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Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Trained Repairmen Often Are More Knowledgeable About Motorcycle Wheel Repair

By Tim Kiv


It is hard to avoid holes in asphalt as drivers steer motorcycles down busy streets in congested traffic but damage occurs nonetheless. More motorcycle wheel repair might be expected because motorcycles bear the brunt of abuse from riders that do not look before casually backing up to park and graze curbs unexpectedly. Some riders damage wheels by forgetting to put the kick stand down. These scrapes are clearly cosmetic but safety specification require wheels to be repaired to be deemed road worthy.

Restoring the tire to original condition is possible but not probable and most technicians will try to return the tire in usable condition. The scooter repairman realizes that a lot is riding on his opinion, and thorough checks are completed before any determination is turned over to the customer.

Tire wheels spin at a rapid rate of speed at all times, and faster when they are mounted on high performance motorcycles. All performance checks will be performed to determine whether the tire meet high performance standards. Any misalignment in the frame of the tire will cause performance marks to drop rapidly during spin rate testing.

The spin test will reveal how much stress is placed on a tire when it is not rated at full use capacity. Wheels will be viewed carefully for evidence of cracking. Some cracks are clearly cosmetic and are repaired with welding.

There are all types of motorcycles on the road today that require different alloy wheels. Different accessories can be attached to dirt bikes, minibikes, mopeds and scooters, but larger wheeled vehicles require more precision to be driven and enjoyed for the speed that they provide. The tire size will not be a factor when repairing motorcycle wheels, but the type of damage will affect the amount of work needed to get it back to preferred use levels.

A technician will need time to conduct these tests and others. A visual inspection might provide some of the answers he is searching for, such as damaged wheels that have loosen spokes, or bent framing. Slight bends deserve further consideration and the technician will make checks for lateral and radial run-out.

The motorcycle wheel repair could be minor and light welding may be all that is required to return the cycle to the open road. A technician will use sound measuring techniques to return wheels to vertical specifications, or to remove the wobble factor enough so that it spins uninterrupted while turning on the axial.




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