Can a bent rim be fixed?

[Rottweiler]

This morning on my way work I hit a 4X4 fence post that was laying across the entrance ramp as I got onto the Garden State Parkway. It was only about 3' long (or so I thought) and I swerved to the outside of a sharp righthand curve to avoid it. However, the lefthand portion of the 4X4 was covered in a loose piece of what looked like tar paper which in my haste to avoid the 4X4 looked at the time like clear road. BAM! That really sucked, I thought to myself, but the bike seemed to take the hit without a hickup. I probably should have stopped right away on the GSP but instead decided to stop at the rest area about 2 miles ahead on the NJ Turnpike. When I got off and looked I got that queezy feeling when I saw the right side of my front rim was dented about 1/2" to 1". I headed for home to get my cage as I don't feel too confident riding on this rim even though it's holding air, doesn't vibrate and feels normal. Anyway, that's my sad tail, and here's my big question. Can a wheel be staightened and if so by who? If it can't be fixed, about how much is a new (or used) wheel, I can remount the tire and disks myself. It's for a '03 R1150RT.

[David]

http://www.woodyswheelworks.com/

[Effervescent]

And while on the topic, where can we mend a broken heart?

-Eff

[David]

http://www.match.com

[Rottweiler]

I think I'll try this place, has anyone ever done business with them? I hope I can get it done and back before 7/20, I'm going to the BMW ralley in VT.

[Mike]

http://www.match.com

 

 

[Jerry Johnston]

Approximately five years ago I noticed my front wheel was bent about 1/2" on one side only - wheel was true, just the rim was bent out). I took the wheel off, let the air out of the tire and layed a board across the rim and bent it back in shape by slowly tapping the board with a 5# sledge. It has been fine for five years without a problem and shows no cracks. I would never have attemped this if the wheel had been out of round or a larger bend in the rim.

[tomk99r11]

Most of the places that straighten rims beat the crap out of them with a wooden mallet. Not a pretty sight for the faint of heart rim owner to watch. But, it works just fine, similar to the way you did it.

[keithb]

David

You can absolutely have a bent rim straightened. I had to do mine twice on the 93 K11RS I owned. It will usually run you between $50 and $100 per wheel depending on how bad you bent it. It beats the hell out of $400-$500 for a new rim. Just ask a local dealer(s) for someone in your area.

[smiller]

I'm really surprised that this thread isn't peppered with warnings of the dire consequences of being so 'cheap' as to have a rim repaired. After all, isn't there some possibility of a repaired rim failing? And then when someone points out that there are no cases of this actually happening there must follow the ominous response... 'OK, it's your life...'

[TedKerr]

Another vote for Woody's Wheel Works. These guys have been around a long time and do everything from antique to dirt bike. They're actually about a half mile from my house and have saved my day a few times over the years.

[JTWright]

I wish I could remember the source, track day or tire seminar, where the admonishment was "never" try to straighten a wheel. Something like "it may look fine on the outside, but the internal metal damage will not be visable. I also assume that a second impact in the area as the first would be more serious. I also think that most metal wheels are forgings and part of tha process involves shaping the wheel with pressure while the metal is hot that has some effect on alignment of molequles. I'm not a metalurgist or wheel expert, but probably won't ride on a straightened wheel. IMHO

 

jim

[smiller]

I wish I could remember the source, track day or tire seminar, where the admonishment was "never" try to straighten a wheel. Something like "it may look fine on the outside, but the internal metal damage will not be visable. I also assume that a second impact in the area as the first would be more serious. I also think that most metal wheels are forgings and part of tha process involves shaping the wheel with pressure while the metal is hot that has some effect on alignment of molequles. I'm not a metalurgist or wheel expert, but probably won't ride on a straightened wheel. IMHO

OK, now I'm fulfilled...

[TedKerr]

I wish I could remember the source, track day or tire seminar, where the admonishment was "never" try to straighten a wheel. Something like "it may look fine on the outside, but the internal metal damage will not be visable. I also assume that a second impact in the area as the first would be more serious. I also think that most metal wheels are forgings and part of tha process involves shaping the wheel with pressure while the metal is hot that has some effect on alignment of molequles. I'm not a metalurgist or wheel expert, but probably won't ride on a straightened wheel. IMHO

OK, now I'm fulfilled...

[DavidEBSmith]

FWIW, this is from Tim "Bondo" Bond's website:

 

Most European wheels are cast and can have rim dings removed. Most Japanese wheels are forged and crack very easily.

 

I have a couple of wheels that Bondo straightened and I don't worry about riding on them. Especially since I don't remember anymore which of my two pairs of wheels are the ones that were straightened.

 

Also FWIW, Bondo recommends Woody's for doing the tubeless spoked BMW wheels, so that's a vote of something.

[RFW]

Most of the places that straighten rims beat the crap out of them with a wooden mallet. Not a pretty sight for the faint of heart rim owner to watch. But, it works just fine, similar to the way you did it.

Impacting a casting to straighten it is the exact wrong way to so this! Slowly pressing a bent casting is the only safe way to do this. Impacting a casting causes potenial stress cracking, since the metal needs time to slowly bend.

