Bent Alloy

[GdS65]

Hello,
Just back from a lovely overnighter to the Lake District. Following a line of cars through the lanes at 40mph on my 18 reg GS and a rock jumps out in front of me.
Hell of a bang on the front but we stayed upright and stopped down the road. I now have a lovely dent in my front alloy. Tyre pressures stayed good. So now my question is Repair or Replace, secondhand or new. I can't find a new price in internet but rear alloys are around £700! I did a search here and found a couple of links which are 2 years old and was wondering if anyone has had this problem recently and got it sorted.
Cheers in advance.

 

[Tractors are go]

Hagon used to repair alloy wheels, there maybe a car wheel repairer close to you who can give advice on repair or replace.

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[Rich1960]

Similar thing happened to a mate on a run in the Galloway Forrest, he sent a claim to the Highway Authority and received a payout of £1300.

 

[Myke Rocks]

Take wheel(s) to someone with a hydraulic press.

Keep the tyres on, and just press it back into shape. Takes around a minute in the press.
Bit of cardboard or wood on either side to protect the paintwork on it.
Myke

 

[®win]

Keep the tyres on, and just press it back into shape. Takes around a minute in the press.

IMO the worst advice you could give! Have it repaired by a specialized company. It will require heating the rim, so it may need repainting.

 

[oddjob]

Sorry to hear of your mishap, but glad you weren't thrown from the bike. A similar event happened to me back in 2014, however my front wheel rim was distended after riding into a huge pot-hole.
Anyway, long story short I submitted a damages claim to the Local Highway Authority and after much wriggling on their part they eventually settled out of court for £1,400
I then sent the loose wheel (discs and tyre removed) via Parcel Force to Moto-liner (they're based in Kent) whom used a jig to straighten. However, in order to make the alloy more conducive to return to original, the buckled area was heated, which in turn damaged the powder coating; so when it was returned I had to remove the wheel bearings and had it powder-coated. Then I had to fit new bearing etc.

 

[stick]

Motoliner Kent , they have done two wheels for my riding chum .. great service .
http://www.motoliner.com/
sorry should have read above but hers a free link

 

[Myke Rocks]

IMO the worst advice you could give! Have it repaired by a specialized company. It will require heating the rim, so it may need repainting.

Bollocks. Have done it many times. Rim does not require heating.
If it was not a manufacturer's rim, I would scrap it, but being original it will straighten perfectly.

 

[GdS65]

Thanks for the replies guys. I have a mobius camera mounted up front as a dashcam and it caught the incident so the North Yorkshire County Council will be getting a call in the morning.
Otherwise no one's said bin it so a repair must be in order. Bollocks to £700+ for a new one
cheers

 

[M30SJM]

Bollocks. Have done it many times. Rim does not require heating.
If it was not a manufacturer's rim, I would scrap it, but being original it will straighten perfectly.

I'm with you on this one Myke, the rim didnt need any heat to bend it when it went over the rock. If it holds air now, your not going to make it any worse, its purely a cosmetic exercise.
Go for a claim if you like, the more inflated claims they pay, the less in the pot for sorting out the roads. Shit happens. The only way to stop shit happening is dont buy the bike in the first place, that way you wont lose any money, and if you do buy one dont take it out, ever.

 

[BMWSim]

Bollocks. Have done it many times. Rim does not require heating.
If it was not a manufacturer's rim, I would scrap it, but being original it will straighten perfectly.

It bent without heat, why shouldn't it bend back without heat? Just wondering??

 

[topcat2006]

Ive used Motoliner too. Excellent service, quick and you could not tell where the repair was once they had finished.

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[malcopopolo]

It bent without heat, why shouldn't it bend back without heat? Just wondering??

Not an expert or dissagree. But is it possible the alloy had stretched and heating caused it to shrink back once cooled?

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[Slipperyeel]

Not an expert or dissagree. But is it possible the alloy had stretched and heating caused it to shrink back once cooled?

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Err...I like your thinking. But it ain't gonna 'shrink back'

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[Slipperyeel]

Looking at the damage I'm with Mike Rocks on this... The metal doesn't need to move far in this case.

It will have work hardened during the denting process, but I would not imagine enough to prevent bending it back with a press.

For my part, if it was my wheel and had to be heated I'd bin it. I wouldn't go near it - ok if I was somewhere remote different story.

Alloy cat wheels that are cracked and then welded just crack/ bend again later... some fold up!


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[Deleted account 191119001]

Go get a new front tire, and I bet the tyre fitter can put it is his vice and fix that easy.

 

[Neil W]

Try to beat it back into shape or manipulate it back using hydraulic pressure without proper jigs and formers and it will most likely crack the wheel .
It is not a top quality item it is built as light as possible and as cheaply as possible in a factory in China to maximise BMW's profit margins.
Get a specialist to do it properly or replace it .
I've been to two companies in the past one of whom used to repair and straighten wheels for the Porsche Cup cars amongst others and the second who was trusted to straighten and repair police patrol car alloy rims and both of them had very professional looking jigs set up with interchangeable formers and they said that in some cases the repair could be done cold in others the rim had to be heated to stop cracking .
If it was mine I would speak to a professional and take their advice as a front wheel failure at speed is not a pleasant thought or just get a local tyre monkey to beat it nearly straight its your choice .

 

[twizzle]

Ref your claim - a pot hole maybe...

But I doubt they will take ownership of debris on the highway..

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

Hello,
Just back from a lovely overnighter to the Lake District.

***Following a line of cars through the lanes at 40mph on my 18 reg GS and a rock jumps out in front of me.****

Hell of a bang on the front but we stayed upright and stopped down the road.

I now have a lovely dent in my front alloy.

Thanks for the replies guys. I have a mobius camera mounted up front as a dashcam and it caught the incident so the North Yorkshire County Council will be getting a call in the morning.
Otherwise no one's said bin it so a repair must be in order. Bollocks to £700+ for a new one
cheers

Good luck with that

How is NYCC Highways responsible for a rock?

It's your responsibility to avoid road debris by better forward planning and observation

I can't see Highways taking any responsibility

 

[stick]

If you send your wheel to Motorliner they will not repair it if they feel that it is not safe.
They are a professional company that takes its repairs seriously .