Suggestions on rim leak

[Manns50]

Had the rim on my 81 200 start leaking recently. Checked the tire after putting slime in it only to find out it was the rim where it bolts together. No leaks on the tire. I looked in the manual and they show an o-ring there? I got the wheel off and the rim separated a little but the tire is still on rim. Should I dismount the tire to fix this? Can get my hand in there but not quite sure how it seals....so asking suggestions on the usual fix for this problem? Thanks in advance!

[tri again]

wow.
You may want to try the search key for 'split rims' in the honda trike sense.

Some say the tires come off easier if they're still bolted together.
Some say o rings are hard to keep in place during assembly
Some run a silicon bead and let it dry like a rubber band and then bolt them together.
Some say tubes.
I think I even heard of someone just making a whole flap patch out of an innertube, like 6" diameter like a
solid sheet to squeeze in between the rim halves and then just running the bolts thru that and cutting out the center hole.

I just gave up for a week and got a whole parts trike for 100$ with 3 good tires, on rims and a good gas tank.

It's a wrestling match almost any way you look at it.
I DID talk to a tire tech buying food in walmart and he said they DO
those tires and rims for 5 bucks (Hated to admit it) , mount and dismount, so that may be an option
in some way.

[muthey]

Every trike I have with split rims has tubes in them. My local honda shop owner told me those rims are only supposed to have tubed tires on them, and he has owned this shop since the 60's, so my guess is he discovered tubing them was the best option. If you can find rims for a 200es or hubs and rims for a 83, 84 185s or 200s you can change hubs and rims to single piece and run tubeless tires on it plus go down to 22" tires. You can also change out the front hub to a 200's and put a 22" tire on there as well, I find the 22's handle in corners a little better but that may just be me. Bolting it together and having it tubed will be alot cheaper in the long run and a lot less stressful as well.

[rdlsz24]

One of the rear tires was leaking when I got my 79 110 last year. This was my first experience with split rims. The large o-ring was still in place and in good shape, so I just used a bunch of silicone along with the o-ring and it is not leaking a year later.

Rob

[Manns50]

Ya I had done a search before posting not coming up with an answer to my question really. And I do feel a tube inside the tire ....and that rim/o-ring is missing. Someone had tubed the tire already apparently. It has a couple dry cracks in the sidewall but the tread is like new and was holding air fine.....until this tube got pinched or punctured somehow. Maybe I will try and call a tire dealer I know...think he told me once that they can mount/dismount this type of tire. And I have considered the smaller tire...just looking for the best cost option presently...but have heard that from someone else about the smaller tire handling better

[Manns50]

Rob did you dismount the tire? I can pull the rim apart somewhat....not sure how easy it would be to go the silicone route with the tire still mounted. You let silicone dry before bolting it back up I assume?

[tri again]

Rob did you dismount the tire? I can pull the rim apart somewhat....not sure how easy it would be to go the silicone route with the tire still mounted. You let silicone dry before bolting it back up I assume?

If it was mine? I'd try to slip a piece of inner tube rubber between the rim halves.
Not much room, I know, and getting the tires all the way off is not like anything else.
Normal rims have a lip the tire bead will jump off of if you can get it to loosen by an inch or so.
These do not.

Fast and super cheap. Tire stores throw out inner tubes all the time.
but I'd bring my tire/rim with me in case they wanted to fix it for real cheap.

[rdlsz24]

Rob did you dismount the tire? I can pull the rim apart somewhat....not sure how easy it would be to go the silicone route with the tire still mounted. You let silicone dry before bolting it back up I assume?

No I didn't dismount it. I was able to get it far enough apart to get my hand in there and smear the silicone around. I then bolted the halves back together, and then I also bolted it back onto the hub so that the bolts smashed the silicone together, essentially gluing the halves together lol

Rob