Help with cracked rear wheel

[lfg929]

Looking for some advice here... I bent the lip of my rear wheel hitting a curb at Mid-Ohio. I tried to straighten it out myself (hey, it worked on the front wheel) but the lip cracked a bit. The crack is about halfway down the lip and runs for about 2 inches. My questions are:

1) Is this totally unsafe to ride? I understand that if the wheel takes another hit there then it is doing to be toast. Outside of that scenario though do I need to worry about the wheel self destructing and is it possible to race with it in the condition it is currently in?

2) Are there any gotchas to be aware of when I take the wheel to a competent welder and have them lay a bead down along the crack on the inside (and possibly the outside) and then grind the excess off? Just wondering if there are any special techniques or keywords that I should be aware of and insure the welder is aware of to separate the guy who knows what he is doing from the moron who just wants my money.

Basically, I am kinda in a bind now. I slipped my RC51 rear wheel on for my upcoming track day (if anyone was wondering they fit like a champ, just use the 929 cush drive and spacers), but I can't run the AMA Superstock class the following week with RC wheels. So, I either need to get the wheel fixed, buy a used 929 wheel, or the longshot is to run the wheel at is.

Any advice would be appreciated. I am guessing the wheel is now unsafe but figured it wouldn't hurt to ask. Plus I wanted to make sure I don't give my wheel to some welder who sounds like he knows what he is talking about but really doesn't. Thanks all!

[Zac]

I'd look for a local place that specializes in aluminum wheel straightening and modifications.  A lot of places that do car wheels will do m.c. wheels too, so check the yellow pages.  They'd have the most experiance working this type of issue.

There are some things to watch out for with a general welding shop.  Because the wheel doesn't say on it what alloy it was casting from, the welder will have to make some (hopefully) educated guesses.  This would include things like filler material, preheat scheduals, and heat treatment, if required.  I would avoid any welder that said "huh?" when asked about these issues.

-z.

[JamesC459]

www.mcwheel.com Gilsum Nh Mark can fix just about any wheel.Just last week he did a Marchesini magnesium for One of My teammates for $130
1-888-mcwheel

[lfg929]

Thanks for the tips so far everyone. I will give McWheels a call to see what their pricing and turnaround time is. Plus I will talk to some local places and see what they say.

I am probably just going to run the RC51 wheels on the 929 for now until I have time to deal with the 929 wheels. Someone should have warned me about having a street bike that had interchangeable parts with my racebike. My calipers need rebuilt on the 929 now (pistons are sticking a bit) and if the parts aren't in by the AMA amateur races next week then those will be the next things cannibalized off of the RC...

[unforgivenracing]

If it was me :o  I would bite the bullet and replace the wheel.  I would feel safer then ridding on a weakend rim that was welded when full tilt at a buck40+. :-/