Out of round front wheel - Snowflake

[77barius]

Howdy,
Just wondering if it's possible to straighten an out of round 18" front snowflake wheel on my '84 R65. I hit a curb moving about 15-20mph and it's got a shimmy in it now; not huge but not really rideable over 40mph.

If not does anyone know of any resources I could use to find another? There are some on eBay but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask about other places to look

Thanks!

[ME 109]

It depends on the damage. Some dents can be removed but if the damage is a buckle of significant size, toss it and get one from ebay.
Can you put up a photo of the damage?

[Rob]

Where are you located?

Oh, Texas.

First shot, try Mikey!

Mikey's in Texas http://www.austinmotorscene.com/martind ... ead-mecca/

[77barius]

Thanks for the replies folks!

ME 109 - The shimmy is so slight it's almost unnoticeable. Almost. I tried to get a video but was largely unsuccessful.

Rob - Thanks for that, I'm in Austin so he isn't far from me....sounds like a good resource to have nearby.

I'll update once I have a resolution in the event someone else has the same issue.

[ME 109]

Thanks for the replies folks!

ME 109 - The shimmy is so slight it's almost unnoticeable. Almost. I tried to get a video but was largely unsuccessful.

Best way to test is with the wheel set up on a balancer so the warp and its location can be can be accurately measured.
If there is insignificant warp, I'd look for other factors contributing to the handle bar wobble such as fork alignment.
What happens at 40+ mph, I'm assuming handle bar wobble?

[Rob]

His '84 should have the "real" top triple clamp, so that is in his favor for fork rigidity, but yes, I agree with what ME 109 just said.

[Duane Ausherman]

I have fixed a lot of wheels, but they were older than a 84. Both cast and spoke wheels can often be saved. Follow ME-109 suggestions.

[Major Softie]

Can you show us a picture?

I had a bent R1100 front wheel when I bought that bike (they're famous for it), and it was bad enough that the dealer didn't know if he'd be able to balance it when I bought my first tires. Turned out it ran fine and balanced fine - but it was only in the shoulder (not the bottom of the rim), and it was only on one side. Still, it was a pretty significant dent.

If you haven't had the balance checked since the hit, you definitely should.

[77barius]

@ME-109 it wobbles at any speed but I didn't want to take it over 40.

@MS - Pic won't really show anything significant, there's not really a dent but you can see it move slightly to the left side when I spin it.

I'll try to grab a video when my lady friend comes over tonight...was a bit tough trying to man the camera and get it moving by myself.

I'll definitely get the balance checked out, since I've got my seat off and I'm in the process of making a custom one now is a good time to do it.

Thanks all.

[Rob]

Yeah, a tripod really comes in handy sometimes.
I shot this to show off my great front wheel bearings a long time ago.

https://youtu.be/961A4V371sc?t=1m11s