Vintage BMW Motorcycle Owners

1967 R69S Restoration.

I bought a brand new set of wheels from a reprable Vintage BMW distributor for my R69S. They were brand new Subcar aluminum high lip wheels. They looked great but I noticed a couple flat spots and issues around the weld. My initial thoughts were to tru the wheels and everything will fall into specs. Long story short ... they are horrible, would not tru and the dealer is willing to take them back. So now I have to unlace the wheels, take out the hubs and look for something else.

What other wheels do you recommend? Since I'm over budget for the build I need to look for something reasonable. I'll even consider used wheels if they are in great shape. Suggestions please. TIA
Chuck

Chrome plated steel, Borrani or exel alloys. Give Buchanan a call and see what they have, it won't be cheap but at this point what are the options. Also keep in mind used wheels will be very expensive and you would most likely be more unhappy with them.

Big question is, are you attempting to restore to a 100 point AMCA or a bike that makes you happy and goes down the road nice. Those flat spots don't show going down the road, I can't even see them in the pictures.

Tinkertimejeff wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 10, 2022 2:50 pm

Chrome plated steel, Borrani or exel alloys. Give Buchanan a call and see what they have, it won't be cheap but at this point what are the options. Also keep in mind used wheels will be very expensive and you would most likely be more unhappy with them.

Big question is, are you attempting to restore to a 100 point AMCA or a bike that makes you happy and goes down the road nice. Those flat spots don't show going down the road, I can't even see them in the pictures.

I just got off the phone with Buchanan. They are out of stock of Borrani and Excel and say Sept/Oct. Not good.

All the bikes I restore are riders. I'd love it to start out as a show bike but in reality Im going to ride it and you know what happens with time.

How "off" are they? The spec is 2mm,but my 50+ year old wheels are not in spec but ride just fine, have you put them on and rode the bike?

808Airhead wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 11, 2022 5:12 am

How "off" are they? The spec is 2mm,but my 50+ year old wheels are not in spec but ride just fine, have you put them on and rode the bike?

They were bad enough to feel it with your hand without looking. The bike is still being restored so I have not been able to ride on them.

Hi Chuck-
Be interested to hear the long story of "..long story short.."
Any pics of "..couple flat spots and issues around the weld.."?
Are the issues you're encountering structural? or in truing? axial, radial, both?
Some of us would be interested in further understanding of what the problem itself is with the rims you've used.

Even the folks making their living rebuilding these bikes encounter setbacks, it's part of the game, and they know from experience the energy spent in feeling frustrated is better directed at thinking and asking about the possible ways forward and which way best suits their goals.

I understand your attention is no longer on explaining the problem, rather on completing your rebuild; but, like with many other problems posted, the more information given generally equals more information offered up in return.
Best-
George

Flx48 wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 11, 2022 9:49 am

Hi Chuck-
Be interested to hear the long story of "..long story short.."
Any pics of "..couple flat spots and issues around the weld.."?
Are the issues you're encountering structural? or in truing? axial, radial, both?
Some of us would be interested in further understanding of what the problem itself is with the rims you've used.

Even the folks making their living rebuilding these bikes encounter setbacks, it's part of the game, and they know from experience the energy spent in feeling frustrated is better directed at thinking and asking about the possible ways forward and which way best suits their goals.

I understand your attention is no longer on explaining the problem, rather on completing your rebuild; but, like with many other problems posted, the more information given generally equals more information offered up in return.
Best-
George

The long story is ... I bought these Subcar aluminum wheels brand new. I immediately noticed some flat spots in the rim and some waves on the side of the rims near the weld. At the time I was told it was normal to have some irregularities around the weld so I went ahead and attached the hubs, trued the wheels and mounted the tires. Once the tires were on they looked great but when I spun the wheels around on the bike it was obvious something was wrong. There was more than one or two flat spots.

This is an engine/frame up restoration of a 67 R69S. It's not going to be a concours show bike because all my restored bikes are riders but the quality of these wheels did not meet the standards I'm looking for. When I contacted the dealer they admitted they were having some quality issues and requested I return the rims for a full refund.

For some reason /2 rims are hard to find right now. Everyone is out of stock and saying 2-3 weeks. I finally found a set of Morad wheels at Ulis in Germany. Shipping 1-2 weeks.

In the photos below you can easily see the imperfections.

I finally got the new wheels laced, trued and mounted. I'm very happy with the quality and I think they look great on the bike. I went with Morad wheels from Ulis in Germany. They were great to work with and shipping was fast, 4 days.

I hate to break this to you, but I have been lacing and truing wheels for 40 years. ALL rims, (the aluminum ones especially, due to the way welding draws the metal when it cools) have a flat spot. If you think you going to find a "perfect" rim, your dreaming.
When you true a wheel you must ignore the area were the weld is. The flat spot will be approximately 1 1/2 inches long. You will see where the high spot of weld was ground off in the inside of the rim. And the lip will also display a flat spot.
There is nothing you can do about this.
This is my truing stand, I use two dial indicators to get the rim true.

vechorik1373 wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 29, 2022 8:57 am

I hate to break this to you, but I have been lacing and truing wheels for 40 years. ALL rims, (the aluminum ones especially, due to the way welding draws the metal when it cools) have a flat spot. If you think you going to find a "perfect" rim, your dreaming.
When you true a wheel you must ignore the area were the weld is. The flat spot will be approximately 1 1/2 inches long. You will see where the high spot of weld was ground off in the inside of the rim. And the lip will also display a flat spot.
There is nothing you can do about this.
This is my truing stand, I use two dial indicators to get the rim true.

jig.jpg

Thanks Vech. I understand what you're saying. There is no such thing as a perfect wheel. In this situation I went with the least expensive new wheels I could find. After lacing and truing the second set however I noticed a huge difference in quality. Most notable was the difference in weight. The Morad's were much heavier. Side by side you could also see a difference in quality.

Thanks for showing us your stand, that's a nice one.

PS ... Thanks for all your input. Having you here in this forum is an incredible asset. I hope you're enjoying retirement.