A little while ago, my front tyre was loosing air...pump it up and it's flat a week later. I believe this happened after hitting a pot hole. Not difficult at all with our crappy roads around here. There was no noticeable imbalance after hitting the pothole.

The tyre shop said that there was an area on the wheel where the tyre wasn't sealing, due to hitting the pot hole and he stuck in a tube.

Question is: can I "loving hit" (bash) the wheel sufficiently so the tyre seals against the rim as before?

not sure blakey ...not somethong i would try

perhaps just resealing the bead with wet soap formula might seal it back up (all the way round )...ive often heard of the bead breaking its seal and becoming leaky and then other tyre installers fixxing the issue ..

but there are "wheel works" type places that could advise you better ...a couple are down here mate . no names come to mind straight away but a while ago i had my "european" rims re bent after a hit over train lines , reason for work was the european were not made to deal with aussie conditions ( i suspect width versus thickness was not optimum as suggested by them ) but i doubt that on the fairly strong stuff we have on our bikes

just a thought mate

funny how the last sports demon used to loose 2 - 3 ponds a fortnight ,...and this one doesnt at all

Yes you can fix a bit of a flat spot, they are probably the easiest of all to do.
Use a piece of soft wood and about a 16oz hammer and give it a hit, a bit at a time and it will come straight.
I have done it twice one to the K75 which had a flat spot when we bought it and to a wheel that a guy in Toowoomba gave me because they could nt be fixed. And I just remembered I did the front wheel on the R80 after hitting a pot hole, it had the same Y spoke wheels as the k100/75s.
If you can't see the flat spot it is ok and of course if you can it will probably leak.

Thanks Rick, I'll give it a go after I get back from Bingara.

It can be done if the dent is not too big, i once bought a front wheel with a little dent for 1 euro on fleabay, 2 proper blows with the hammer and it was like new.

You were probably going to do it this way anyway but if you are going to have at it with some form of walloper take the wheel out so the shock of each whack is not transmitted to the ball bearings in the hub.
Regards,
K-BIKE

I've not done this with a 'snowflake' wheel but I did have to take quite a large dent out of a 'three spoke' wheel. They're quite malleable.

I laid hands on a heavy rubber mallet and supported the rim in a square of 4"x2" softwood while I whacked at it. You have to be careful not to put a dent somewhere else while you fix the first dent.

Check for cracks after you're finished.

The dealer advised me to keep the tyres pumped up as hard as possible 'cos I'm a heavy lump.

Thanks for the answers folks. Yes K-Bike, wheel off so not do to damage anything!

It would be hard to even see where it's dented, so I'll just have to muck around until I get it right.

Softly, softly...

Blakey would you be considering a jig for the job? Say something like 5 or 6 pieces of 7ply bolted together and cut with an arc the same as the inside of the wheel. I mean the wheel would just sit there then and you wouldn't put any new bumps in it, perhaps the bit you cut out of the arc might be the thing to hit with the mallet should be a nice even fit???

If you can't see of even feel the flat spot then you don't need to do anything including using a tube. If you have a flat spot that causes the tyre to leak then you WILL see it and feel it as you move your hand round the outer circumference of the wheel.

Wow K75cster, I was going to dig a bit of a hole in the back yard so the disc sits in it and the rim rests on the ground. Then bash tap it. Your thoughts please.
New bearings are to be installed when the wheel is off.

I'll measure the runout of the rim before taking it off the bike.

That's a good point rick, the one i got here is so obvious that I says ouch when walking past it and that is because you can see it at a distance and yet it dont leak, go figure?????

Blakey If you are just tapping it from the side then why not just use the spare on the trailer and lay it on that, if you are in need of a Tap on the flat portion of the rim then consider a cradle it will displace the thump more evenly

Another thought - it might be an idea to check the paint under the bead.

If it has corrosion under it or has cracked from the dent it will lift and cause a leak.

The only trailer I have is a 6x4 that I drag behind the cage. Are you assuming that I have a trailer for my bike?
I will not be bashing the rim, just lightly tapping it.

Gerry, yes the wheel requires very close inspection to see if there is indeed a crack.

Blakey the spare on your 6x4 trailer is what I was talking about could also use the car one but dont let mum know, it'll just hold everything off the ground for you and save digging a hole especially if its hot up there

It's hot 75cster. I'll use the trailer's spare. Good advice. Thanks.

Hi guys,
I'm going to paint the wheels by powder coating. I've to remove front wheel bearings. I noticed a very delicate bearing resistance, very delicate.
I don't konow when bearings was changed, even if they were.
Is it worth to buy new, replace them and don't play with the gentle removing?

