Wheel collapse disaster averted
Honda Transalp was close to disaster
51
Many of us forget that alloy wheels – and spoked ones in particular – need looking after. This Honda Transalp owner fell into that trap and is now set to pay a costly penalty. Grant Walder, manager at Fins Motorcycles in Redhill, Surrey, explains:
“This guy’s a regular customer and he brought his 2010 Transalp 700 in as the rear tyre was getting low. He was desperate to ride to the MotoGP so we squeezed him in to get the tyres on. Then, as I was changing the tyre, I noticed a crack in the wheel. He didn’t have a clue about it. The tyre was only keeping air in because it’s tubed.
“I can only assume the paint or anodising on the aluminium rim had been chipped at some point, let in moisture and then corroded. He was absolutely gutted he couldn’t make the GP at Silverstone. We reassembled it for him to limp home while he decided his next move.
“He’s now going to have to get the rim changed which will cost around £400, or a complete wheel from Honda, which is £550, although it isn’t actually available anymore.
“The moral is to keep your bike clean and inspect around the spokes. If he’d seen a bit of corrosion a year ago, he might have been able to clean it up, get a bit of paint on and stop the weather getting in and wrecking it.
“If we hadn’t spotted the crack, it could have been dangerous. If that crack had let go he could have had an instant puncture or the wheel could have broken up and he’d have been in a right pickle.”