Wobbley Wheel.

[robbieisurfriend]

I just got a 89 YZ 250wr and it runs great but I was letting a friend ride it and while following it saw that the rear wheel wobbles. My question: is there a way to fix this because im sure it is going to wear the bearings if I continue to ride it like it is? If it requires a new wheel then I will ride it anyways. All spokes seem to be there but something is seriously out of whack with it because it has quite a bit of wobble. Cheap can sometimes turn expensive :(.

 

[76GMC1500]

Is the wheel loose or the rim bent?

 

[Rooster]

I've seen that just a few times in my day. Simple enough ...

Put the bike on a stand and check for bearing wear. If the bearings are that far out of spec, you should notice more than just a "wobble". Using the clock as a guide, grab the wheel at 9 & 3, and check for play, and again at 12 and 6, watching to make sure the swing arm isn't moving (which would indicate suspension wear). If everything seems "tight" there, the next step is to give the wheel a spin and watch for rim warp. Having a buddy hold the bike still on the stand is always a good thing. Sit behind the bike, and give the wheel a good spin and watch for the "wobble". Chances are, either the rim has taken a serious bend, or someone played around with tightening the spokes and took it badly out of "true".

I had a riding buddy that went through this, and he ended up having to buy another wheel. With the age of your bike, you should be able to find one at a reasonable price.

Best of luck!

 

[JasonJ]

You can retune the the wheel but it is not easy, your best off giving it to a shop that has the right tools and experiance with spoked wheels. Any shop in PA that inspects bikes is required to have a truing stand, but they never use them. My buddy builds bike wheels and if your in a real jam could probably ture it up for you if you ship it to me since out buddy inspects bikes and thus has a MC truing stand.
It can be a pain with old wheels since half the time the nipples are sized on the spokes. Some times they cant be saved except to re lace them. Check for out of round run out too, meaning as you spin the tire and you look at it from the side it will get closer and further from the floor. If your side to side is bad chances are its out of round too. :(

 

[robbieisurfriend]

Well it is definately a warped wheel. It seems round just twisted sideways if that makes since. I do not know how you twist a wheel but somebody did it. It feels stable and u cannot tell. The bearing is tight feeling but the rim is warped badly. Hopefully I can find a place locally that can get it running true again. Im sure if I do not fix it in a reasonable amount of time it will cause excess tire and bearing wear. I will keep you guys informed on what happens.

 

[Rotorranch]

Any good bike shop should be able to fix it, if the rim itself isn't damaged.

Rotor

 

[robbieisurfriend]

Any good bike shop should be able to fix it, if the rim itself isn't damaged.

Rotor

I would consider twisted out of shape to be damage, what do you mean?

 

[Rotorranch]

If someone tried to adjust spokes, it's very possible to get the rim out of round, without being damaged. If so, re-trueing would fix it.

If it's "tacoed", it will probably need a rim replaced. :whoa:

You can get rims from about $100 plus spokes plus labor. You could probably find a good used wheel on ePay.

Rotor