BMW K100RS '87 - 145k km

You will more than likely damage them getting them out it is very difficult no to. You can't get to the outer of the race and using any force on the inner will mark the balls and both inner and outer then wear takes place very rapidly.
I put new bearings in my K11 and had to take them out later when they hadn't even been on the road and had to replace them as I could feel rough spots after I got them out. I wouldn't even take the risk myself.

If you take bearings out you have to replace them. The removal process damages them. Applies to wheel bearings, head bearings and anything else like that. Just make sure you have the new ones to hand before you go at the old ones. Even taking out a brand new bearing will damage it.

Ok, well, you convinced me...
I'll buy new from a BMW dealer, they aren't too expensive (about $15 / one)

TNX

If you have tyres off too, look at balancing wheels after, especially the front. There is a procedure shown in Clymer I think but its not so difficult to set up.

I would heat the dented area of the wheel with a butane torch before trying to straighten it. Move the torch back and forth over the area for about 60 seconds. I would use a piece of wood placed against the rim and a couple of sharp blows from a fairly heavy hammer against the wood. I find I have more control using a heavier sledge hammer than trying to use a lighter ball peen or carpenters hammer. Make sure the wheel cannot bounce around when you hit the piece of wood.

The three spoke rims were manufactured deliberately soft to prevent catastrophic failures where rims crack off the spokes as happens with some Japanese rims subject to hard impacts. The downside is they are more easily bent by smaller impacts. They straighten up well though.

Finally I took out the bearings by the way destroying them.
First I removed the sealant and pulled out a wreath bearing and removed the steal balls. Then I took out the bearing inner race and centering sleeve from the hub. I pulled out other bearing with hummer. Then I put the balls in the bearing raceways back and I pulled out first bearing.



Sorry for my english

Before you put the new bearings back in make a small cutaway in the centre tube so it is easier next time. I don't know who at BMW decided to make it like that but he should be damned to an eternal life of getting wheel bearings out.

If you dont want to try it send it to Dave Alderton in 2/10 Long St Smithfield. He and his father Laurie have been straightening them for years, Interestingly Dave (my nephew)(Declaration of interest) also has been straightening those weird BM spoked wheels with the cross over spokes ,apparently they are quite a challenge. Daves number is 0296092889
Regards Dennis Alderton.

Good call Dennis now we got a contact to add to the to do list

Yep - those K wheels are quite soft.
I used to take my K down a lot of dirt roads and my mechanic would sigh every time I took a wheel in for a new tyre. He'd bash the dents out of the rims as a matter of course.

shameless plug for my favorite workshop:
Chivo's, 3/20 Crescent St, Granville NSW (02) 9682 5950
I've been buying tyres from them for 25 years.

[quote="Rick G"]Before you put the new bearings back in make a small cutaway in the centre tube so it is easier next time. I don't know who at BMW decided to make it like that but he should be damned to an eternal life of getting wheel bearings out.[/quote]

WTF??? Was I not paying attention and clicked on the Harley forum? Heat the hub with a butane torch to 100 degrees C (takes about 60 seconds moving the flame around the perimeter of the hub) and use a [i]proper[/i] bearing puller. If you don't heat the hub to expand the aluminum, when you remove the bearing you will drag some hub material out with the race. Then when you install the new bearing it will not seat tightly in the hub. Don't ask me how I found this out .......

A proper bearing puller makes the job very easy to do and they don't cost all that much. Remember to heat the hub back up to 100 degrees C before you try installing the new bearing. If the hub is properly hot, the new bearing will drop about halfway into the hub just by gravity, and you can tap it home very easily. I use a big socket that has the same ID as the bearing installed on a short extension. You will know when the bearing is fully seated by the different sound it makes when you tap it.

I'll heat the hub before intalling bearings and I'll freeze the bearings in a freezer

Cześć, Lifeguard, co słychać u ciebie? Mója dobra przyjaciółka jest polska i ja uczę się polskiego. I had a new front tyre fitted today and the fitter showed me the wheel on the balancer with a significant flat on the rim which has passed unnoticed by me or the MoT tester for the past three years! A few judicious "taps" with a hammer and a wooden drift with the wheel supported by the rim on two flat pieces of wood have reduced the extent of the distortion to a degree that is still noticeable but well within acceptable limits. The most remarkable thing is that such a visually great irregularity was entirely undetectable in use. So, yes, these wheels are durable and repairable.