I just checked mine. To me, the best test to determine if there is a crack is if your fingernail catches it. I didn’t feel any such cracks on mine. When just looking at it, your eyes could deceive you if there is a crack due to the weave of the carbon, hence the fingernail test. Of course, I will keep a close eye on it It sounds like the only problems have been with the rear wheel ?

 

Man, I sure hope nobody gets hurt or killed over this. I've said it any number of times here that personally, I'd never run C/F wheels on the street, probably never on the track either. The "fingernail test" isn't a reliable method to check for cracks either. The best way would be to x-ray the wheels, but who's gonna do that? You could do a plourescent dye penetrant test, but if there was delamination below the surface layer that wouldn't show like it would in an x-ray. If I bought a 2020 with the C/F wheels I'd sell them and buy forged aluminum wheels.

Best of luck to all that have the C/F wheels and I hope you never have issues and get hurt, I got my fingers crossed for y'all!

 

Cycle monkey just hit it on the head. Since this is a known problem an external visual check is not enough. Bmw should have all our wheels either xray or some other type of more in depth inspection.

 

The problem is they may x-ray fine at the factory....until you put a load on it in the real world. Me, I'd avoid that whole potential issue, thanks...

 

I after I found the cracks on my rim I was concerned about having carbon wheels but only BMW carbon wheels, because I have BST carbon wheels for my other bike. After more than a year using the BST carbon I have noticed Zero defects nothing. So I feel that people are giving carbon rims a bad name when it should be focused on the BMW supplier or BMW specs.

 

I after I found the cracks on my rim I was concerned about having carbon wheels but only BMW carbon wheels, because I have BST carbon wheels for my other bike. After more than a year using the BST carbon I have noticed Zero defects nothing. So I feel that people are giving carbon rims a bad name when it should be focused on the BMW supplier or BMW specs.

...have you x-rayed them?

It is the MATERIAL that is the issue, not so much the manufacturer. C/F's failure mode is to shatter, not bend. Unlike a metal wheel, C/F typically fails catastrophically. Metal CAN, but generally doesn't unless people never inspect the part in question. There are good applications for C/F, I just don't believe wheels are one of them. For reference, the Dream Chaser, a NASA project I worked on for a year until I changed jobs a year ago, was mostly C/F, and some parts we simply couldn't use C/F for because it would fail, and some parts needed serious metal plates backing it to be able to take the load and spread it out. Some parts were originally designed as C/F, and either failed in simulation or testing. Plus, C/F has environmental issues (i.e. UV, heat, and chemical degradation) that metals don't.

Caveat emptor...

 

I'm just gonna send it.

 

I heard you cant put oem forged aluminum hp wheels on a the new fourth generation S1000RR

 

You shouldn't believe everything you hear. The forged hp wheels are available as an option for the new bike. They're included in the race package and are now referred to as M Forged Wheels.

 

We've got a few x-ray units at work, if you're in the Sydney, Australia area feel free to drop me a line and I'll x-ray your wheels for ya.

Edit: you'll need to take your wheels off the bike before you bring them in.

 

Very unfortunate. I have a good friend on an M-Sport that isn’t active on the boards, I will be passing along this info to him.

As for the Thyssenkrupp wheels, I’ve just finished a full race season along with track days in between. I’m no featherweight, about 22 stone in gear. The wheels have held up spectacularly.

I regularly inspect them for cracks, and so far so good. I did have an issue with losing PSI on my front tire, that turned out to be a faulty valve stem.

Even threw my bike down the track at some point, and not an issue with the wheels.

Hoping BMW gets this sorted.

 

22 stone is 308 pounds for those that are not familiar with British weights and measures.

 

https://www.compositesworld.com/articles/x-rays-for-ndt-of-composites

 

I just got a call from dealership. He says " I have taken pictures and sent them to BMW Saturday.
BMW has responded, they've had a lot of reports of wheels cracking. That's just the clear coat, but we went ahead and ordered you a new rear wheel. Only problem is it's going to take 2-3weeks time to receive it. BMW says it's safe to ride if your wanting to pick it up". To witch I responded," If you guys are going to charge me a storage fee I'll have it removed but I don't feel safe riding it, or have confidence in the wheel now that I've noticed its cracked up". So it's sitting at dealership until wheel comes in. Just makes no sense as to why BMW says it's not an issue BUT they're replacing with a NEW REAR WHEEL on the bike.

So are they just "talk" right now saying "no issue" or is there an issue and to shut me up for now they are replacing? I just don't think if a company truly feels there isn't an issue they'd replace an expensive wheel under warranty. Hate to think like this, are they waiting for someone to die before they recall and find another maker, thicker clear coat, or whatever needs to be done to prevent cracks?

 

Perhaps they are of the opinion that it will lose air before it becomes structurally compromised. I wouldn't ride it. Have you put the wheel underwater to see if it does have a leak, even a slow one?

 

I have some "cracking" on my wheels but after extensive checking its just the top coat. if it stays like it is I am fine with it because the only way to see it is to have the wheels be cleaned and then look at the hub area. Its a cosmetic issue. If BMW had any inkling that this issue was a safety hazard they would have done a recall already while there aren't a bunch of bikes roaming the streets. could you imagine the lawsuit? "BMW knew about a massive safety hazard with the wheels of its new flagship model bike and continued to let owners drive them on the street without notification" just start adding 0's to the check now if thats the case......

COSMETIC.

Should your wheels have blemishes from the factory... no...

 

It's has been explained in other post within this thread. If the lacquer/top coat of our carbon rims crack. Eventually the carbon fiber underneath the clear will become exposed to the elements, contaminates etc. Which will eventually affect it in a negative way and could cause failure.

The clear coat cracking on our rims within a couple months is not good for the long term out look of our wheels.

