Damaged rear alloy

[Craigiefort]

Just had bike in (R1200GS WC) for it's 1st annual service at 5.5K miles. Told I have a flat spot on my rear alloy. It's OK to use but I just dont see how it has been flat spotted. I haven't ridden over anything rougher than normal - and in many years of biking I've never dented an alloy before. This being a GS I would have hoped that it should be less prone to this type of damage. Just wondering if this is a common issue? BMW just say it was likely to be a pot hole. Surely a pothole that could damage an alloy wheel rim would be at least noticeable to the rider. I have a feeling that these rims or rims/ tyre combination may be a weak spot? Anyone with similar issues?
Bike itself is great, BTW!!

 

[scottpa]

BMW just say it was likely to be a pot hole. Surely a pothole that could damage an alloy wheel rim would be at least noticeable to the rider. I have a feeling that these rims or rims/ tyre combination may be a weak spot? Anyone with similar issues?
Bike itself is great, BTW!!

I hit a pothole fairly hard a few months ago, didn't think anything of it as the tyre didn't lose pressure but when cleaning the bike I noticed the rim of my front wheel was buckled.
I got the wheel repaired by Motoliner in Maidstone who did a good job and even blended the paint over the repair. But they did mention that they got a lot of BMW wheels to repair because they were relatively soft compared to other makes.

 

[Hamslay]

Same here. I hit a big pot hole but didn't notice the wheel was bent. Some months later, the bike was in for MOT at the dealer and they pointed out the ding. It wasn't a problem for the MOT, but it was a problem with the fact I was about to trade the bike in! Like scottpa, I went down to Motoliner in Kent on a Saturday morning and they fixed the ding and blended the paint for £100 while I waited around.

 

[Neil W]

It may be that the gs alloy wheels are more road orientated than the ones on pre wc models ie lighter to reduce the unsprung weight and improve the handling but much more likely to sustain pot hole damage .

The brother in law went through 3 fronts and 2 rears on 2 Ducatis when living in the Bradford area due to pot hole damage.

 

[sven]

K1200S's are bad for this.

I went to the Pyrenees in 2007 with a couple of mates who also rode K's and all three bikes had dings in the rims, one of which was so bad it had been repaired by Hagon's just before the trip

 

[Mawnanian]

It may be that the gs alloy wheels are more road orientated than the ones on pre wc models ie lighter to reduce the unsprung weight and improve the handling but much more likely to sustain pot hole damage .

The brother in law went through 3 fronts and 2 rears on 2 Ducatis when living in the Bradford area due to pot hole damage.

A mate with a TC clipped a fairly small rock when we were out once. It put a nasty dink in the front rim so I don't think the TC models at least are any more robust.

 

[yankeedoodledandy]

I dented my front rim on a rock in the road, too, back in late 2013 IIRC. Fixed by a rim repair place.

Since then I've been paying extra attention to rim damage threads (and watched the offroad videos, where the rims are almost always dented by the end), and it does seem like the LC alloy rims are more prone to damage than the previous model alloys, even though they have more spokes. If I'd known that, I would have ordered the full spoked rims instead, but I figured I'd go for less unsprung weight and better handling. Oh well.

 

[WindyChuffer]

Will they paint wheels? Mine are scratched to buggery from tyre levers and DIY tyre changes.

 

[roamer]

The lc cast wheels have no well in the rim, just flat across between the bead base,
I recall a thread mentioning tyres were harder to change as no depth ,
I noticed this when changing my tyres, and how thin the casting was,
This can't be as strong, and worrying so many are having wheels bent without hitting something that makes the bike unstable,
Roamer

 

[Craigiefort]

Definitely an issue

Looks like there may be a case of the wheels being soft or perhaps the profile of the tyres have changed? putting more stress on the rims? I definitely didn't hit anything that would have caused a flat spot (as far as I can recall)
Watch out for refurbs though, alloy can change its properties when heated above 130 degrees C - you may reduce its strength or make it brittle! Some powder coating can go upwards of 200 degrees C