Corrosion inside rims?

moondoggie

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Anybody have corrosion inside their rims? 2012 ST with 60K miles. I am having slow air leaks around the bead on my last 2 sets of E07 tires due to corrosion where the tire beads to the rim. Have removed tires, cleaned, and scotchbrited the bead surface. I am reluctant to aggressively sand where the tire beads but am not sure what to try next.

Any ideas are appreciated,

Jack

(If this is in the wrong forum, please move for me - thx)
 

SilverBullet

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Inspect your Mitas tires good. I've seen chicken strips originating from the bead seal area of the tire. Nip those suckers at the bud. Even if they're close to bead seal area they can fold over and get caught under the bead while installing. In either case it will cause a very slow leak.

If truly the rim, sometimes a good tire lube used undiluted will give you that final bead seal booster. I use tire lube and Ride-On balancer/sealant, Haven't had any type of leak in 10 sets of E-07's. Many others have reported a ~3-5 psi loss per week.

_
 

Clawdog60

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Yeah how to stop or prevent rim corrosion inside of the tire. My road king did it pretty bad. How do you keep moisture from inside of a tire? Run nitrogen only?
 

Wallkeeper

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Anybody have corrosion inside their rims? 2012 ST with 60K miles. I am having slow air leaks around the bead on my last 2 sets of E07 tires due to corrosion where the tire beads to the rim. Have removed tires, cleaned, and scotchbrited the bead surface. I am reluctant to aggressively sand where the tire beads but am not sure what to try next.

Any ideas are appreciated,

Jack

(If this is in the wrong forum, please move for me - thx)
When you scotchbrited the trim, did you see actual bare metal after? If so, was it only on the bead or was it general on the inside of the rim?
 
R

RonH

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Don't know what tire lube was used, but don't use any form of soap, dishwashing liquid or the like. Some shops even still use soap. No good at all, and will mess your wheels up. Another reason I mount my own tires, so I can be in charge of what lube is used. The E07s were easy as any tire to mount, and don't leak a bit for me.
 

steve68steve

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I've never had ANY bead leaks until the E07. After nearly a year and close to 10k miles, my front started leaking a few psi/day, from the rim/ bead area.
Maybe coincidence, but that same tire kicked my butt going on. I could NOT get air in fast enough to get the bead to seat. I ended up getting it bead blasted on at a tire place. I put a lot of soap and water on that bead before giving up.

What's weird to me is that it was bulletproof for so long before it developed the leak(s). There was still a few thousand miles left on the tread. I got sick of having to air up every time I rode and changed it.

FWIW, my rims are total shit - I have lots of little dings and grooves from tire spoons. Wen the E07 came off, there was corrosion on the beads, too. I assumed it was from the excess soap and water I used at installation.
I sanded my beads back to bare metal to level out those those dings and grooves, then spray painted them black again. New set of tires has been fine for about two thousand miles. Last week my back tire started leaking, but I haven't checked whether it's a rim issue or not.

TLDR version: don't be afraid to hand-sand the beads on the rim with 120-ish grit or higher. You'd have a hard time damaging them by hand. Paint is a good defense against corrosion, and even if you do a crappy job painting, it's hidden inside the tire. I've also seen corrosion, but (maybe coincidentally), the only time I saw it was months after mounting a tire with a LOT of soap and water. After that, I bought some tire lube.
 

HeliMark

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Tennessee
My front E07 leaks around the bead. Have lightly sanded, and used bead seal paste several times, nothing seems to help. Leaks 2-4 of pounds a day. I did find that the balancing beads had worked there way into the bead area also. Clean that up and went to regular weights. I know I read that a number of E07 tires several years ago had this problem, but not sure if it was isolated to a set number. I like the E07, and will replace with same when due, hoping that maybe this front tire is the issue, but this is giving me pause on at least the front tire. The rear holds pressure great.
 

Clawdog60

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Don't know what tire lube was used, but don't use any form of soap, dishwashing liquid or the like. Some shops even still use soap. No good at all, and will mess your wheels up. Another reason I mount my own tires, so I can be in charge of what lube is used. The E07s were easy as any tire to mount, and don't leak a bit for me.
I use Ruglyde from napa.
 

Cycledude

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Lots of folks use soap for a lubricant but it’s not recommended. A gallon of actual tire lube doesn’t cost much and in the long run it’s a much better choice. I happen to use a lube I bought from No-Mar , I was passing through and stopped at their store, they sold me a gallon for $20 cash and it seems to be the best tire lube I ever used, it’s sort of a paste type stuff made with vegetable oil, that was about 10 years ago and I believe it’s the last bottle I will ever need to buy and I’ve changed a couple hundred motorcycle tires with it.
 

Nikolajsen

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There is also the "problem" with soap, that it will stay slippery for long time.
And in worst case, you will get the rim spinning inside the tire..:eek:
 

moondoggie

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When you scotchbrited the trim, did you see actual bare metal after? If so, was it only on the bead or was it general on the inside of the rim?
Yes, little silver areas inside the rim, powdery until scothbrite then smooth. Not just the bead area but scattered throughout inside of rim.

I have always used commercial grade tire lube to install (using buddy's tire machine at his moto shop). No bead sealer. Balanced with weights when needed.
 

Wallkeeper

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Yes, little silver areas inside the rim, powdery until scothbrite then smooth. Not just the bead area but scattered throughout inside of rim.

I have always used commercial grade tire lube to install (using buddy's tire machine at his moto shop). No bead sealer. Balanced with weights when needed.
Somewhere along the way moisture got trapped inside and has penetrated the E-Coat they use on these. My suggestion is next time the tire is off, sand off all the rust, degloss the paint, tack off the dust with clean rag and alcohol, mask everything you do not want coated then coat with multiple coats of appliance epoxy. Allow 72 hours at room temperature for FULL cure before you reassemble. With dry fill air, this should stop any further corrosion on the wheel.

Everything you need is available at your favorite Big Orange Box or Big Gray/Blue Box

Do not hesitate to contact me offline with any questions

TC
Wally
 
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