brit Dick helps prepare a huge fan for balancing. This five-ton unit is used for industrial balancing applications. rods and pistons are used in substitution for stock parts. In this case, the crank is cross-drilled and a section of tungsten inserted. The tungsten insert is then pined in placed and heilarc welded. Dick and Doug said that House of Balance specializes in Brit and Harley engines but does a fair share of metrics too. Automotive and high Connecting rod at left and piston assembly at right are carefully weighed so that very accurate balancing, far superior to original factory work, can be accomplished at the House of Balance. 30 JULY 2008 I WALNECK’S CLASSIC CYCLE TRADER® I WALNECKS.COM http://WALNECKS.COM
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