BUCKLED WHEELS

[GSTourer]

Had new tyres fitted to my 07 1200GSA at my local non BMW bike shop today. When I collected it from reception the guy said "You do know your wheels are badly buckled don't you.......if we were giving it an MOT we would fail it"..............................I was gobsmacked, I have never done anything to cause this although it is pre-owned and the previous owner did 18000 mile of the 22000 on the bike. He did however look after the bike meticulously (I purchased it from NOG and haven't had the opportunity to contact them yet)

Has anyone ever heard of a problem with the aforesaid wheels and if so what do you think the chances are of a successful warranty claim for having them straightened or new wheels?

Many thanks.

Ian

 

[Fanum]

Had new tyres fitted to my 07 1200GSA at my local non BMW bike shop today. When I collected it from reception the guy said "You do know your wheels are badly buckled don't you.......if we were giving it an MOT we would fail it"..............................I was gobsmacked, I have never done anything to cause this although it is pre-owned and the previous owner did 18000 mile of the 22000 on the bike. He did however look after the bike meticulously (I purchased it from NOG and haven't had the opportunity to contact them yet)

Has anyone ever heard of a problem with the aforesaid wheels and if so what do you think the chances are of a successful warranty claim for having them straightened or new wheels?

Many thanks.

Ian

Garfield's rear is really really bent.

Hold on, let me re-phrase that

The rear wheel of Garfield's 1200GSA is very out-of true, to the point that the guy who pulled out behind him as we left on the Morocco trip in April actually rode past him to stop him and tell him about it.

Seems it has always been that way- we measured the deflection and it was nearly 10mm oddly, it didn't affect the handling and as the disc was ok, all the spokes were tight and it wasn't affecting the bike, he carried on with no ill effect.

Don't know if he had it trued before he left for the Nordkap yesterday but he didn't seem worried about it

Ian...run a screwdriver around your spokes and see if any 'thud' rather than 'ping', and check the rim for damage.
'Thuddy' spokes can be tightened to true up a wheel (a bit of common sense and you could do it yourself, or have it done by dealer) but a ding in the rim won't be under warranty and may have to be an insurance claim.....though again, you could use a g-clamp and some indirect heat and straighten it yourself depending on how bad it is.

 

[GSTourer]

Fanum,

Thanks for that.

I am pretty 'anal' when it comes to cleaning and have never noticed any damage to the rims but I will look as you suggest...I will also do the spoke check. I asked this morning if it was still safe to ride and they said that it was. I have never had any handling problems as far as I am aware and I guess my main concern is come MOT time in 12 months it is 'failed' because of the rims.

My ability with spanners/repairs is about as good as I would be with a scalpel.........and that isn't good !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am off to The Pyrenees in 3 weeks so would like NOG's opinion prior to that....They have always been excellent I must say so we will see.

 

[GrinningGSer]

There are so many of these wheels in circulation now (pardon the pun) in the UK, that I am surprised that nobody is offering a wheel rebuilding service.

Or are they ?

(My 07 GSA wheel appeared badly buckled on the bike, then I noticed that the caliper was going in and out and the net cause was a badly machined rear carrier. Discussed last year on this site )

 

[Pukmeister]

BMW spoked wheels are notoriously difficult to true by wheel builders due to the way the spokes work on tubeless rims.

Theres a thread over on Adventure Rider about it somewhere, allegedly not many wheel builders will handle BMW rims as they take forever to adjust to get the rim running true and concentric with the hub.

I've seen a few threads on here regarding owners getting their GSA wheels swapped out under warranty due to excessive run out. If your bike is still under warranty it may be worth speaking to your dealer.

 

[GSTourer]

Pukmeister,

It is still under warranty (just) and I will contact them on Monday and post the result on here.

Due to them being difficult to true and the fact that BMW may not honour a claim, does anyone know of a wheelbuilder who does tackle BMW spoked wheels.

Thanks.

