I've got a front wheel, without tyre, but which appears to have a slight buckle - it looks like it's slightly out of shape, but at any rate it's not running completely true. It looks like the rim is slightly out in one spot. I've acquired the wheel recently, so I don't know its history. I know it's difficult for anyone to comment without seeing it, or a video of it rotating, but just looking for some advice really. My instinct says don't use it, but then again it might be ok once a tyre is mounted. I will go and have it checked out with a local technician, but this forum is always my first port of call.
The front rim on my old Bemmer has a slight dink, the Tyre Tech said that it was fine, no cracks visible.
Those wheels are very soft (reputed to be made from chocolate) and very easy, a) to bend/knock out of true, but also, mercifully, b) easy to repair.
Thanks all. Just back from my local motorcycle specialist. We saw the wheel running on a spinner, and it's toast. Said it could *possibly* be repaired but the coating would need redoing. So looking at the link above, it would be £100 for straightening plus re-powdercoating. And that's assuming they would be able to sort out the defects.
Problem solved https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/372899833855 PS I’ll give you £50 for the discs if you buy the above.
Doesn’t look too bad, very probably repairable, but given the cost/hassle I personally would offer the EBay seller above £125 and then keep or sell the other bits he’s selling CK
Have a word with Maidstone Motorliner :- http://www.motoliner.com I seen a lot worse than that repaired.
I spoke to Motoliner this morning, and they can do the work, but of course they can't guarantee that the finish would be undamaged. They ebay wheels would need refurbishing according to the seller, but run true. So there's another cost to be factored in.
Maidstone Motoliner did three front wheels for me in 2012-ish. Straightened the three having removed discs and tyres from one (and replaced them after repair including balancing). No damage to the finish. £150 PS. The Brembo wheels are usually quite easy to straighten, but Jap wheels tend to break.
600 and 750 has the 4.5; 900 has the 5.5. But as the swingarms are the same (ally or steel) they will all fit.
My old 750 had a lot worst buckle in that that. Was an advisory on the MOT but never had a problem with it. No problem when riding, even at speed.
I just can't understand how such a defect could even be balanced out, unless anvil sized weights are used on the rim? Shouldn't a wheel run almost completely true, ideally? This one has definite blancmange qualities.
Even with a buckle the imbalance will not change much as the weight is still in the same area, maybe i mean mass. Any boffins to put me straight?
Maidstone Motoliner are very good. I used them for a BMW K1200R front that i buckled after a massive off on track some years ago, bike came down on the front wheel from height and they tested it and straightened it!! He even sprayed it for me after, really hard to tell after.
Im no boffin but it is very difficult to properly balance a bent rim in a dynamic situation. You can do it statically (home stand), or dynamically in one plane (most shop wheel balancers) but if you imagine the bend puts additional unbalanced weight somewhere off that single axis, with a corresponding reduction of weight in another area as a consequence of the moved mass, when you spin the wheel fast, there is a harmonic force pulse that is created from that axial imbalance that would be measured as a vibration related to wheel speed. However, if the ding is not too big, and you are not working at the outer edges of grip / lean / damping, you may never notice it. Cheap tyres can also impart this type of imbalance as the joint areas and carcass / tread mass is not even enough all the way round the tyre.
