2014 R12RTW vrs The mother of all potholes

I recently had the honor of hitting the deepest pothole I've ever hit in my 50 years of riding. Luckily it didn't flatten the tire or put me down, but it did do a number on one side of my rim.
I believe the dented rim is repairable but want to find a dependable and competent wheel straightening shop to do the work. Anyone know of such a place in the south San Francisco Bay Area? Or any shops online worth shipping the wheel to? Anyone with firsthand experience have someone good to recommend? Thanks all!

For a bike that does 100 mph in a heart beat I would get a new wheel. Do you want to trust your wheel as straightened for a few dollars? I replaced mine with same problem.
JMO

orforester said:

For a bike that does 100 mph in a heart beat I would get a new wheel. Do you want to trust your wheel as straightened for a few dollars? I replaced mine with same problem.
JMO

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Ditto

orforester said:

For a bike that does 100 mph in a heart beat I would get a new wheel. Do you want to trust your wheel as straightened for a few dollars? I replaced mine with same problem.
JMO

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Woody’s did an excellent job of repairing a cracked cast GS wheel when no replacements were available.
New Bmw wheels are outrageously expensive and my new spoked wheel was delivered from the factory out of round about .080”. Woody’s gets around $250 to correct that problem too.

LFarling said:

https://woodyswheelworks.com/

Most of the guys on ADV Rider send their spoke wheels to this person who is second to none on spoked wheels and super good at repairing rims. Look around the site and send them a pic and they can quote you.

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I also agree on Woody's. They just did my front rim from my now since sold '97 R11RT. They did a great job.

They were very, very nice. My wife drove down to Denver to pick it up and she could not say enough nice things about them. They even carried it out to the car and nicely wrapped it so it would leave any marks in the trunk.

BTW, anyone need to buy a front rim from a '97 R11RT?

Woodys

I hit a pothole last year that bent the rim on my 16RT. More cosmetic than anything else, the tire didn’t lose air, but I still wanted it fixed. I had Woodys repair the rim, didn’t cost that much. Great company to work with.

I hit a 4x4 timber riding my F650 Dakar. The wheel deformed to the point I could see the inner tube looking in from the side but it didn't blow and I didn't go down. I sent the wheel to Woody's in Denver. They examined the wheel and tried to straighten it but the steel had deformed too far for them to feel it would be safe. So I had them lace a new rim with new spokes. My point? If they don't think it is safe they won't do it.

Woody's Wheel Works

LFarling said:

https://woodyswheelworks.com/

Most of the guys on ADV Rider send their spoke wheels to this person who is second to none on spoked wheels and super good at repairing rims. Look around the site and send them a pic and they can quote you.

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I purchased a 2017 R1200RTW having a dent in the front rim. I rode it without issues for a season, and then last month I took it to Woody's. They had it for a week, and charged me $150 to fix it. They claim that they can get the runout down to 0.015" or less. I had marked the spot with the dent, and when I got the wheel back, I could not see where the damage had been. In summary, I have nothing but positive things to say about Woody's.

On the issue of "just buy another wheel," I have a few comments. First, the price of a new front wheel rim is about $1700 from BMW. In addition to the rim, the assembly requires two brake rotors ($400 each), a TPMS ($250), an ABS sensor ring ($30), wheel bearings ($30), and fasteners for the TPMS, speed ring, and brake rotors. Assuming you already have good parts on your dented rim, you might just want to reuse them and install new bearings...

Second, used front wheels are difficult to find (rears are more available). There are some other BMW models that use the same part number for the rim, and can be converted to the RT with minor changes. Boxflyer has posted a couple of Youtube videos of this process. Click here

Note that changing bearings will require having or purchasing some tools for the task. The tools are not horribly expensive, but they do represent additional cost.

I wanted an extra complete set of wheels so that I could stage fresh tires for a long trip I plan for this summer. I purchased a set of wheels on eBay from a salvaged R1200RS in Italy (!). The wheels arrived with tires mounted, and the TPMSs for both, and the rotors and speed ring on the front. I replaced the bearings in the front. Both brake rotors looked perfect, but it turns out that one of the brake rotors had excessive runout. So, consider that when buying used brake rotors you may discover that they can be damaged without being obvious to visual inspection. The TPMS can be synch'd to your bike using a GS911 and a TPMS wake-up tool. Again, some additional cost if you don't already own them.

As an aside, the partly-used Continental Road Attack 3 tires from the salvaged bike are awesome! But that's a story for another thread.

Cap

Woody's has a great reputation.

Don't forget to check with your insurance.
If you have a fairly low comprehensive deductible you can get a new wheel and maybe a new tire.
Comprehensive claims usually don't affect your rates.