 

If you see a shop whacking a cast rim to straighten it, take your business elsewhere... FAST!

[Pictou]

On the naysayer side of things: When I bent the wheel on my Nissan Maxima the dealer told me that a bent wheel could not be repaired. Nissan was strict on this and they were not even allowed to point me in the direction of someone who would fix it. I was told that no manufacturers will condone the straightening of a bent wheel (although I didn't try and indpendently verify that). For what its worth my wheel was more out of true than truly bent. It couldn't be balanced but you also didn't notice anything while driving.

 

I did some googling on the internet and it appears that there is a point of view, supported by persons who claim to be auto engineers and metallurgists (its on the internet so it must be true right?), that says bending it back will weaken the wheel. The idea is that once its bent the metal flexes and weakens and bending it back weakens it even more. The possibility of catastrophic failure was mentioned as one of the risks to wheel straightening.

 

I personally didn't find any reports of catastrophic failure but there were reports where the bent wheel was fixed but it wouldn't stay true for more than a few thousand miles (lending creedence to the weakened metal theory). There were a also a lot of reports indicating good success with the repair. Although I didn't add them up my impression was the successes outweighed the failures.

 

Since I am conservative by nature I opted to buy a new wheel for the Maxima rather than fix the old one.

[smiller]

No doubt a metallurgist may be able to come up with some sort of theoretical case for the wheel being weakened by repair but you can bet that Nissan's concern is based more on product liability concerns than anything else (if anything else.)

 

Bottom line is that these types of repairs are made very frequently with virtually zero reports of sudden failures as a result. That pretty much tells you all you need to know.

[David]

I've made arrangements to send both of my wheels for the GS off to Woody in a couple of weeks. The rear has been bad for a bit, and now the front is a tad off. I'll have them relaced, too, and they'll be better than when I got the bike.

[RFW]

No doubt a metallurgist may be able to come up with some sort of theoretical case for the wheel being weakened by repair but you can bet that Nissan's concern is based more on product liability concerns than anything else (if anything else.)

 

Bottom line is that these types of repairs are made very frequently with virtually zero reports of sudden failures as a result. That pretty much tells you all you need to know.

As an intersting point, our car/bike insurance company here in BC (a gummint monopoly) approves proper alloy rim repair, and has it done all the time.

[nrp]

It is funny that you can straighten a metal aircraft propeller (within certain limits) yet they are made of much less forgiving and forged alloys than car wheels, and a re subject to much higner fatigue stresses. I think many of the no-straightening-at-all statements come from the legal departments.

[tomk99r11]

I personally have not had a rim straightened, but doubt I would hesitate unless the bend was severe. I do know of several guys who had rims straightened with no adverse consequences. Now, some of us are super cautious, if that is the correct term, and some of us feel our "judgement" is sufficient to weigh the risks and non-risks of having a tire straightened. In my case, if I think a new rim is necessary I will buy one without batting an eye. But, if straightening does not pose a risk in my opinion I will not hesitate to get the one inch slight warp on my front rim straightened. And, that is not being cheap as you put it. Buy a new rim if you like, up to you.

[apm]

I have 2 bikes. A R1200RT and a Suzuki GSXR 1000 K5.

I bent the rear rim of my Suzuki after I hit a pothole a few months ago. The rim ran true enough and I didn't lose any air, but the edge of the rim was bent out about half an inch. I took the rim to the only business I could find in Sydney that specialises in this type of repair. The man there told me that he heats the rim where the damage is and uses a machine he made, where he can spin the wheel around, and he applies pressure to slowly bend the rim back into place. I had the repair done and apart from the burnt paint (about an inch in diameter) the rim is as good as new! If they use a similar process over your way, I would recommend it.

 

Tony.

[Rottweiler]

I decided to have the wheel repaired by Frame Straight System here and am very happy with the repair. It's $140 and I paid an extra 30% to have it done in 3-5 days so I would have it in time to go the the Vermont BMW rally. They also smoothed out the edges of the rim where I left marks learning how to mount/dismount my own tires for no charge (I'm better at it now). I'm making a claim against the Parkway/Turnpike Authority for not maintaining safe roadways, I'll let you know if they pay out.

[JerryMather]

I have 2 bikes. A R1200RT and a Suzuki GSXR 1000 K5.

I bent the rear rim of my Suzuki after I hit a pothole a few months ago. The rim ran true enough and I didn't lose any air, but the edge of the rim was bent out about half an inch. I took the rim to the only business I could find in Sydney that specialises in this type of repair. The man there told me that he heats the rim where the damage is and uses a machine he made, where he can spin the wheel around, and he applies pressure to slowly bend the rim back into place. I had the repair done and apart from the burnt paint (about an inch in diameter) the rim is as good as new! If they use a similar process over your way, I would recommend it.

 

Tony.

 

David Moore (760) 240-3543 in Apple Valley, Ca. does it the same way.

I watched him do the front wheel off my RT and the rear wheel off my 996 for 50 bucks each.

As a matter of fact, I rode up to his place and removed the front wheel in his driveway and he did it right then in a half hour. Remounted the wheel on my bike and I was on my way with a wheel that was just like new,