How much 'wobble' on a spoked rim is acceptable?

gog

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Well not for the first or last time I have done something stupid. I had the front wheel off my R1100GS and was loading some stuff in to my Land Rover, took the wheel out and laid it against the side of the car and forgot to put it back in before moving off. Long story short I reversed a 2.5 ton vehicle over the wheel, slightly off centre, over the side of the rim and the brake discs. By the time i felt the bump it was too late.

I have put the wheel on an axle and rotated it to see if it has warped. It seems to have been relatively unaffected, I expected it to be FUBAR. At the top of the rim there is a very slight 1-1.5mm wobble, and at the top of the brake disc perhaps 0.5mm. Wobble is twice per rotation and diametrically opposed.

Is it normal to have very slight wobble on a spoked rim? I would imagine its quite hard to get it *absolutely* true. I hadnt checked it prior to running it over, so im not sure if it was like that before.

I will not be overly offended if words ending 'uckwit' are used, given the circumstances :D
 
Question is slight dent on one side or runoff if just buckle that can be fixed with spokes if dent there specialist can knock out dent , what concerns disc if it's not straight that it, depends how bad slight warp might be OK but you probably will fill when braking .

Val

2 bikes , twice is happy 🤔
 
Cheers Val. No dents to the rim at all. Im absolutely astonished at how well it held up to be honest. I expected to see a mess when i got out to pick it up.
 
From what I have read about BMW spoked wheels they seem to run out of true. I think I read 6mm is acceptable. I'd say you got away with it. Your landy weighs 2.5 tons but at most.6 of a ton aprox. Was the pressure the wheel was subjected to and I'd say even less as the suspension compressed. The bike fully loaded can weigh that and with a mighty pull of the brakes most could be on the front wheel anyway. Not from that angle I know but they were built to last. JJH
 
that's the optimistic hope i have JJH, that it's within tolerance and should be ok. i have removed the brake discs and they are both totally flat, on glass. the fixings are old and incorrect, a mixture of wavy washers and rubber washers have randomly been used so i'm glad i have replacements. the posts the disc sit on have some corrosion and i have washers for this, and i'm hopeful new fixings and cleaned seats will eliminate the wobble at the disc enough to not pulse under braking.

rim away tomorrow to get tyre reseated (why it was off in 1st place) and i'll have them do a proper rotational alignment check. watch this space
 
Do you mean re fitted or re seated? It's easy to reseat the tyre I just wonder why it's off the beads. Or did happen when you drove over it? Handy to know!!! Don't try this at home. JJH
 
the tyre was put on new before xmas and kept slowly deflating. i watched him fit it and he didn't clean the bead area on the rim at all and as the old tyres were *old* i think it's just needing cleaned and refitted. he's doing that free of charge and that's why i had the wheel off and in the car to begin with!
 
Hi Gordon,
According to the BMW manual for an 1150 the the max radial runout is 1.3 mm and max lateral runout is 1.3 mm - that's both front and rear wheels.
It must ONLY be measured on the MACHINED surface of the rim which is shown as the areas where the tyre bead locates on the INSIDE of the rim - not the outer edges.

Cheers ,.........Grizzly
 
I was going to use the word gobshite but that would be too rude! Best of luck getting it sorted:)
 
well on the pro machine theres a definite 2mm wobble at top but negligible at the disc. the guy reckons i might get away with it but says to try it on a ride and see how it feels, so ill do that. looking for a 2nd hand wheel anyway as I would like to have it right long term.

cheers
 
I'm pretty sure that a 2mm wobble could be pulled straight with re-tensioning the spokes as long as their is no rim distortion, i.e the run out is the same amount on each inner face of the rim.
 
cheers packer. the issue is (from what i have read and from what the local wheel rebuilder says) the majority will very likely be siezed so adjustment without replacing spokes and nipples is quite unlikely.
 
The spokes generally seize in the rim ,have a go at pulling it straight ,but I thing you are going to struggle as the rim is bent,you will prob find that it will start to go oval .much easier to build a wheel with a rim that's straight to start with,
A spoke set is @£100 plus around the same to build it.
Getting the thing apart is your challenge as the last few I have done have taken about four hours to strip:blast
 
thanks for the info mike. if mine turns out to be unusable, do you offer the service to rebuild maybe using the rim on your spare if it's straight?
 
Have you ridden with it fitted and the tyre at the right pressure ?

I have a friend that has a wheel with about 3 mm run out on one side for about 15 maybe 20 cm i.e. increasing to 3mm and back to straight again

The only time that its noticed is when you ride slow in traffic on a smooth road

I think I have yet to have an adventure in without having a slight distortion in the front wheel
 
I agree with above. How distorted was the wheel before the little tip? If the wheel is leaking air I would remove the valve stem and clean up the hole and replace with a new one. Check seating area for corrosion and reinflate. It's a awaufil lot of hassle for a mm. JJH
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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