bent front rim in idaho falls

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Quixote

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 16, 2011
Messages
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Location
Surrey, BC, Canada
I left idaho falls down hwy 20 this morning and riding into the sun I found the big rachet that truckers use to cinch down thier loads. It was lying in th middle of the lane and my front wheel hit it hard. Now I'm back at the red lion and considering my options. I'm looking for a new riim. Thanks to spud we pulled the wheel off. If anyone knows of a rim or what might be a good option at this point I'm open to suggestions. I'm going to make some calls tomorrow but Sunday in Idaho falls is pretty much a right off so I'll figurs something out tomorrow but for now I'm stranded in idaho falls. The weather is great and the hotel and town is great so it could be alot worse. Just throwing it out there if anyone has any good idea's The rubber is new an survived but the rim is done.

 
Wow! You're the third person I know of who has bent a wheel in Idaho (me being one of the other two).

First, are you sure the tire is good? It needs close inspection by an expert. I'd go with a new one until an inspection reveals the old one is okay.

I bent both wheels on a sizable rock. The front was worse, with the rim on the left being deflected about a half-inch over a span of perhaps six inches. The rear was deflected perhaps a quarter-inch over a span of four inches. I know this sounds crazy, but neither tire lost pressure. After I changed underwear, I drove very slowly for awhile checking pressures every few miles until I developed some confidence that it could be ridden this way. I rode mine home about 200 miles with some distinct but not severe wobble. Both rims were then straightened by Viking Wheel Service. I had to pay a dealer to pull disk rotors and bearings, then shipping out and back, cost of straightening and powder coating (refinishing is necessary as the original finish will likely be ruined by the heat used in the repair process - I had mine powder coated to match the engine cases), then new bearings and same rotors re-installed. Came to about $800 and bike was down for 30 days. If you go this route, do use new bearings as the old will be damaged in removal. Bearings and rotors must come off to straighten.

I hope you find someone local who can offer you a wheel, but that seems unlikely. Getting one through a dealer could take weeks, I'd guess. What year is yours? Mine's an '03 non/ABS so I don't think I can help. I am about 200 miles away (just 3-3.5 hours up I-15 in Butte, MT) but could spare the wheel (good Bridgestone 023) for a few weeks if you are in dire straights. You could phone me at 406-498-3250. The bike is at a shop right now (Sunday) getting some service work, but I could have the wheel on its way to you tomorrow. I'd even consider delivering it if compensated for my expense and time, otherwise we could probably use Greyhound and have it there within hours.

 
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Quixote,

I also find these folks on the FJR assistance list for Idaho, but they are two to three hours way, too:

Edit by Admin: removed personal information.

 
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I looked at the wheel and I doubt if it can be fixed. It's got a hell of a dent on one side, I'd say bent in an inch or more. I think his tire is fine and I've got a spare he can use if he can get a hold of a wheel. Sunday's not a great day to have this happen. He'll be making some calls tomorrow morning. He hit a trucker's tie-down strap with a big ratchet.

MurrayFJRBentRim.jpg


Sounds like Murray can spare a few days to get something sorted out. Any ideas here as to where/how to round up a wheel would be very helpful. As the wheel is FUBAR anyway, he's thinking best to get one ordered and overnighted here if possible.

MAJOR BUMMER!

UPDATE: We got his bike back from Rigby and Murray's back at the Red Lion. He's got a number for a shop here that fixes wheels, so tomorrow he'll see if they can get it repaired.

MurrayFJRBentRim2.jpg


 
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Bummer. Weird the onslaught of bent wheels being reported around here lately.

I have an extra set of non-abs wheels just sitting around, but I don't think that does you any good. I do know that new rims are really $$$$$ and may take a long while to get. I would suggest checking out ebay. Also, repairing bent rims if possible seems to be the direction several folks here on the forum have gone.

Best of luck.

 
I have the rim from my 03 that I had repaired. The place that repaired it is MCWHEEL, they are in New Hampshire and guarantee the work. They can turn a rim in 1 day for an extra 25 bucks. The webs site will be below. If you could use mine would ship it and we could square up later. you can PM me and I will send you my cell phone number. I also have a new set of front wheel bearings that I will send along as they will need to be replaced. https://www.mcwheel.com/. Good luck!

 
Quixote,

I also find these folks on the FJR assistance list for Idaho, but they are two to three hours way, too:

Cutage out of personal phone numbers

Big Sky...this should have been in a PM. The whole idea behind the list was to keep people's personal details off line. There was quite a discussion when the Member Assistance List idea got started. That's why a lot of people signed up as it is distributerd by E mail only, not for public view. I suggest you edit your post, I'm surprised a admin has not jumped on this ?

