Wheel Building?
 

I had a couple of spokes break on the rear wheel and sent off for a set of polished stainless spokes to repair as necessary. Now I have the tyre off and have had a good look, the wheel is in an appalling state - I can grab the rim and literally shake the hub around. Many spokes are loose and almost all are seized in the nipples.

I am proposing to replace the broken spokes first, and then go round the wheel a bit at a time, cutting out the old spokes and replacing with new ones as I go. I'll have to do the tensioning by feel, but I will try and make them all the same. (I'll measure the hub offset first, just in case it all goes tits-up.) Final truing will have to be done with the wheel back on the bike, as I don't have a wheel stand. I'll try to balance it all with the old balance weights, but it will be a bit hit-and-miss. Does this matter a great deal? The bike rarely goes over 60-70 mph.

Does this sound feasible? I have had some experience in truing bicycle wheels with reasonable success, so I know the basic principles, but I've never had to rebuild a motorcycle wheel before. If anyone with any experience of wheel building could offer any advice or gotchas, I'd be very grateful.

I built my first motorcycle wheel using a rusty rim (snad-blasted and powder coated), and a seperate hub, and a selection of recycled spokes for my Ural.

I did it all using a wooden wheel-balancer, made from wood lying around the house!!

I am no skilled wheel builder, but my result came out pretty well using the information oon this webpage:
Spoke Wheel Re-building and Truing - webBikeWorld

As for balancing, if you are using the same tyre on the same rim, as long as you try to keep the same spokes for the same holes (where possible), I would say just mark the tyre with chalk and a corresponding mark on the rim, and then mount the tyre to match this mark on re-assembly, and I think you will be 98% percent there...

HTH

Thanks for the link - that looks like a great resource. I have plenty of wood knocking around, so a rough jig would be a possibility. As to the tyre - I am hoping to change to a more off-road pattern this time (XTC80 rather than TrailWing), so I can't follow your trick. I seem to remember reading that tyres have a spot marking a crucial balance point, but I can't remember if this should be at the same side as the valve or opposite the valve.

Cheers.

I have the front/rear wheels balanced. Handling has improved and the tires seem to behave better over 50 mph. I'd avoid using a rim lock, which adds to the problem of balancing the wheel.

Disco

I'm going to keep the old weights that are there at the moment and make a crude stab at balancing once the tyre is fitted. If it isn't right afterwards, I'll get it done properly. I haven't got a rim lock at present, and don't intend to fit one. I never run the pressures low enough. Thanks for the advice.

Hi, I've just noticed a bust spoke on my rear wheel this weekend, I've ordered a replacement, but am stil wondering if it wouldn't be better to get a Honda Techy to do it for me....

I'm courageous, and have done many a bicycle wheel alignment but Transalp rear wheel is another story.

I'd like to tempt it, I figure it's good practice. Hell knows how I'm gonna build a chock to align the wheel after, I'm figuring tightening the spoke and then put the wheel back on, I have centre stand so the back wheel can run free, I could align it like that couldn't I.

Novice with a want to learn and save a techy hourly wage.

(Changed my tyre the other day, with an oil change, it all cost me 220€)

Most of that was wheel and man hours. The oil change cost me 50€.

So I'm considering doing my repairs Moi-Meme.

Any thoughts from the experienced?

Cheers.

Patrick.

If you make a rig, it needs to be made in such a way that, once slipped onto its axle the wheel will be dead vertical. Where you mount the axle onto the rig, the axle should sit on top of two, low friction bearings that are side by side. Two at one end of the axle and two on the other, so that the axle's only point of contact with the rig is the outer races of two parallel bearings either side, ensuring the wheel will spin very freely, making you balancing more accurate.

Once your wheel is ready to be re-tyred, then mount the wheel on the balancer, and spin it genly. Let it settle. Mark the bottom part (6 o'clock) and repeat. If the same point settles at the lowest point that is the heaviest part of you rim and wheel. The mark on the tyre is the lightest part of the tyre, and should be mounted next to that heavy spot. Basically you are offseting as much of the wheel imbalance to start with by using the imbalance in the tyre.

You could match it to the valve, but I prefer the method above. It's worth remembering that although the valve might be a bit heavier than other parts of the wheel, there was also a section of rim metal drilled out to allow for the valve, so the valve difference is not so great.

When balancing keep spinning the wheel gently till it stops and incrementally adding weights opposite the lowest point on the wheel, until you can spin it freely and your wheel doesn't really stop in the same spot over and over again. If it keeps stopping with a weighted area at the bottom (ie heaviest) then you could remove a single weight also.

Perhaps only add weight every other spin if you can see that it keeps stopping in the same position.
I find that correction fluid is a good marking agent to mark the rim as it spins. Its easy to clean off but visible on any wheel.

HTH

If its just one spoke I would say it should be fine. Just dont over tighten it and spin it on the axle, on the bike to see if it is true, horizontally and vertically afterwards...

Unless you tighten the hell out of it, I doubt it would influence the trueness....

HTH

Blackdog,

Be sure to check your "backspace" measurement BEFORE tearing the existing wheel appart...didn't do mine and it was a huge pain to get right. Also, there is a very easy way of lacing the wheel that can be found on Dan's Motorcycle Good luck!

Cheers Warthog - just what I need to know. Thanks.

If you mean what I call hub offset, then yes, I had already factored that in! The page is another good one - many thanks for the tip.

Cheers