Damsel in distress in Peru! (Cracked rear rim)

[aka17]

Hi everyone, today I noticed a 4 inch crack (runs parallel to circumfrence) along the rear rim of my KLR 650. I noticed this outside of Santa Teresa, Peru.

Does anybody have any ideas as the best/most economical way of fixing this problem? My guess is that I have to buy a new rim...could I find one down here? Is there a compatable rim that is more common?

I am assuming that a weld is out of the question, but am open to ideas. Is riding slowly back to Cusco an option?

Any advice is much appreciated!

Thanks,
Anne

[dunch]

Hi Anne,
What material is your rim made from? If it's steel, you can get it welded anywhere. If it's aluminium or alloy then it's a bit more difficult and you'll need to find someone with MIG or TIG equipment.
Is there a local moto mechanic in Santa Teresa? Some of these guys are pretty good, they're resourceful and they can work with practically nothing.

[ETA] The local moto mechanic will know who in town has a MIG welder. You'll be able to find a rim and spokes in Cusco even if it's from a completely different bike and you'll have no problem at all finding a wheel builder.

Best of luck.

[othalan]

I hope you have this fixed by now, but in case not...

The local welder can tell you if it would be safe, but I would guess yes. As noted, you can easily get a new rim in Cusco. Keep in mind when looking the KLR650 can also use a 18" rim on the rear, which would be easier to find. If all else fails, the police in Bolivia use the KLR so you could get one brought over to Cusco. I'd offer to do that myself, but I'm in Sucre and it would likely take me longer to get there than you want to wait. But message me if you think I can help. Or if you are headed to Bolivia and just want to meet up.

[aka17]

Hey guys, still have not resolved the problem. I looked around in Cuzco today and an appropriate sized rim was not to be found. Not even an 18" one. Othalan, thanks for the offer, let's keep in touch and I will PM you.

We have been trying to find a competent welder with adequate equipment, but haven't had any luck with that either. Tomorrow we will try a place that is rumored to be able to fix it. Still a bit uncertain if it would be safe for a heavy bike, but glad to hear you guys would be comfortable with a decent weld.

Contacted Barbacci in Lima, but they don't sell rims. Called Desert Sport Racing, and no-one picked up the phone. Any thoughts on how to look for rims in Lima from Cusco? We went to the Honda and Kawasaki shops in Cusco and they say we would probably have to ship from Brazil.

I have a friend visiting at the end of Sept. Anyone have experience bringing new or used moto parts in to Peru via airport? The Hubb says you can't ship used parts in to the country. Would this be a good idea?

Excuse my KLR noobiness, but I am having trouble finding 17" rear rims for sale online except for the stock one that is about $250 which seems high. Where can I find a cheaper alternative?

Here is a pic for all you welders out there. Notice how near the edge of the playing card you can see signs of where the aluminum is bending outwards toward the lip of the rim from the crack. The black marks on the crack are felt pen so I could watch it grow as I travelled--fun times. The crack is pretty wide, I would say at least 1 mm at it's largest section.

Is it fixable? Would it be safe enough to ride on after a weld?


Big thanks for your help!

[navalarchitect]

Sorry to hear about your problems.

Yes its fixable and yes it will be safe to ride on after welding.

Speaking as an engineer with a fair amount of experience of welding and emergency repairs of machinery I advise before doing any more riding have a hole about 3mm-4mm in diameter drilled at each of the extreme ends of the crack (the extreme end is important it must cover the tip of the crack and it is much better to assume it is slightly further out than you can see than to drill it to far back). This hole will stop the crack growing further by redistributing the stress slightly. Whilst drilling extra holes might sound counter intuitive it is I assure you common engineering practice - the holes are known as "crack arrestors".

After you have drilled the holes you can then ride on the rim if necessary it should stop it getting any worse. The worst that will happen is the crack may eventually grow beyond the holes (and then you may be able to repeat the process if desperate), the wheel is very unlikely to fail dramatically - just keep an eye on it.

Obviously if you can find an aluminium welder then get it welded up - but make sure the holes are drilled firdst or the crack is likely to re-appear; this is because most aluminium welds, unless you have exactly the right skills, materials and conditions are weaker than the original metal. As for weld quality, any weld (as long as the guy does not melt your rim) will be better than none so just get the first person you can find to weld it rather than stressing too much. It is best if they weld it from both inside and out - but obviously then make sure that the inside weld is ground smooth or you'll be adding punctures to the problem. Finally don't worry if the finished weld does not look smooth or pretty - aluminium is one of those materials where there is often very little connection between the appearance of the weld and its strength.

(And for those that wonder - I have followed this advice myself repairing a DR650 rim this way with no long term problems).

Anyway good luck finding a welder.