 
Damn, Murray. That sucks. Like Big Sky, I'm only 3 hours away if there is anything I can do. Heck, I'll drive you back to Vancouver if you need that. Spud has my phone and its on the help list.

Are you sure that was something from a trucker and not a windmill?

Cheers, and as they used to say in NZ, "keep your pecker up."

Fred

 
Thanks to everyone, Steve especially,I'm going to see if I can get I straightened tomorrow. I guess windmills do bite back sometimes. After Steve picked up the strap I started thinking about how it could have gone if the the strap had got wound into the wheel. Cup half full, it's good to be here.and just looking for a front wheel. It's an 06 and apparently needs an 06, 07 abs rim.thanks again to Steve, spud has done so much to keep my bike and me in the same zip code.

 
Cup half full, it's good to be here.and just looking for a front wheel. It's an 06 and apparently needs an 06, 07 abs rim.thanks again to Steve, spud has done so much to keep my bike and me in the same zip code.
Or '04, '05 ABS or any '07...as detailed in the FJR Compatibility Matrix.

Big Sky...this should have been in a PM. The whole idea behind the list was to keep people's personal details off line. There was quite a discussion when the Member Assistance List idea got started. That's why a lot of people signed up as it is distributerd by E mail only, not for public view. I suggest you edit your post, I'm surprised a admin has not jumped on this ?
Same advice to you. A PM to an admin if there's an issue or Report a Thread button. Contrary to belief by some...we don't read every single thread on this place. ;)

 
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Looks like Quixote's getting the problem solved one step at a time. There's a shop here (I never knew) that fixes bent rims. They've got his done already--he called them today. And our local Harley shop is taking care of the rest (re-mounting tire, bearings, rotors...). He's got one more night stuck here waiting for a part to be overnighted, and could be on the road tomorrow...

 
Looks like Quixote's getting the problem solved one step at a time. There's a shop here (I never knew) that fixes bent rims. They've got his done already--he called them today. And our local Harley shop is taking care of the rest (re-mounting tire, bearings, rotors...). He's got one more night stuck here waiting for a part to be overnighted, and could be on the road tomorrow...
Wow. Great news Steve. Thanks.

Tell him to go see the Body show (whatever it is called). I saw one in Denver and it is amazing (if you can take it.)

Cheers,

Fred

 
Quixote is on the road. Some guy here fixed the rim to my amazement. Maybe Quixote can post more details, but the guy wouldn't let him see the machine or take a picture of it, something about a patent conspiracy...

Teton Harley Davidson here in town pulled the rotors, bearings, etc. to get the wheel ready yesterday, then today reassembled the whole thing, mounted the tire which was OK, balanced it, and had it done in an hour after he dropped it off. They charged him $89. Kudos to them. We put the wheel on in the hotel parking lot and it all came together just fine.

He just hit I-15 north heading to Butte with the remaining daylight. :yahoo:

 
Freaking amazing!

Say what you want about the Harley brand - the dealers are the best in the USA to get any rider up and riding again. And finding a repair shop for bent rims? Out of bounds. Karma is with you this time, amigo!

..and I appreciated and accept the mia culpa too.

Now then, go ride and post up with the fun, huh?

 
Sorry to hear of your incident........I know exactly how you feel. Thankfully you are ok as the bike can be fixed. When I dented mine en-route to CFR I was told it would be 5 days from Japan as there were NO rims for an '03 in North America. I didn't have time to wait so I rented a cube van and went home. I was able to find a wheel on Ebay that had a basically new tire on it for half the price of new.

Glad to hear you were able to get it repaired.....the casting was cracked on mine and was irrepairable.

 
I'm getting a quad shot in winatchee wa and should be home by dinner. I'm going to have a slow senic ride over the cascades hwy 2. Thanks again to spud Ive got a big grin in my helmet. I'm a little computer challenge since I left my netback in mountain home but I'll add a more detailed account later. Thanks again Steve and everyone for the help and suggestions and advice. Thier wher some nice sweepers yesterda and the wheel felt solid. I was almost up to my old speeds.

I'm getting a quad shot in winatchee wa and should be home by dinner. I'm going to have a slow senic ride over the cascades hwy 2. Thanks again to spud Ive got a big grin in my helmet. I'm a little computer challenge since I left my netback in mountain home but I'll add a more detailed account later. Thanks again Steve and everyone for the help and suggestions and advice. Thier wher some nice sweepers yesterda and the wheel felt solid. I was almost up to my old speeds.

 
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