bent front wheel...seeking advise

Noticed a bit of a vibration today on my way home, after inspecting the tire it was showing some weird wear patterns. Looking a little harder I found some small cups/dents in the front wheel. I have not hit anything since I have owned it, may have been pre-existing. None the less it is wearing the tire out so here in lies my questions.
1. Has anyone ever hard a rim straightened before? If so is it still holding up?
2. To me these dents do not look that bad, would a balancing the front rim work or will I keep going through tires?
3. Will a 91 front wheel match up to a 99? I found one on ebay but do not know if it is the same fit or not.

There is no performance issues that I can tell with the bike or previous vibrations.

Not sure which way to go. Thanks!!

 

Can you tell if the dents were caused by an impact, or possibly by tire mounting? I've seen a bunch of rims with nicks, small dents and gouges (made a few myself, too) from tire changing tools.

If the rim is truly bent, there are a whole bunch of places offering repair services; google "motorcycle wheel straightening" and lots of places come up. I have personally never used any, though.

It could be that your tire just needs replacing.

 

Hard to tell without seeing in person. What tire are you running? some just wear weird and when they get to a certain spot they'll shake. In past experience's with mag wheels it costs to much to have em straighten. yes can be done depend on the damage. From what I read and guess, is its a worn tire issue, you would have noticed right off the bat if it was a bent rim. all thou balancing will smooth it out a bit. but you'd still see it. Take it off and spin it by hand in a bike front stand or rig something so you can spin it, then you'll see whats what ,some bends are hard to see if you try and look at it even with another person watching from the side on the bike while going down the road.

 

Your tire/bike dealer can tell you if the wheel is damaged or just nicked. But, it sounds to me like you just need a new tire. BTW, Have you checked the air pressure in the tire?

 

not sure about bike rims however i have sent out car wheels to be straightened and never had any problems, yes balancing plays a big part and air pressure dose too, why dont you take the wheel down and just have it checked so you know, but once it cups it done new tire time at least for me

 

All,
Been a while since I could check the forum and thank you for the great advice. I am going to pull the wheel off in the near future and see if it is truly warped or not. The tire (Avon) looks like it has some life left in it before getting to the wear bars but could very well be the issue, hadn't thought of that simple of and answer but makes good sense. Thanks again, I will let you know how it turns out.

 

My brand new 06 VFR began to vibrate only when applying the front brake fairly early in its life. I stayed on top of the air pressure. Most miles are highway miles. No impacts on the bike. When I went for a new rear tire at 25,000 KM, the mechanic pointed out cupping of the front tire. He could not identify a reason or a solution. He suggested that a change in the forks "may" correct this but made no promises.

Even when I changed the tires, front and rear, to a dual compound more suitable for my type of riding, the front cupping showed up again. Personally I am not concerned with it. The only time I notice the vibration is like I said, front brake applications.

A few weeks ago I went out with some guys here from the BC Sportbike Assoc. for a ride. I did some fairly aggressive cornering and the works and noticed no adverse affects.

 

I too went back over your original post and now I am not clear where you noticed the dents or cupping. Was it on the tire or rim. If it was the tread on the tire, then my post stands as a viable answer. If it is the rim, I am afraid I don't have an answer. You should mic the rim.

You can do this relatively easy yourself by spinning the rim and holding something very close to the outer edge of the rim. Support your hand on something as it is vital your hand remain stable while doing this. If it is out of round, the tool you choose will rub against the rim. I would suggest you use a leaded pencil. That will leave a removable mark where it is out, without scratching the rim. Or you can have it professionally mic'd.

By the time you have gone through all this trouble and expense, I may have been just as cheap to go an buy a new rim, however I have to admit, I have never priced one out.

 

As I looked closer at the rim the dents are fairly significant in my mind and are right along the bead line. The tire has not broken the bead but after looking at it I can not imagine it not being out of round. Going to take it to the shop for runouts and see what they say but for piece of mind I may replace it anyway.

Replacing with new OEM goes for $430 but I found one at a local shop for $200. Can I use the same bearing or should I swap those out to? Thanks again for all of he help.

 

You caught that "piece" vice "peace" huh. Saw that after the bullet left the barrel and was hoping for no one would catch it.

I am still trying to get my opinions to be worth anything, $.01 aint to shabby.

Thanks again.

 

Bought a straight used front wheel today for $200 and going to start the swap next week. Probably going to replace bearings as well unless the existing look to be a good shape. With any luck it will all go back together well. Thanks again for the help.

 

Yes, just check your old bearings, if they feel good then use them. might as well save the money for a new tire. good sore on the rim.

 

Glad you got a good wheel, but I'd use new bearings in it. They are cheap, and you won't have to worry about them for years. Have the shop which mounts your tire put them in.

 

I agree here. I am not an engineer but my thinking is that if the bent wheel had been used for an undetermined length of time, I would question if this had any adverse effect on the bearing. To change the bearing in say a year verses changing it now when the wheel is off, I think would be more expensive.

Is my ethnic heritage showing up again. FGM. Time for a beer and a nip of single.