Well I got the new bike on friday, And found that it has cracked wheels. The seller did NOT tell me about it. I was told I could get it and ride right away, so he either lied or didnt know. Either way Im currently talking to him to work out a solution. I'd like to see what your guys' opinion is: CAN THESE BE REPAIRED? FRONT Opposite the brake side REAR What do you kind ladies and gentlemen think? I would think the front wheel could be repaired, but Im not sure about the rear... I also thought about contacting Husqvarna since the wheels have obviously cracked at the seems. But I dont think they will help any since its an '06 that has changed owners and has been raced.. BTW, I need a solution soon. Im supposed to race the bike this sunday 06/13. I just need to explore options real quick. I could buy new rims and lace them to these hubs or get the cracked rims fixed by a wheel shop.
I would contact http://www.buchananspokes.net/ and get an answer from them. I think everything can be fixed, it's just a matter of $$ and time. As for lacing up a new rim, very possible but again, talk to buchanans since the Husky OEM hub has a unique spoke pattern and will either require special spokes or custom hole drilling. If you NEED to race this weekend, I would be looking for a spare set of wheels. Bummer the rims are cracked, that would be a total drag to find out after all of the excitement of getting a new bike! Good luck with it!
Fairly common occurrence to have a crack at the weld. All it is is the original weld breaking. I've had many rims do that (especially older DID rims). Take a die grinder and cut the cracked area nice and clean, then have a good welder tig weld the whole thing up. Then just grind the weld smooth and polish the rim. Works for me.
What Dirtdame said.... Although, (speaking as a person who worked as a professional welder/fitter/fabricator) it would be better to let the person welding it handle the joint preparation.
Oops....oh yeah. I guess I had seen so many rims get prepped that I finally just started doing it myself. My welder welded so many things for me on bikes over the years, that if I brought something in already prepped, he'd throw a bead on it for free, and I love free.
NOT Giving advice- but related, my cousin's "stock" excel rim on his ktm did the same thing first day of a 5 day ride we had been waiting to do-last year.... one of the guys can weld- and borrowed a neighbors welder (we were at a friend's cottage in the U.P.)- it was repaired after supper and before we drank too many to admire the handywork... Funny part is I was looking at my cousin's rim a couple weeks ago- he's still running it: he ran it on a trip to MOAB without blinking a few months ago. Personally I'd have replaced it last year as soon as I could have.
Thanks guys. I dropped it off earlier at a buddy's work. The welder there is going to repair it for me for free hopefully.
Done properly, it will last forever (well maybe not FOREVER, but you know what I mean). My 24 year old KDX rear wheel got cracked and welded in 1988 and it's still going strong.
Cool. It just sucks to have bought a bike expecting to have "perfect" wheels. When I say perfect I mean no cracked seams. I couldnt care less if its scratched or has a small ding...
Just lucky that you spotted it before it went all the way across. then the wheel would have collapsed!
You might have made a safe stop if you weren't making a big landing from something, but that would have been the end of that wheel for sure. Once it comes all the way unbuttoned, there's no feasible way to save it.
Only bad thing that could possibly happen is to pinch a tube if it opened up and the crack migrated across the rim. Would have to have 1/8" or larger gap for this to happen. Weld it up and run it will be fine. Later George
I got it welded up yesterday. Ill be testing its strength this weekend when i race. ...If I can get the jetting figured out that is
Good and bad See for yourself. Theres two videos. The one from youtube is from my helmet cam. The one on vimeo is from another rider. http://www.cafehusky.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11637
