Warped front wheel

[HaulinAshe]

Bought a used front wheel off Ebay. Noticed it had some nasty nicks and gouges that weren't supposed to be there. But only after going to all the trouble of repainting and remounting the tire, did I notice the warp on one side. Arrrrrgh!!! Absolutely sucks!!!

Took video and wondering what the expert opinions are on repairing or not.

Did a search and found info on guy in S.C. who can repair for $65 plus shipping. Just not sure.

Warped front wheel video

I searched and found this thread Front Wheel Repair Thread in which Post #7 has the S.C. location info.

Also found this company in CA, Motorcycle Wheel Repair in CA.

 

[E1Allen]

Sell it on ebay...

(you didnt hear that from me)

 

[FJRay]

I haven't had it done but have heard very good reports on repairs. Someone here awhile back brought it up and there was a fair bit of response so maybe you will get a location for the work.

 

[John_Dumke]

Jeff,

I am not an expert in this area, but here is an unqualified opinion from somebody with a ME degree.

My first reaction was bending cast aluminum (that I assume is what the wheel is made of). No way! Cast aluminum is not very maliable. If you bend a lot of dirt bike levers like I have, you realize this. Bend them back and they crack. Forged aluminum levers bend back much better. So my first reaction to straightening a cast aluminum wheel was, could be dangerous.

But after seeing the video. I thought, well that doesn't look like a big deal. A rim repair place should be able to straighten it without significantly compromising the wheels integrity.

A wheel straightening place would probably know the extent of the bending that cast aluminum can undergo before there will be stress fractures. Maybe even send them the video.

Good luck. I vote thumbs up for trying (if the wheel place think so).

 

[smitty141]

Jeff, was that the polished wheel you bought a few weeks ago?? Smitty

 

[Heber Guy]

Jeff,

The Haul Rd. kicked my butt and I bent both wheels on the FJR. Believe me they were ugly and the people below fixed them and when returned they looked NEW. If they were painted I could not tell but they looked NEW. This outfit does the Yamaha racing teams new wheels to better than factory specs before they ever go on a bike. I am not alone in using them and my friends also have had excellent success.

Good luck.

Al

https://www.framestraightsystem.com/

 

[Fencer]

That'll learn ya to out bid me in the last seconds

 

[El Gordo]

After my 'forest' tour last September, I took my front wheel to my local dealership to give it a spin in the balancer...it was a bit worse than your wheel. The service manager gave me the name of a company that straightens them. I took it there (they guaranteed that it would be within .003"). After it was straightened, we put the wheel back in the balancer and couldn't detect any wobble or out of round. I've got over 8,000 km. on it this season and it's fine.

 

[HaulinAshe]

Jeff, was that the polished wheel you bought a few weeks ago?? Smitty

Yes, it was that "polished" front. I have emailed the seller and asked for the $65 cost for having it straightened. Doubt I will ever get a response.

He had "polished" the wheel by using paint stripper on the wheel with the tire still mounted. It had all kinds of chewy paint residue left around the outer rim. That's probably why I didn't catch the warp until after I refinished the wheel.

That'll learn ya to out bid me in the last seconds

I outbid you on the rear wheel. It's straight.

But believe me, I'm wishing I had started with new parts and let somebody else have the used ones.

 

[luvtoride]

Wow, sorry to hear Jeff,

If you don't hear from the seller be sure to leave that f*cker neg feedback.

Also, when you buy used you are not always buying a problem.

 

[Scab]

I've not done it with a MC wheel, but back in my body shop days, I have seen many, many cast aluminum wheel repaired with excellent results. (some even with peices missing) For $65, I'd give it a go at repair.

 

[HaulinAshe]

Just called the Will's Rim Repair number. They now have a web site with basic info and a new shipping address:

Will's Rim Repair

Think I'm going to give them a try.

 

[RenoJohn]

Jeff, bummer on the wheel.

Hard to tell from the video if it is the whole wheel that is bent, or just a segment of it on the the side where the video was taken. Obviously bent, ..but is it bent all the way across or just on that side where the camera is? Is it out of "true", meaning would it not go in a straight line if rolled straight?

If no cracks or any sign of stress, *I* would send it to a reputable straightener and let them make an assesment and most likey they'd fix it. I have many friends who have succussfully done this with alloy wheels ..including with the two sources that you mention.

Best of luck, my guess is that after a short time and some (hopefully minor) wallet pain you'll be putting many many miles on that wheel. BTW, i've had nothing but great results with's its twin rear ......but perhaps the front was dealt some trauma during the accident that the rear didn't see. Best of luck .....hope it goes well for you.

...john(in reno)

 

[HaulinAshe]

Jeff, bummer on the wheel.
Hard to tell from the video if it is the whole wheel that is bent, or just a segment of it on the the side where the video was taken. Obviously bent, ..but is it bent all the way across or just on that side where the camera is? Is it out of "true", meaning would it not go in a straight line if rolled straight?

If no cracks or any sign of stress, *I* would send it to a reputable straightener and let them make an assesment and most likey they'd fix it. I have many friends who have succussfully done this with alloy wheels ..including with the two sources that you mention.

Best of luck, my guess is that after a short time and some (hopefully minor) wallet pain you'll be putting many many miles on that wheel. BTW, i've had nothing but great results with's its twin rear ......but perhaps the front was dealt some trauma during the accident that the rear didn't see. Best of luck .....hope it goes well for you.

...john(in reno)

Thanks John. Glad your rear isn't bent.

Yes, it's only bent on one side. Looks like he tried to screwdriver the tire off and failed. A couple nice gouges were present as proof. It's not out of alignment, just one lip bent down. Sending Will's a new video with the tire removed. He/they said more could be determined from a video without the tire mounted. Keeping my fingers crossed. I need to move on with testing that Bridgestone BT-021!

 

[markjenn]

I've had wheels straightened that were bent worse than this. It's a bit of an art, but someone who does this sort of thing should be able to make it good as new.

Last time I had one straightened, it cost $180. This was too high and I won't go there again, but $65 sounds low. If they can really do it for that, that's a deal.

- Mark

 

[03silverbullet]

I bent both of my wheels. After nearly 100k miles on these straighten wheels, I am happy to say that I have had no problems with them.

Find a good reliable shop and have it straighten. It will be fine.

Don't forget to leave negative feedback.