Tire leaking air from on side of rim | GTAMotorcycle.com

Tire leaking air from on side of rim

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stangn99

Well-known member
Hi all,

I recently had new tires installed (about a month ago). I was going to head out yesterday and noticed a completely flat front tire.

I put air in it and looked for a puncture. Couldn't find anything.

I removed the wheel and did the soapy water test. I found one side if the wheel leaking air if I put downward pressure on the edge of the tire (where it meets the lip of the rim). No specific spot. Anywhere I pressed down, the bubbles would form.

I flipped the wheel over and did the same thing. No bubbles and no air coming out from the other side.

It was at this moment I also noticed a super small dent in the rim. You wouldn't notice it unless you looked for it. The side with the dent is not leaking at all, it's the opposite side which has the leaks. I believe the dent was there all along but I never noticed it when I bought the bike.

I plan to take it back to 109, where I had the tires installed.

My questions are:

1. Is it possible the shop forgot to put sealing bead on one side? Would that cause the leak I'm experiencing?

2. Do I need to get the tiny bend repaired? The tire was installed and balanced, and the bike rides fine (though I do experience some handlebar shakes when really getting on it hard, which I've learned is common on these bikes. It's only when the front-end gets loose).

I've put less than 200kms on the bike since I bought it about a month ago. It was sitting in the garage for about 1.5 weeks until I noticed the flat.


Bike is a '18 s1000r.

Photos:
https://imgur.com/a/2lWqKam
 
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Maybe they didn't clean the surface of the rim well enough. Maybe there is a gouge on that surface, or oxidation. Maybe the tire is nicked on the bead (had that happen on a car when the installer pinched the bead as it folded over on the machine.)

It's could be as simple as removing the tire and reseating it.

I've seen some gnarly dents that held air.

The rim in the pic held air and (as reported by the owner), was stable even at 130+ kph. The rim was changed after one week of commuting 30 kms each way -- And it never lost any air.
 

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RC-31 said:
Maybe they didn't clean the surface of the rim well enough. Maybe there is a gouge on that surface, or oxidation. Maybe the tire is nicked on the bead (had that happen on a car when the installer pinched the bead as it folded over on the machine.)

It's could be as simple as removing the tire and reseating it.

I've seen some gnarly dents that held air.

The rim in the pic held air and (as reported by the owner), was stable even at 130+ kph. The rim was changed after one week of commuting 30 kms each way -- And it never lost any air.
Click to expand...
Yipes !
 
As has been said above. When I had a similar issue remounting solved it. I don't know if it was a cleaning issue or just bad luck as I wasn't hands on for the rework.

I would be pretty surprised if that little dent is the cause of your leak.

Did you spin the wheel and watch the sidewall to see if it is noticeably wobbling in/out or up/down? Maybe it didn't seat fully?
 
RC-31 said:
Maybe they didn't clean the surface of the rim well enough. Maybe there is a gouge on that surface, or oxidation. Maybe the tire is nicked on the bead (had that happen on a car when the installer pinched the bead as it folded over on the machine.)

It's could be as simple as removing the tire and reseating it.

I've seen some gnarly dents that held air.

The rim in the pic held air and (as reported by the owner), was stable even at 130+ kph. The rim was changed after one week of commuting 30 kms each way -- And it never lost any air.
Click to expand...
Oof that picture. They ain't making those anymore
 
stangn99 said:
1. Is it possible the shop forgot to put sealing bead on one side? Would that cause the leak I'm experiencing?
Click to expand...

Sealant shouldn't be required on an allow wheel that doesn't rust. That said, I've seen Costco apply it when they couldn't figure out why the rim was leaking. And then it continued leaking...

The bead seals at point #4. Make sure that surface is clean and smooth on both the rim and the tire.

1719250468059.png
 
GreyGhost said:
As has been said above. When I had a similar issue remounting solved it. I don't know if it was a cleaning issue or just bad luck as I wasn't hands on for the rework.

I would be pretty surprised if that little dent is the cause of your leak.

Did you spin the wheel and watch the sidewall to see if it is noticeably wobbling in/out or up/down? Maybe it didn't seat fully?
Click to expand...

I did spin it by hand and did not notice any sort of wobbling.

I dropped the rim off at the shop again this morning. I'm not in a rush for it, so I left it for them to remount it and keep it there to make sure there are no leaks.

Hopefully the rim isn't the issue, because a new one from BMW is $1,800+hst
 
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Got the wheel back from 109 Cycle. Truly amazing service from these guys.
They recleaned and reseated the tire and applied something (forgot what it was. Silicone or something?)

Anyway. Zero PSI lost since yesterday morning. Fingers crossed it stays that way.
 
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