QUOTE
Most of the outfits that I've contacted mentioned that it's not needed as it's already balanced from the factory
Everything is "balanced" if the tolerance of balance is great enough.
Anyone who tells you that the stock crank doesn't need to be balanced is totally off base. They are ASSUMING a lot, and in engine machining and building assumptions are not made- ever.
Everything is quantified- ALWAYS.
Consider this:
1- What if the unit was previously dressed, or attempted to be balanced by an idiot?
2- What if Klaus had a bad day at work 40 years ago.
3- What if someone removed the fan ring and did not have a jig to re-center it? If this happens the fan is greatly imbalanced and can often never be re-installed "true".
Cooling fans are the second most imbalanced T4 component that we interface with, the only thing worse is a new Sachs pressure plate, which isn't even round- none of them are.
Nothing is ever good enough, especially when it comes to dynamic balancing.