Damn potholes! (Update/Diagnosis)

[Rambler1982]

It's finally nice enough to get out and ride... and of course on the very first day I get out, I screw up the bike.

I hit a MASSIVE pothole, and I'll take most of the responsibility for it because I was riding too fast to avoid it. 

I bent the front rim. It's not terrible, but noticeably bent. I really hope I don't need to replace it. It looks like it might be able to be bent back into place, but I'm not sure. Here's a pic... any thoughts?



The back rim seems ok, but the tire is completely flat. Will it need to be replaced or can it just be patched up? Is it possible that the back rim is messed up even though I can't see any damage?

Another thing I noticed is that when the bike is on its stand, it isn't leaning to the left the way it used to. It's pretty much staying upright. I'm hoping this is just because the back tire is flat, but could it be because something is out of alignment? Here's what I'm talking about...



I won't be able to ride the bike to the shop to get fixed, so it's gonna need to get towed. I fear that this whole ordeal will really cost me.  :'(

[needtorque]

Front "looks" fixable.  Back may have just broken off the bead due to impact or may have put a hole in the tire you cannot see.  The lean angle is likely due to the flat.

[Raux]

do you remember where when? apparently some cities can be held responsible for the damage. who knows maybe you can get the 5-spokes out of the deal.

[sroberts152]

This sucks. I had the exact same thing happen with my front.  I pulled it off and took it here:
http://www.wheeltechniques.com/

Seriously, your front picture isn't as bad as mine.  I think the whole repair cost me less than $200.  Not bad when the cost of a replacement rim is around $1200.  I was really iffy about taking my rim somewhere to get worked on but when I walked in the had a Lotus in there with work being done for him and I figured it was ok.  

These guys did a great job.  I lost the Marchesni sticker buy i'm really confident on the bike and with the work.

I don't have any pics of my damage online, but PM me if you want to see it.

I'm not sure what the forum policy is, but I did a post over at Ducati.ms when it happened (I found them before this board):
http://www.ducati.ms/forums/showthread.php?t=49531

If that link  needs to be pulled, let me know.

[Rambler1982]

This sucks. I had the exact same thing happen with my front.  I pulled it off and took it here:
http://www.wheeltechniques.com/

Seriously, your front picture isn't as bad as mine.  I think the whole repair cost me less than $200.  Not bad when the cost of a replacement rim is around $1200.  I was really iffy about taking my rim somewhere to get worked on but when I walked in the had a Lotus in there with work being done for him and I figured it was ok.  

These guys did a great job.  I lost the Marchesni sticker buy i'm really confident on the bike and with the work.

I don't have any pics of my damage online, but PM me if you want to see it.

I'm not sure what the forum policy is, but I did a post over at Ducati.ms when it happened (I found them before this board):
http://www.ducati.ms/forums/showthread.php?t=49531

If that link  needs to be pulled, let me know.

I'm really hoping the front rim can just be bent back into place, but I have no idea.

I'm also concerned about the back rim and tire. Since the tire is nearly completely flat, it will most likely have to be replaced, right? And I don't know if there is damage to the rear rim, that might need to be replaced too.

[silentbob]

I'm really hoping the front rim can just be bent back into place, but I have no idea.

I'm also concerned about the back rim and tire. Since the tire is nearly completely flat, it will most likely have to be replaced, right? And I don't know if there is damage to the rear rim, that might need to be replaced too.

Try airing up the rear.  You probably just lost the bead on impact.

[darthmoto]

Same exact thing happened to me. That wheel is perfectly fixable. Cost me 130 including tire unmount/remount + balancing. The job came out flawless. The guy I took it to does awesome work. He said though, "dont bend it in the exact same location, and youre fine"

http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=19234.0 *scroll down for pics

I hit the same pothole with my honda hawkgt and nothing happened. Guess marchesinis are pretty fragile.

[Rambler1982]

Try airing up the rear.  You probably just lost the bead on impact.

Is the bead that little cap that screws onto the nozzle used for airing up the tire? If so, then it's still there. I just checked the back tire (which is completely flat now), and that little cap was still screwed on securely.

Also, since that back tire is so flat, it's not like I can ride it somewhere to get filled up. I guess I could push it to the local gas station which is about a half mile away?