 

If it is just a crack in the clear coat the wheels will be fine. Only if the resin which encapsulates the carbon cracks that there would be a concern.

 

So my bike went to the dealership for inspection( they verified the crack and loss of pressure), they then allowed me to take my bike( after I signed a waver) home and ordered the rear wheel. 10 days later the wheel came in I took my old wheel to the they switched out the tire and that was it. I am not going to be happy with any cracks in the clearcoat in the future and so shouldn't you guys. This is a premium bike at a big price that mostly has to do with factory carbon wheels.

 

A crack in the clear coat is an issue, but just a cosmetic one, which is obviously different from a crack through the carbon resin. BMW notes that the cosmetic issue is an issue they will stand behind with their warranty. It's expensive for them, so my bet is that the replacements won't have the same issue, at least not in current numbers.

 

I wonder the thickness of the gelcoat at that point on the wheel. If it's too thick, it's gonna crack no matter what.

The problem with it cracking, is eventually water/sun/ice/hot-cold cycle WILL get down into the matrix.

 

I am not saying that the clear cracks are not an issue I am merely pointing out that it is not a safety concern as it seems some on here are going to garage the bike until new wheels come in.... GO RIDE IT YOU HAVE A WARRANTY!

Anyone who has seen me knows that I am about as meticulous as it comes when it comes details and detailing my toys. I dislike the cracks... I think that there should not be any... I am also willing to concede that I do not know everything about the manufacture and production/ mass production of carbon fiber wheels and therefore It may just be apart of the manufacturing itself.... On a forged wheel you can machine off imperfections until you get a final product but carbon is its own beast and I do not presume to know every detail.

IF it is a manufacturing issue that wasn't intended then sure they should replace them. If it is a necessary evil to bring carbon wheels to market in a mass scale at a decent price point then SO BE IT.

FUNCTION OVER FORM.... but form does play on the heart strings so I understand where people are coming from.

My "Cracks" have been there since day two (when I first thoroughly inspected the bike and took in the carbon wheeled glory) so my guess is that they were there prior to delivery since it only had 3 miles on it. Note it to your dealer and when BMW clears it up I'm sure they will just send you some new wheels.... no biggie.

GO RIDE IT... until a coil dies... or a wheel starts loosing air... or you blow a fork seal.... HA!

 

GO RIDE IT... until a coil dies... or a wheel starts loosing air... or you blow a fork seal.... HA!

Or the crack suddenly gets worse and you lose air while going 180+MPH and crash

 

Watch those bicycle's carbon fiber rims fails.....ouch. And they don't wobble before they fail either. And that's at 20mph. Ouch.

 

If the clear cracks I won't be too worried. If it starts to crack or peel back even more to the point it becomes quite a large surface area of missing clear then I think that is a problem.

 

I guess my concern would be this: without a dye penetrant test at the very least, with an x-ray being preferred, how would you know that it WAS only a crack in the clear coat? To me that's the scary thing.

Like I said, I hope no one gets hurt or killed over this.

 

Big disappointment from BMW. I will never buy this bike with cf wheels. BMW shot their reputation by cutting corners. Now one can see how they talk about how this is the one of a kind bike, cf wheels, color display, etc. But the truth is, they cut corners to lower the cost. Production mess ups with crankcase, etc. I mean, imagine putting cf wheels on this bike (which obviously where not done properly as they are cracking), and leaving out brembo brakes :grin2:. It makes no sense to put cheap brakes with cf wheels. They stated that they did it to save money. Big lol.

I wouldn't trust these wheels even when BMW comes and says that they updated the material and all neccessary production processes. If i did have them, i would probably more often check them after and before riding.

If the next model year sorts out these issues from the 2020 my, i will possibly look into sport model with forged wheels.

 

Mate Hayes makes some incredible brake setups.
I'm sure this did save a bucket on switching from Brembo, but a caliper doesn't have to have a fancy logo on it to be good.

 

Cracking on the gel coat is a minor gripe to me. If you are going to track the bike, you want forged wheels. The carbon fiber can't handle a crash and there is no way to reliably check them. Back in the days of the BST failures I read that x-rays can't detect damage like they can on mags. I was sure @CYCLE_MONKEY posted something about ultra-sound or other tests but could not find it. :frown2:

If your rear wheel looked like this after a crash, would you trust the front knowing it made first contact? Just asking for a friend.

picture host

 

Cracking on the gel coat is a minor gripe to me. If you are going to track the bike, you want forged wheels. The carbon fiber can't handle a crash and there is no way to reliably check them. Back in the days of the BST failures I read that x-rays can't detect damage like they can on mags. I was sure @CYCLE_MONKEY posted something about ultra-sound or other tests but could not find it. :frown2:

If your rear wheel looked like this after a crash, would you trust the front knowing it made first contact? Just asking for a friend.

/quote]

This is a horrible crash but even with a forged wheel I do not think the wheel could have survived.

Carbon fiber is a very strong material but it cannot bent, it only cracks and breaks. In my opinion the CF wheels only disadvantage, if it is made as it supposed to be made, is that it cannot be repaired. Now for the problem in the BMW current wheels I believe BMW will find a solution. This is not an excuse but this is 1st time available to production bikes and there might be some adjusting in the production. My thoughts are that CF is the material of the future in bikes and cars. This is the material that future vehicles will be made...

 

..."Carbon fiber is a very strong material but it cannot bent, it only cracks and breaks"...

Fact Check:

Brock

 

Carbon definitely does flex, probably more than aluminum. The problem is that when you reach its ultimate load, it fails catastrophically, instead of yielding like aluminum

 

But by the time you've hit the catastrophic limit, something else really bad has normally happened that largely makes the wheel failure moot in terms of safety.

Speaking of which, has BST announced a set of wheels for the 2020 RR?