Well, here is a small update on my rim issue.

I actually found a local shop that repairs motorcycle rims when I was driving to go to another shop to ask them to take my tire off so I can ship the rim alone to Will's Rim Repair in SC. That particular shop was put out of business a while ago, but incidentally, the phone number is still active, an answering machine works and the business is still listed. What a waste!

So, about that rim repair shop. First, I didn't find it online because it is listed as an auto body shop. Well, I took the rim to the guy who runs the place and he said the rim was not bent (laterally), but just the outer lip from the road rash makes it look that way. This was just from him eyeballing it. Now, my tire does not lose air and I still haven't rode on it yet because my bike is in pieces waiting to get repaired. Currently I am working on replacing my fork seals.

Here's my dilemma. I want to send the rim to Will's Rim repair (because I am not convinced that the guy from the local shop was able to just eyeball the rim's straightness), but I don't want it to be a waste if it actually is just the part of the rim that has the road rash causing my rim to look bent when it really may not be bent.

Also, I took the rim to another shop (this one was open though) and asked the guy to see if my tire and rim were still balanced and he said it was. However, he also alerted me to a spot on the tire that has a slit in it (not caused from the bike going down because it is on the other side) and he said that I should replace the tire (although my tire is fully inflated and not losing air).

I'll take pictures of both to show you what I mean. This is just driving me nuts!

 

Here are some pictures of the rim, road rash and that slit on the other side:

Left side (where the bike sustained most/all the damage):















Right side (opposite of damage, but where that slit is):






So, tell me what you think.

 

It wouldn’t bother me much if it was on the car but personally I wouldn’t take that many chances with a bike tyre. Just my 2 cents.

 

Anybody ever repaired road rash themselves?

I was thinking of trying it.

Thanks.

 

So the shop you were saying is out of business is one near you right? I did business with Wills in SC about 10 days ago.

Anyway, I'd plug the "slit" in your tire with some silicone or some type of glue that won't get hard but will stay plyable.

If you have/buy/borrow a simple run-out gauge like are sold at Sear's for $40 you can check the run-out of the rim by yourself. You can mount the gauge in one of your brake caliper bolt holes or some other way (be creative) placing the bottom end of the gauge on the rim and spinning the rim and then reading the measurement or just determining where exactly the bend is.

Looking at your photos though, it looks like you are saying you think the rim is bent inward or compressed out of round. ??? If that's the case then ride the thing and if it doesn't feel funny or lose air then I wouldn't worry about it.

 

Thanks for the additional info.

I've been in contact with Wills for the past three days and I am just waiting for a response. I sent them an email of my rim so they can tell me if it is worth it to send my rim to them and what would the associated cost be. The very nice lady on the phone told me that the general price is about 65.00 for straightening and an additional 15.00 if welding is needed. She said that they can also fix the road rash.

The one shop that I was talking about being closed was a ghetto repair shop. I was just going there to see if they could take my tire off so I can ship the rim to Will's.

The other shop was the rim straightening shop and that guy just eyeballed my rim. He also said that he didn't want to charge me like 125.00 for just the part where the road rash is because it wasn't that bad, being slightly bent outward. I wasn't too convinced, but he could be right.

As for the tire, if I plug the gash with non-hardening silicone, should I cut the rip off or try to mend everything back together?

I was going to just buy a Shinko 005 for my front because my rear is a Shinko 005. The front is like 70.00 and I figure it would be better to have a set rather than mismatch tires. I know Shinko isn't the best brand, but I am just a street rider/commuter when the weather is warm. No really fun twisties or track days for me as I can't afford track days and there really aren't that many open road type twistes where I live here in Philadelphia.

As for the guage, I've checked sears.com, but couldn't find anything. I will go into the store on Saturday.

If I do decide to buy another tire, should I buy the stock 120/70-17? The current tire is a 120/60-17. I don't know what would be better, returning to the stock size or just keeping the same size that is already on my wheel.

Thanks for all of your help so far.

 

Yes, my rear is 180/55-17.

 

The tire repair is up to you. I was thinking some plyable adhesive glue filled in the hole and then pressing the chunk back in place would be good. Let it dry then remove the excess glue, might have to weigh the chunk down with something while it dries. Of course new is always good if you can afford it. I had one of those Dunlops in my bike when I bought it, no real opinions on it though.

I don't know what you're after with your bike. If you don't care that it has a few scratches then forget about the wheel and ride. If you want to start cleaning it up then send your wheel of to Wills and just forget about the run out gauge. Home repair and diagnosis can be satisfying but just as expensive once you start spending money on tools and junk. Take a day or two completely off from thinking about it and see if that doesn't clear your head on what to do. Works for me sometimes.