Cracks in my rear rim

**sanderd** · #1 2 Jun 2009

hi all,

i noticed that after some heavy unpaved riding that i have cracks at 13 spokesockets in my rear rim. It's an Excel Takasago 18"x2.50 which should be quite durable. Is this fixable? Or do i really buy a new one?

cheers,
sanderd, Bucaramanga, Colombia

***Touring Ted*** · #2 3 Jun 2009

Being aluminum they aren't the easiest thing to weld, especially around the spokes.

I skilled welder could put some "blobs" over the crack to stop them spreading I suppose. I'm no expert though.

The thing about cracks is, once they start, they only get bigger.

A trick i've seem employed on cracks is to drill a small hole at the end of the crack (So it looks like a tadpole). This stops the crack spreading any further (In theory).

A round hole will disperse the stress much better than the end of a crack. If your worried about drill holes in your rim, don't be. There are already over 36 of them already

**RogerM** · #3 3 Jun 2009

I'd be playing it safe and changing the wheel as soon as possible. If the cracks extend through the rim its possible the rim will fail which could be felt as little as a wobble as the wheel goes out of balance OR a major accident as the wheel collapses.

That said, I rode with a guy who had a BMW alloy rim completely crack through, we used gaffer tape and spinifex to stuff inside the tyre and he rode that for a few days - very slowly, but it got him out of trouble at the time.

#4 3 Jun 2009

I have seen this before, only safe option is to change the rim. If you want to stop a crack drill a small hole where it finishes. The rim is weaken, even if welded I think you will be chasing your tail.

Steve

**sanderd** · #5 6 Jun 2009

hi all,

thanks for the response. I'm close to Bogota, and hope to find a new rim there. Still have quite a bit to go, so trying to replace.

does anybody know a good dealer specialized in big enduro's?

regards,
sander

**leigh** · #6 7 Jun 2009

Sander, in Bogota there is a street where everyone gets the compulsory hi viz vest with reg number done, this is also where there are a number of small bike shops. If you have the main road behind you, on the left side of the little street there is a shop that has Yamaha spares etc. I used it for spares and to get help and large spanners to tighten the head bearings (too many Topes/Reducteur de velocidad/ Tumulos). The Chief (read oldest) mechanic was good and I would say they could probably get you a rim and lace it.
If you get to Equador there is KTM main dealer run by the national ISDE champ, he could definately help and has seen TTR's before (in Europe racing and mine!).
If you have trouble with spokes I have a set of front and rear never used Genuine Yamaha.
I also have my old TTR non running at the moment, let us know how you get on.

**sanderd** · #7 8 Jun 2009

hi Lee,

thanks for the advise. very welcom. My front rim is ok, rear spokes are ok too, rear rim is cracked ;( i can still ride it, and i intent to get to Bogota with it.

ciao,
sanderd

**LukasM** · #8 13 Jun 2009

This is very likely due to overtightened spokes. Should definitely be replaced ASAP, welding is not an option.

By the way, all Excel rims are not equal. Quite drastic differences between what the OEMs use and what you can buy aftermarket. The ones with no label are the weakest, then come the ones with one label, double label, and lastly the mighty A60 (which is only available in very limited MX sizes).

**sanderd** · #9 14 Jun 2009

Well, the very helpful KTM dealer here in Bogota found a rim for me. And he also knows a guy who is an expert on fixing wheels. Will take a couple of days though. So things look good at the moment.

thanks to you all for the replies so far.

sanderd