In the process of changing the tyres on my Iron. Put the front on, all good but needs a balance.

Maybe a dumb question, but can balancing be done by hand, say with the bike jacked up and giving the front a whirl on the axle with the caliper obviously off. And can the rear also be done on te bike?

Your thoughts, criticism and laughter are appreciated in advance

You will need a balance stand to balance the wheels, its a pretty easy task with the stand.

Balance stand will cost you very little to purchase, the shaft needs to be centred in the wheel which has tappered cones at each end which are held firmly against both bearings so the shaft and the wheel move together rotating on the bearings which are mounted on the stand so you can find the heaviest point on the wheel, add the weights on the lighter side.

Then rotate the wheel to a point where it will stay in that spot. When that has been achieved the wheel is balanced.

http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/productDetail.do?navType=type&webTypeId=168&navTitle=Dirt+Bike+Parts&webCatId=19&keyword=wheel+balance+stand&prodFamilyId=26856

Like Rocky said, you need some form of balance stand. The wheel bearings and seals have to much friction to "drop balance" a wheel.
I made up my own balance stand that fits to some car jack stands.
You might be surpised and find they are OK as is, they can be out bit and you won't notice.