Ian

 

[Tricky]

Last spring I was told by my friendly BM dealer that my front (spoked) wheel was buckled. The bike was 6 months old (4k on the bike) at the time and had been used 95% on the road. No incidents that I could recall could have caused this.

He then proceeded to give me the good news that I would have to claim on my insurance if I wanted it replaced. I took the wheel to Alf Hagon (nationally respected wheel builder). The guy that looked at it informed me that although ‘running out’ slightly was within factory tolerance. He said that must BM spoked wheels were like this and almost impossible to ‘true’. This is due to being welded together at the factory.

Since then I have forgotten about it and done another 10k including two tours of Europe.

HTH

 

[D6]

how bigs factory tolerance??

 

[Tricky]

how bigs factory tolerance??

The guy at Hagons told me but I can't remember.

Anyway I'm not a techy so as long as the wheel was ok and didn't need repairing have just got on with riding and enjoying the bike.

 

[GSTourer]

Tricky,

That is interesting........do you have contact details for Alf Hagon by any chance?

I am not unduly worried however, other than the comment that my local Yamaha would have failed it at MOT time.

It could be they are not used to spoked wheels (particularly BMW).......I guess I could get it looked at by NOG and if told it is within tolerances/OK then take it to them at MOT time.

As I said earlier NOG have always been very fair in previous dealings.

Ian

 

[Tricky]

Hi Ian

They are here

http://www.hagon-shocks.co.uk/main1st.htm

Not to far from you and if you give them a ring you could take it from there.

Am sure NOG will be more helpful than my dealer was (a certain Mr Cannon).

Good luck.

 

[GSTourer]

Tricky,

Thanks for that.

Ian

 

[Phil Clarke]

I believe the Devon rim company specifically offer to true and rebuild bmw wheels. MOT run out limit is about 3mm from memory.
I'd have ago myself - just tighten the spokes to drag the rim in the required direction

 

[Fanum]

Woody's wheels have a very good reputation over the pond and here too......it's worth reading his 'words of wisdom'HERE

 

[Sot1200]

http://www.devonrimcompany.com/bmw.htm#.
Try this as well. Mind you to really see how bad the wheel is you have to take the tire off and spin it. Its where the tire sits that is important. Furthermore some balancing machines hold the wheel from the hub (rear wheel). The hub is not perfectly round and will give the impression that your wheel is way off

 

[(RIP) orbit]

similar thread here

Got my rear wheel replaced under g tee

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=182587

 

[GSTourer]

Thanks for the comments and advice everyone.

I spoke to NOG today and they didn't sound particularly hopeful of a warranty claim due to the fact that the wheel COULD have been buckled in use.ie potholes etc. I guess I can see their point, but I do know it wouldn't have been down to me and I would be VERY surprised if the previous owner whom I know in passing as do the dealer as he is an employee would have caused the problem too.

However, they said to bring the bike in to them next Monday and they will take a look at it and I will obviously know more then. They have always seemed very fair in their handling of warranty claims in the past so I am quite happy to go with their decision and advice.

If it is out of true but they aren't prepared to process the claim and I am still bothered about it, then I may well have to contact one of the aforementioned wheel builders and seek their advice/services.

It could be that the wheel is within tolerances and for BMW and as the dealer (Yamaha) that put the tyres on for me is not used to seeing spoked wheels like this.

Sotos may well have a valid point in his post too.

I will let you all know the outcome.

Many thanks.

Ian

 

[lkyphl]

I had a front rim replaced under warranty without the runout being measured.
The (new) replacement felt worse ; runout was measured where the tyre is seated in the rim at 1.4mm vertical and 1.2mm lateral against BMW's maximum permissable runout of 1.5mm in either direction. Most of the runout was in the area of the rim's weld.
It doesn't seem to affect the handling of the bike, but I can feel the 'bars slightly oscillating when the bike's cranked over on very smooth roads.
Just after having the new rim fitted, a fellow rider stopped next to me at the lights and said "mate, you know your back wheel's buckled ..."

Phil