Hi guys ('n gals),
I picked up a '99 F4 and when I replaced the rear tire, the shop found some stuff I was hoping not to find. It seems that the previous owner did something to the rear wheel:

- One of the walls between the cush dampers is about 2/3 gone.

So my question is this: How detrimental to the structure of the rear wheel is this? I know these bikes put a lot of torque to the rear wheel, and the last thing I want is this thing folding up on me. Can I afford to shop around for a good deal on a replacement wheel, or should I replace the wheel immediately, without riding the bike at all?

So as to reduce liability, I understand that all of your responses are opinions, and cannot be taken as definitive Honda recommendation.

[IMG]local://upfiles/19370/E7D1D7B2577F45BCAC264F1326C85B5B.jpg[/IMG]

Also, if any of you happens to have a rear wheel for an F4 laying around (or one that will fit the F4 with no mods), then PM me.

 

That doesn't make any sense why someone would try to remove that? Moving on, I would replace the wheel personally. It just isn't worth pusihing the integrity of the rim. If you do ride the bike, I would baby it till it's replaced. You should be able to find one on ebay for a decent price. I've bought a couple front rims (Damn pot holes [:@]) from ebay and save a LOT of cash.

 

By "did something to" I meant that he laid the bike down and it got chipped somehow.

 

if you are just going to commute, even spirited ridingits fine...there are 4 other ribs, and the rubber cushions will disperse the load quite evenly. That same hub design transmits 160 hp on a cbr1000. But,I would say no dumping the clutch for burnouts or wheelies.

F4 rear wheels are cheap....$50+ship...since you don't need the rotor or hub...

 

It seems very unlikely that area of the rear wheel would have been damaged from going down. It's behind the swing are and the hub. Anyway, I would look to replace the rim. Why pay $1500 in repair from a catastrophic failure when you could have originally only spent $100 to $150. I’m speaking from experience on this! My bike was pushed over at work and it bent the handle bar just a smidge. I didn’t have the cash right away to replace it so I continued to ride with it. One day I was going through a turn and the bar snapped off right at the clamp… and down I went. I could have spent a $150 or so but instead I ended up shelling out about $1500. By the way travisgarrison, I’m from Salem, OR.