I've had a couple car windshields that were sand pitted enough to cause glare at night and a motorcycle headlight with a bb size hole in it replaced with no increase to my rates.

Here in New York I used a similar good reputation straightener- great job- I'd trust the wheel as much as any of my others.

Look at it this way. No company is going to repair a wheel that might be questionable and send it out with their blessing. It will be 100% when it leaves their shop, or it doesn't leave. Wheel fails, someone crashes, gets hurt, wheel repair company gets sued. The whole thing gets ugly. I am certain they want to avoid that.

On the issue of "just buy another wheel," I have a few comments. First, the price of a new front wheel rim is about $1700 from BMW. In addition to the rim, the assembly requires two brake rotors ($400 each), a TPMS ($250), an ABS sensor ring ($30), wheel bearings ($30), and fasteners for the TPMS, speed ring, and brake rotors. Assuming you already have good parts on your dented rim, you might just want to reuse them and install new bearings...

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One of these days I may have to buy one of these popular bikes new.........and parts it out!!

Welcome to the forum Bob!
OM

Thx to all for the input. Thinking road hazard, I checked with my insurance carrier (useless) and they would not cover it under comp. Because the bike was moving they defined it as collision and thus my higher deductible ($500) would apply. Plus they did all they could to make the process sound like it was going to be a real pain (how much of the fault is mine, who's responsible for the road's condition, etc.). Time to find a new carrier.
I think I'll give Woody's a call and send them a pic of the ding to see what they say. As others have noted, a reputable shop would not "fix" something if it was at all questionable as to the long-term safety of the "fix". I don't really want to go the new wheel route if at all possible. Sounds like an expensive PITA.

Bobzilla said:

Thx to all for the input. Thinking road hazard, I checked with my insurance carrier (useless) and they would not cover it under comp. Because the bike was moving they defined it as collision and thus my higher deductible ($500) would apply. Plus they did all they could to make the process sound like it was going to be a real pain (how much of the fault is mine, who's responsible for the road's condition, etc.). Time to find a new carrier.
I think I'll give Woody's a call and send them a pic of the ding to see what they say. As others have noted, a reputable shop would not "fix" something if it was at all questionable as to the long-term safety of the "fix". I don't really want to go the new wheel route if at all possible. Sounds like an expensive PITA.

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What insurance company do you have?

Bobzilla said:

I checked with my insurance carrier (useless) and they would not cover it under comp. Because the bike was moving they defined it as collision and thus my higher deductible ($500) would apply.

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That's odd, my comprehensive will cover hitting a deer or other animal.

Good idea to send the picture to Woody's. They should be able to fix you up.

Progressive. Anyone have any input on BMWMOA's recommended insurance carrier American Modern Insurance?

Bobzilla said:

Progressive.

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That is definitely Progressive’s policy—if the wheels are moving, it’s a collision and they won’t touch it under comp. Other carriers may do the same. I learned this the hard way years ago when I was pushing my K13GT from the garage to the driveway, without straddling the bike, and it over-centered and got away from me. Minor touch ups needed, but because the wheels were turning it was $1k deductible collision instead of $100 deductible comp. So, if I ever find myself in a similar walking-speed situation I’ll make darn sure to lock up the brakes before the bike tips.

In your case, looking at the pics I’d be surprised if it was any more expensive a repair than similar dings I have had fixed over the years (ala the mid-1990s 3-spoke wheels). Those were always under $200 for straightening and shipping.

Best,
DeVern

LFarling said:

Yes it seems the sum of the parts are worth far more then we pay for a whole bike. It is crazy what they ask for parts. Those numbers for a wheel are just nuts!

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JUST NUTS?!?!?!?!? HOLY S**T what does the rest of the wheel cost?

rick601 said:

JUST NUTS?!?!?!?!? HOLY S**T what does the rest of the wheel cost?

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Yes, but. When I consider the cost of keeping parts for 40 year bikes (not this one) in the supply chain and available within hours or days, I expect some overhead costs for parts. Do I like it? No!

But I still remember a 6 year old Japanese bike I needed parts for, where the parts were not available so I sold it to a dealer for more than I paid for it because he wanted it for parts.

Wheel Repairs

I had a similar bend in the lip of my front wheel. I ran over a rogue piece of metal on the road and was lucky it didn't cut the tire. I dismounted the wheel, brought it to Edmonton Wheel Works (local place), and they did a fabulous job. Note: aluminum wheels (such as these) should not be hammered back into shape as its brittle. They will likely dismount the wheel, brakes, weld it up, machine it down, and repaint. Mine looks good as new.

Go get it repaired.