HarleyTechTalk

Had a flat yesterday on rear and while fixing today I noticed the rust was back again. I had a flat in June I put a new tire on and cleaned the rust off then. In a month and a half the rust was as bad if not worse than when I put new tire on in June. Is there anything that be done to stop or slow this down. At the rate its going I'll be putting a new rim on in a few years. I was thinking maybe rustoleum paint or permatex rust treatment. Don't know what effect this would have on the rubber. Don't need a flat be caused of dissolved rubber . Get enough flats with nails. Any thoughts would be appreciated.  Zoot

Okay, I'll resist the urge to be a smartass and tell you to get rid of the spoked wheels. I love the way they look too, but I ride too many miles to worry about em. If I had your problem, I'd get the rust cleaned up really well and treat the inside of the rim with a good rust inhibitor, like LPS or Rust Bullet. It won't hurt the rubber tube. That should slow it down significantly, if it doesn't stop it completely. Good on you though for at least checking. I know guys who had rims only a handful of years old split because they were so rusty.

Garry

use an Excel aluminum rim laced to your stock hub w/Buchanon polished stainless spokes 

Well I was waiting for the reply to get rid of the spoked wheels. I was thinking of putting a Fat Bob rear wheel on.1" axle kit and a bolt in thing. no tubes and no rust. All my flats are on the rear. I had a deuce wheel but the hole in the wheel wasn't big enough for the 1" bearing spacer. Back in my younger days all my bikes (Ducati's mostly) had aluminum wheels. I have duel disk brakes on the front (FXDB) and the wheel is heavy. I was thinking of putting a aluminum rim on to loose some weight. But back in the day when I had the aluminum rims on my bikes they were 300+ lb lighter than what I have now. Don't know how long the aluminum wheel would stay round on a heavy bike. First pot hole maybe. Every time I take the tire of i always clean the inside of the wheel and tighten spokes and true wheel. it seems the spokes on the back are always working lose. I will try some permatex rust treatment and some paint on that. maybe that will hold till I figure out what I am going to do. Changed the front tire last week and it had some rust also but not as bad, cleaned up ok. I had a friend who has a FXE Shovel have his wheel split when he was changing the back tire. It had rusted through where the rubber strap that covers the spoke nipples ends on the sides. And  he had been riding that thing. So rust is a problem.

Quote from: zoot on August 19, 2011, 07:19:05 PM
I was thinking of putting a aluminum rim on to loose some weight. But back in the day when I had the aluminum rims on my bikes they were 300+ lb lighter than what I have now. Don't know how long the aluminum wheel would stay round on a heavy bike. First pot hole maybe.

I have to think that if the cast aluminum wheels hold up on 900 pound baggers, they'd be okay on a Dyna.
Best of luck to you whichever way you go.

Garry

If you really want to keep the spoke wheel, first wire brush all the loose stuff off and make sure it's good and clean.  Then paint it inside with some POR-15.  Best stuff I know for painting over rust and hard as nails when it dries.

Quote from: Old Crow on August 20, 2011, 03:33:07 AM
If you really want to keep the spoke wheel, first wire brush all the loose stuff off and make sure it's good and clean.  Then paint it inside with some POR-15.  Best stuff I know for painting over rust and hard as nails when it dries.

I agree. One of the best etching primers out there.
Ron

QuoteI had a friend who has a FXE Shovel have his wheel split when he was changing the back tire. It had rusted through where the rubber strap that covers the spoke nipples ends on the sides. And  he had been riding that thing. So rust is a problem.

When I bought my FLH shovel 17 years ago it was 16 years old. When it came time for new rubber it scared the "Potty mouth" out of me. The center of those laced rims were so rusty they were actually rotten. I bought a set of offshore chromed laced rims and shortly learned about chrome spokes breaking (rear rim).  For laced rims stainless spokes are the way to go. Been contemplating putting an evo fatboy rear mag on it. The rear is pretty well covered up with bags and exhaust anyhow.