[Spidey]

I'll just repeat what others have said. . .   

You can probably get your front straightened.  There are many places that will do it.  If you can't find anyone local that you trust or want to ship it to Northern California, there is a great local guy who will do it.  PM if you want details.  If the store tells you it's $300 to fix it, better to ship it elsewhere.  then again, the shore is probably going to charge you $100 just to take it off.   Be aware that if the damage is too bad or if there are other structural problems, straightening *may* not work.  But it doesn't look that bad based on the pics online.  If you need to replace the front, don't let them talk you into paying OEM for a new one.  You can get one on eBay for a billion times cheaper.  Even if you don'e like the color, you can have both wheels painted to whatever color you like and still save a million $ from OEM prices.

The rear rim and tire are likely ok.  Like silentbob said, you may have knocked the bead of the tire off the rim.  You'll need a high power aircompressor to reset the bead.  The shop should be able to do this pretty easily.  The bead is not the stem you're talking about. The edge of the tire fits onto the lip of the rim.  On the edge of the tire, there is what's called a bead that is pressed against the rim to seal in the air.  When you put a tire on a rim, you need to fill the tire quickly with a lot of air to "seat" the bead.  Seating the bead will result in the tire making a popping sound, once on each side.  Once the tire makes the popping sound, the bead is seated, which seals the tire onto the rim.  Then you can fill it with air without the air leaking out.   

Re the pothole, if you want, you can file a claim with your city or the city you were in when you hit the pothole.  They may throw some money your way.  A claim is a predecessor to a lawsuit.  (Wait, are you in CA?  I thought you were for some reason, but I don't remember now.  If not, procedure will vary by state).  There's generally a simple form to fill out and you don't need a lawyer.  OTOH, that's other people's tax dollars to pay for something you said you'd take *most* of the responsibility for.   

[Smokescreen]

The bead is not the valve stem cap.  the bead is a thicker bit of rubber that seats into the rim.  If you hit a bump hard enough (pothole) the bead gets dislodged dumping the air out of the tyre.  You can reseat the bead by pumping up the tyre.  You might save money on a tow by buying yourself some stands and pulling the wheels yourself.  Then rather than blowing your wad on a tow service, you'll be blowing it on wheelstands you can reuse!

[Spidey]

Buying stands is a really good idea.  That said, based on your picture of where you keep your bike, I'm not sure your building will allow your bike to sit in it's parking spot without wheels.    Do you have any tools to take off the front and rear wheels?

[He Man]

nyc will cover the cost if you file this form out. maybe your city/state does the same, though im glad you didnt crash, looks like a huge pot hole you hit there.

[almazing]

That sucks man. I hope they can get it fixed. Stock replacement parts of Ducs are pretty damn expensive. If it needs replacement, it's probably going to cost at least a grand. But hey, all the more reason to upgrade to the DP 5 spokes if it's not repairable.

[Bun-bun]

Buying stands is a really good idea.  That said, based on your picture of where you keep your bike, I'm not sure your building will allow your bike to sit in it's parking spot without wheels.    Do you have any tools to take off the front and rear wheels?

Umm, he doesn't know what a tire bead is. Maybe he shouldn't be screwing around with tools?

[Rambler1982]

When you put a tire on a rim, you need to fill the tire quickly with a lot of air to "seat" the bead.  Seating the bead will result in the tire making a popping sound, once on each side.  Once the tire makes the popping sound, the bead is seated, which seals the tire onto the rim.  Then you can fill it with air without the air leaking out.   

Is this something I can do myself at a gas station with their compressed air? Do I need to "seat" the bead first before I try to re-fill the tire? Or can I simply take the bike to a gas station and try to put some air in tire? I'm still so new to this, and don't wanna risk further damage by doing something that I shouldn't have.

Re the pothole, if you want, you can file a claim with your city or the city you were in when you hit the pothole.  They may throw some money your way.  A claim is a predecessor to a lawsuit.  (Wait, are you in CA?  I thought you were for some reason, but I don't remember now.  If not, procedure will vary by state).  There's generally a simple form to fill out and you don't need a lawyer. 

I'm in Chicago. and I am a lawyer 
I'll look into filing a claim, but I doubt it will get me anywhere