aluminium wheels

[mick56 0]

i just bought a vn 1500, the front tyre is leaking, the previous owner paid £73.93 to totally motorcycle in plymouth to rectify it, they didnt. theyre report said,: both rims corroded badly, mainly the front,green tyre sealant in rear which caused corrosion, front very dry and flakey on the inside: i wonder why they let that bloke ride that bike away, knowing that his tyres would be deflating, when i test rode it, because the tyres are so solid i never noticed that they had almost no air in them, luckily i did before i got to the first bend. can i clean up the inside of the rim with a power wire brush/ grinder without losing the seal,and what are the options for cleaning/polishing the outer rim ?all and any advice/ comments welcome, thanks, mick

[Davehutch-hutchs 0]

I dont really know , depends how much you have got to clean off to get the seal , any pics ? sure some one will be along to give you some advice


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[bladerunner 0]

your probably better off having them shot blasted and powder coated

[lee1 1]

First off welcome to the forum

I would clean them with a fine scotch wheel as in this link

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fine-Scotch-polish-and-finish-wheel-for-alloy-stainless-100mm-dia-x-6mm-/261159703597?pt=UK_Hand_Tools_Equipment&hash=item3cce54d42d

to make the wheels last a little longer spray them with some wd40

[mick56 0]

is there a seal on the rim that i might screw up, how do i replace that, the good book kawasaki says,dont put tubes on tubeless tyres, i wonder, anybody done that, this old tug aint going racing. thanks, mick.

[stantheman 0]

stues the one to ask mick hell be on later

[mick56 0]

THANKS MATE.

[madcarper 0]

normally tyre fitters just clean the inside of the wheel with a wire wheel then put a leak sealent on the inside edge before putting on the tyre usually works okay. i have put tubes in tubeless car tyres not sure i would do bike though.

[mick56 0]

THANKS FOR THE REPLY MATE,THE BLOKE WHO DIDNT DO THE JOB PROPERLY RECKONS GREEN TYRE SEALANT CAUSED CORROSION, I WAS THINKING THE SAME AS YOU, GRIND THE SHIT OUT OF IT AND IT WOULD BE OK, IS THERE A TYRE SEALER THAT WONT DO THAT ? CHEERS , MICK.

[fr499y 0]

You say aluminium wheel but you haven't said if its solid alloy or if its the spoked wheels that came fitted to some of the VN's. I've ran tubes in tubeless tyres with no problems.

[mick56 0]

SOLID ALLOY RIMS, IM THINKING THAT PUTTING A TUBE IN AFTER I CLEAN UP THE RIM SHOULD BE GOOD,WHAT DO YOU THINK ? ITS AN OLD FARTS BIKE, AND IM ALL DONE LOOKING FOR MEDALS. CHEERS MATE, MICK.

[fr499y 0]

Stu will tell ya if its fine to do or not but i haven't had any problems running tubes in tubeless tyres, but with spokes you have to anyway. Clean the inside up and use some sealant as madcarper says and you should be fine without needing any slime/tyreweld etc

[mick56 0]

figured that was right, but i never had a heavy bike before, and im off for a bit of a longish ride, wasnt sure,thanks to all, mick.

[Stue11 0]

Hello Mick, if they have corroded that bad then i would suggest getting them shot blasted and re painted, if the profile of the tyre is 70 and above then a tube would be fine, but as a rule tubes are normally for tube type rims with spokes, the trouble you'll get fitting a tube to your rim is that the moist air caught between the tube inflated and the tyre bead will only cause the rims to corrode more but without you noticing as the air is inside the tube, hope this makes sense so if i were you i'd get the wheels shot blasted and re painted

[Chadatious 0]

wire brush/ wire wool can work but msay be better to get tyre then fitted with bead sealler

[Stue11 0]

@Chadatious wrote:

wire brush/ wire wool can work but msay be better to get tyre then fitted with bead sealler

It does work but they will eventually leak again

[mick56 0]

bead sealer is the crux of my question, common sense tells me to grind the corrosion off( i havnt taken the wheels of yet, so i dont know what i am going to find)clean up,and put the old tyres back on, (loads of tread), but do i use a bead sealer, and if so, which one ? or do i put a tube in ? the last bloke reckoned the green sealer caused the corrosion. and as that other bloke said, doing the same thing repeatedly, and expecting a different result is bordering on stupidity. all comments welcome, thanks. mick.

[flange 0]

@Stue11 wrote:

Hello Mick, if they have corroded that bad then i would suggest getting them shot blasted and re painted, if the profile of the tyre is 70 and above then a tube would be fine, but as a rule tubes are normally for tube type rims with spokes, the trouble you'll get fitting a tube to your rim is that the moist air caught between the tube inflated and the tyre bead will only cause the rims to corrode more but without you noticing as the air is inside the tube, hope this makes sense so if i were you i'd get the wheels shot blasted and re painted

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