The rim is steel, it is going to rust. Have you considered a nice chromed aluminum rim like an Excell or Akron? Combined with stainless steel spokes from Buchanans, makes for a gorgeous rim and about as maintenance free as a spoke rim get get. If you are concerned about strength, Buchanans has a heavier gauge spoke that requires slightly larger spoke holes in the hub. I have run this setup on several high torque FXRs. Beat them hard, lot of club miles, never an issue.

I would think that a cast wheel is a different design and maybe different alloy in it. The aluminum  rims we used back when seemed to be rather soft stuff and I have bent a few. The bike shop I worked at owner was into racing. From scrambles to road racing so stuff got bent a lot.Bending the wheel was a lot better than bending the forks or worse. maybe the new rims are made with a different allow so will be stronger. I will do more research into them as I would like to Keep spokes on the front. I have also seen tubeless spoke wheels ( American Wire) . That would be nice if it worked. I would like to put a aluminum  rim on the front to try to reduce the weight of it some. On the rear I am still looking at a Fat Bob wheel . I like the looks of it. And it is a bolt in thing I was told. The Por-15 seems like some good stuff so next time I'll give it a try.  Thanks for the commants  Zoot

That fatboy wheel weighs a ton.

Quote from: dynaglide on August 19, 2011, 05:35:01 PM
use an Excel aluminum rim laced to your stock hub w/Buchanon polished stainless spokes 

Mine started to loose chrome inside the rim in about 3 tire changes.. The problem is that the nipples create a stress point that cracks through the chrome plating then moisture gets under the chrome.. The chrome will eventually flake off.. Dechroming it and powder coating seems to work better.. Only problem is that you need a good tire changer to keep from scratching the outside of the rim..

CCI used to have stainless rims from some place in Europe but they were pricy...

If you ride a lot in the rain, mags might be a better choice.

Max

After addressing the rust, you could fill it with compressed nitrogen instead of compressed air. No moisture.

 
Assuming most of these complaints revolve around (chromed) rims/wheels that have rusted,  versus just painted rims..........

If you don't already know about it,  you need to understand........HYDROGEN EMBRITTLEMENT.....Not being aware of it can kill or injure you.

http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/wheels/wl121.htm

Quote
http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/wheels/wl121.htm

With what that guy says about stainless, I wouldn't put much weight in his other discussions..

Max

Quote from: moosemush on August 20, 2011, 02:41:22 PM
After addressing the rust, you could fill it with compressed nitrogen instead of compressed air. No moisture.

The rim is not in contact with the air inside the inner tube.  We are talking spoked wheels here.

I don't worry about the rust and I ride a lot of miles.  I simply wire brush the inside of the wheel everytime I change the tire (about twice a year).  I've never had a rim rust though.  But it is pretty dry here in Arizona.  Did the same thing when I lived in other places though.  I'm of the opinion that worrying about spoke wheels is not worth the trouble.  That doesn't mean you should ignore them.  They do require maintenance and knocking down the rust is a big part of that.

I just relaced this wheel today.  This is a photo I took of the rim this morning after I had gutted the old spokes and removed the hub.  You can see the surface rust.  After taking the photo I knocked the rust down with a wire brush.  I've been running this rim on my panhead since 2004.

If you have spoke wheels and want to avoid internal rusting I have a solution. Next tire change remove the liner, clean the rim, and spray the inner surface with "Fluid Film." It's a lanolin based rust preventer and surface treatment not unfamiliar to farmers who have to protect their equipment. You can get it at any Tractor Supply or John Deere dealer. It will go on wet and then form a soft, semi-dry coating that will prevent any further corrosion.

Another solution would be to use Boeshield, T-9. It's a protective coating designed for the aviation industry and can be used on steel, chrome or alloy parts.

Thinking the rust was coming from water getting in through the spoke holes, I cleaned the rim well as others have said, painted them with a rustoleum and packed the dimples with silicon seal.  Then I put three wraps of duct tape and the rim strip on. Also I'm very careful to use a minimum of lubricant when I install a tire.  Probably best to use a non-water type lubricant.  It seems to be working pretty well.

I'm with Garry on this. I love the way spoke rims look. I didn't think it was a motorcycle without them, but the pros of a mag out weigh anything else. You can't plug a tire with a tube. Once on my shovel I used 3 cans of fix a flat to get home. Which was less than 10 miles.