BMW S1000RR Forum banner
Cancel
Create thread New Forums

Carbon wheels cracking.

Jump to Latest
127K views 275 replies 80 participants last post by  WingZeroX5  
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Guys, make sure to check your wheels. I started losing pressure in my rear wheel. I thought it was a small hole in the tire or a rotten valve stem, but it was the rim.
The main leak was from the valve stem area but had cracks at all the spokes. BMW replaced the rim. I was down for ten days. I have less than 1000 miles.
 

Attachments

#3 ·
WOAH! I'm a very big rider (300lbs) and this is my fear. I'm always checking them. Glad you caught it in time. Do you recall hitting potholes, or anything that may have caused this? I've had no issue I'm currently at 7,500 miles. I do have to put air in tires about once a week. They lose around a pound or so, nothing out of the ordinary from any other sport bike I've owned.
 
#4 · (Edited)
After reading this, I went to check, and sure enough, mine have the same crack lines, in the same place.

This is a day after I had the bike in the shop due to the rear sprocket coming loose from the wheel apparently some gasket(not sure exactly) wore out.

So, broken right side fin(replaced with exact same part, which broke within 200 miles, left switch cluster loosening up constantly, cold start issues, cheap gasket on rear sprocket, and now cracked wheels... ? What's next ?
 

Attachments

#5 · (Edited)
seems fair to say BMW is having a rough release on this new bike, I know my 15 wasn't a full redesign and i know 1st year vehicles have problems, but I wouldn't have expected such a wide swath. The rim issue tho is NOT an easy to overlook issue. what happens to the poor shmo that may not notice the cracks and god forbid the wheel gives up and shatters?

not raggin on em, I love my 15 buuuuttttt, just un-expected.

also, "what about re-occurrences on the wheels" how long or how will the warranty work when you show up to the shop with cracks in your carbon fiber wheel that has 10k miles. someones gonna be real pissed when the dealer says "you hit a pot hole" then you have to come up off 4 grand. (just a guess dont know the price of wheel but you get the idea.)
 
#6 ·
Yep, this is becoming an issue with carbon. Saw a student low side at low speed and front wheel had a similar issue.

Where is Benny when you need him >:)
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
#7 ·
So I came out here to the garage after reading this earlier to take the Fairings off to get the "upper badge faring" ready to be installed tomorrow(carbon fiber). Decided to wax, inspect the **** out of the wheels, sure enough mine is starting to do the same thing. Not losing air yet. This is ridiculous at this point. This is the MAIN ISSUE I had before purchasing the ///M k67. I asked myself " you sure you want to take that risk?". I said to myself to justify the purchase, there is no way BMW would have a set of OEM carbon wheels that would EVER FAIL, the lawsuits would take them under if it were to happen. What do you know? Issues within the first few months.
 

Attachments

#8 ·
TONE_757 said:
I said to myself to justify the purchase, there is no way BMW would have a set of OEM carbon wheels that would EVER FAIL, the lawsuits would take them under if it were to happen. What do you know? Issues within the first few months.
Click to expand...

agreed, this is incredibly dangerous... could be a recall soon for the wheels?

im planning to go for the forged anyway, the roads here have horrendous potholes in some places... id probably crack any carbon wheels from daily riding, OEM or aftermarket.
 
#9 · (Edited)
This is very concerning. All I can say to you guys is get it to a dealer asap. They need to notify BMW NA and then they will notify Germany. Mine is due in December along with my friends bike. We ride extremely hard on the road and we have had countless RR's over the years with forged rims and have never had an issue. I don't like this at all. I reckon I am going to be cracking carbon rims every time I do a trip on mine.

After reading up on the issue from some other owners around the world. It seems that some may be superficial cracks in the clear coat rather than structural. Either way though it's still a concern and anything leaking is obviously a crack.
 
#10 ·
Just so you guys know this was not from hitting anything. The only reason I noticed this was because the tire was going down every day. This is my first BMW I have had Japanese bikes for 20+ years. I have to say I'm very disappointed with the service and customer service. My air fin on the right side of the bike is broken been waiting 3weeks for BMW to accept my claim.
 
