Re: oilheads-digest V1 #49

["James H. Nazarian, Ph.D." <microdoc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Robert opined:

> Well it seems their (BMW) plan is to deny then fix it later. The soft
> rims are a good example.

Last summer, I was out for a meandering ride with several of my regular
buddies, when we happened upon a motorcycle salvage/graveyard/junkyard. Of
course we all immediately had visions that we had just stumbled upon some
secret stash of fabulous parts in pristine condition that no one else in the
whole wide world had ever seen before. Nope. Places like this are called
junkyards for a good reason. I was mostly impressed with the abundant
assortment of broken and bent wheels, forks and frames that were now scrap
metal.

Actually, BMW's "soft rims are a good example of good engineering. If
collision with a pothole, or a curb, or a chunk of road debris is
unavoidable because of traffic conditions, or weather conditions, or even
careless driving, etc., the forces of that collision WILL be dissipated or
absorbed by something. The $64 question is HOW. A bent rim can occur on a
car or truck with huge steel wheels just as it can on a slim, trim aluminum
alloy MC wheel. An alternative to bending the rim might be cracking the rim,
bending the forks, breaking a shock/spring mount, etc. Cracking a rim could
cause spontaneous deflation of the tubeless tire wrapped around that wheel.
Which do you prefer?

This, like most engineering decisions involves some compromises: BMW's
choice was perfectly legitimate, and in no way could it be construed as
faulty engineering. Any way you look at it, if the impact is of great enough
force, something will end up in the junkyard.

Jim
microdoc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
'99 R1100RT '99 F650 '98 R1200C '88 R100GS '78 R80/7
BMW MOA, RA, ABC, NFO #3

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