rim deteriation

[ZKDX]

dropped my front wheel off at dealer friday, to have new tube put in, called today and said he was afraid to put it together, wants me to come by and look at it, he said the inside of the rim is falling apart. whatever the hell that means!!!!!. It's an aluminum rim off an 87 kdx200, anyone heard of this and if so, what should i do, where do i buy a new wheel from?

 

[Speedy]

Not sure, But i did the same thing. Took it down to my local mechanic/very good friend, He called me back and said come down and look at this. So i went down and the rim apeared to be alright on the outside but when he took the tire off , there was a very bad stress crack in the middle and went to one side. I crapped my pants. There were no dents or stress on the outside. The rim was junk. Thank god i didnt ride it like that. I mearly just bought the bike and cant stand Michelin tires so i was switching to a better tire when this happened. Now i have brand new tires on brand new black excels. I like them much better. painted my hubs black too.

 

[23jayhawk]

Is the questionable area near the weld seam? Perhaps there was a run of rims with bad welding...?

 

[ZKDX]

well i'm not sure of the specifics yet, as i won't have a chance to look at the rim until the morning...should i have my rear rim checked out too?

 

[MX175]

It is not unusual to have corrosion and other deposits on the inside of the rim. Yes, if there is a crack; you need a new rim.

If it just looks disgusting, you or they should take a wire brush on a drill and clean the surface so that it can be inspected. There is a slim chance that there is some pitting corrosion. If the pits are not more than 15-25% of the total thickness of the rim, it should be OK. For example, if the rim is 0.150" thick in an unpitted area, and in a pitted area it is only 0.120" thick, that means that the pit is 0.030" deep. 0.030" divided by 0.150" equals 0.20 which is the same as 20%, so that should be OK. These measurements are best made with a point micrometer. Many machine shops have them, but I am not sure of your local dealer. There are also depth micrometers that could be used, but be careful of the curvature of the rim. Also if there are a lot of pits in one area, that can be more harmful than a few that are isolated and far apart. I am curious about what you/they find.

For more than you may want to know, aluminum can have exfoliation corrosion. An area may look like fibers or layers are peeling off. Again, the 15 - 25% depth is a good rule of thumb. But you also have to consider the size of the area affected. If there are areas of a couple square inches, it is time for a new rim. But if you simply have a few small isolated spots it should be OK. Then again, if you really want a pair of black rims, this is the perfect excuse for the wife or parents...safety first.

 

[ZKDX]

i work for a machine shop so i will check the rim out thouroughly and let let you know what i find

 

[ZKDX]

F.Y.I.: checked out the rim today, pretty bad deterioration. Looks like might have been caused from fix-a-flat (not from me!), or possibly water. Something worth looking at next time you're changing that tire!!!