#13 ·
IMO, this is the result of "German Engeneering" taking a turn into "German Profiteering".

I keep checking back on this forum once a week or so to hopefuly to see some good news on the S1000RR M. Maybe some ECU updates here, maybe some recalls there, or at the very least, a communique explaining what they are doing regarding these issues and when will the bike be back on the production line.

Frustrating for those who already own the bike, those waiting for their bikes, and those of us debating to purchase the bike.

On BMW's defense, you did pick a bad time to jump on a S1000RR. Previous versions have been as good as Japanese bikes IMO.
 
#12 ·
I'd start asking for the forged and a refund of the difference between a race package and an M package.

If they handle it anything like the shark fin, they'll replace your CF wheels with an equally shitty part which will break in a few hundred miles. Unfortunately a cracked CF wheel may kill you -- the shark fin is just an annoyance.
 
G
#14 ·
To all of you who have posted about the wheels being cracked. Can you feel the crack? Will it catch a fingernail? The only reason I ask is because some of these pics looks to just be seams in the carbon.
I’m going to check on my wheels and I’ll be back with an update.
 
#15 ·
I've said it before...that a CF wheel mass produced is likely to have issues. That's a lot of torque in that location, and I'm not surprised it's cracked. If the gelcoat is cracked, soon enough water, sunlight, hot and cold will wear down into and weaken the laminate. If I were buying one, I'd never get the CF wheels. I think it could be a matter of time for someone to ignore the problem, and have a failure while riding. Despite my desire to try out a 2020, NEVER EVER EVER buy a bike in it's first year of production!
 
#17 ·
As a side note my 3 Y/O Rotobox CF wheels hold air perfectly and I've had no flaws what-so-ever. I live on a pot holed dirt road that has my TC flashing like a disco strobe and our surface streets can be worse. I've had some hard hits but they take it. Years ago I bent the OEM rim on my R6 on this dirt road.
 
#21 ·
I would feel the cracks in my rear wheel. Coming from a 2018 GSXR1000R I have been very disappointed. Cold starts are a joke the colder it gets the worse the "cam" idling gets and intake backfiring. Then the little bastards trying to knock their way out of the engine is ridiculous. Just disappointed is all.
 
#37 ·
My CF wheel was also cracked, I noticed it
After 1500 Mills (after 2 track days and some hard twistys) I decided to clean my rims it was nearly possible to see it unless you get really close look.
I at the immediately contact My dealer took the bike , they told me it’s only a cosmetic defect and not a safety problem ?. I was told it’s ok to ride the bike.(You should NOT)
It was replaced with a brand new one.
I did about 500 mills since The rim was exchange and now I noticed a small crack again it’s Nothing major like it was before.
I will report it to my bmw dealer.

So far I’m getting great customer service from my bmw dealer in Concord CA.

I will definitely recommend to all to clean you rims to make sure no cracks.
 
#39 ·
I've just dropped my ///M k67 off due to the carbon wheel issue. It turned out was worse than I thought. It's cracked at every spoke. I was told, head mechanic/shop manager " damn, this has exceeded the limit twice on this bike." Me " what's that mean?" Shop manager " there is a price limit that if it goes above this number(he didn't tell me the number)we need permission from BMW. An that's what I'm working on now".

GUYS PLEASE CHECK YOUR WHEELS! EVERYONE. This is a MAJOR issue and this post could/probably saved my life. Like you guys I ride hard, VERY HARD not just straight line junk and I'm a heavy guy. Thankyou so much for this post OP! I'll keep everyone updated on what's said/happens.
 
BMW S1000RR Forum
posts
591K
members
34K
Since
2009
A forum community dedicated to BMW S1000RR owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about superbike performance, modifications, troubleshooting, specifications, racing, maintenance, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
BMW S1000RR General Discussion New Member Introductions Exhaust and Fuel Delivery BMW S1000RR/R/XR/HP4 Parts For Sale S1000RR/HP4 Appearance