Value of Cast Wheels?

[kurt1305]

Thinking of purchasing spoke wheels and offsetting the cost by selling the cast wheels. What do you think the cast set would be worth? I anticipate someone will want them so as to have two sets of tires and wheels readily available for street and dirt duty. Your thoughts?

[HondoTX]

I would say somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 the price of new. It's one of those "it sure would be nice to have another set, if it doesn't cost too much" things.

I had someone offer me $200 for a bent K100RS wheel that cost me $850 to replace IF he could get it straightened (which would have cost him to fix). Turns out only a micrometer could tell how badly it was damaged. It was junk.

[kurt1305]

Yeah, the price for a cast set from Chicago BMW is just over $1,000. I was thinking $600-$700. Anything less that $500 and I'd just keep them.

[Sit]

Originally Posted by KB5UGN

I had someone offer me $200 for a bent K100RS wheel that cost me $850 to replace IF he could get it straightened (which would have cost him to fix). Turns out only a micrometer could tell how badly it was damaged. It was junk.

Just as a side note, I bent both of my cast rims on my 1150R, the front took a hit dead center and to the lip of the rim. The rear took a hit just to the lip. Did some web research and sent them to a place back east to be straightened. Long story short, I lucked out on the front rim, the dent was dead center between two of the spokes and could be fixed, other dents were no brainers. Even with shipping both rims (minus tires and rotors) both ways and the repair cost, was still a hundred bucks or more cheaper than buying a single new rim.

[StuWG]

Hi Kurt,

I have both sets of wheels. I bought a second hand pair of spoked wheels which I keep TKC80's on for off-roading (I also use them on the road sometimes too) and my cast wheels have some Michelin Pilot Roads on for scratching and long distance touring. Perfect.

If you can squeeze it, keep both sets.

Cheers,

[gibbsb]

Having a wheel straightened is a risky proposition. The first bend weakened the wheel and the straightening weakens it some more. It's bad enough on a car, but when you have a wheel failure on a bike, the results are often deadly. I know, I know, there are thousands of wheels out there that have been straightened without a problem, but why take the chance? We've been repairing German cars for 30 years and I have seen such a failure more than once. We refuse to have wheels straightened, but we do get involved with some insurance repairs and they are big fans of wheel straightening. We always have the customer sign a disclaimer stating that we advised them against wheel repair.

Regards,

Barry

[Sit]

I would agree that metal weakens each time it is bent. Spent about a week researching rim straightening and what not. After researching it and reading the process, figured it was safe. Still do. Its a much more involved process than just beating it with a hammer and think about the liability the shop incurs fixing the wheel. But to each his own, if it comes to it, each must make their own decision.