Topic: LOOSE SPOKES...

[cbjunkie]

STLROCKER, EINYODLER, i can't believe you guys couldn't hear my rear wheel clacking yesterday!!
you guys must be deaf! 

anyway, i figured out what it is...yep...loose spokes - yipes.

i popped the wheel off this evening, i'm going to take it in tomorrow to get a new D404 fitted and i as i was rolling it down the drive to my car, i could STILL HEAR THE NOISE. ?wha?

so i started wiggling things, grabbed it by the sproket and gave it a shake - it sounded like a baby's toy!

finally after i had wiggled all the internal parts to no avail i grabbed a spoke and it rattled in my fingers!
tried another, yep, that one too...sh*t...

so, i guess my question is, can i fix this by simply tightening the spokes? they are pretty corroded, some of them...most of them.

by the way this is a HD 16" rear i'm talking about...do i have to buy spokes or will i be able to get around by tightening these?

please advise,
thanks in advance.
junkie out...

[Einyodeler]

Must have been that earth shaking exhaust 

Tighten them till they all have the same ping.
Mine were so corroded that they broke off when I tried to tighten them so I ended up buying another rim.
The good thing about your 16" rim is the availability of aftermarket spokes.
 Check these out,the first one only has a few hours left. Nice & shiny 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-Chopper-CB450-CB500-CB550-CB750-HARLEY-Spoke-Set_W0QQitemZ220010703900QQihZ012QQcategoryZ35601QQtcZphotoQQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220003985977&ssPageName=MERC_VI_RSCC_Pr4_PcY_BIN_Stores_IT

Oh, you should never have let me ride your bike because............................


NOW I NEED TO FIND A 750    

[cbjunkie]

hahahahahaha! that's funny man...


i know, though, #$%* i only had the 350 until this one, man i thought i was gonna go sliding off the back of the seat the first time i pulled the hammer down...

thanks for the link - i actually just bid on a set about 10 minutes ago...we'll see...

[cbjunkie]

Progress report:

So last night I removed the old tire and began to prepare the hub and rim for the new spokes and tire. (I have a new Dunlop 404 ready and waiting)

The rim was S-N-O-T-T-Y inside. Crusty rust, globs, and the spoke nuts were almost completely obscured in some areas. The first thing I did was to spray it down with WD-40 and scrub it off with a wire brush. This removed a lot of the surface rust, some of it I had to scrape off with a blade, but in the end I was able to work all of the nuts loose on the threads.

Next I went around the wheel, loosening the spoke nuts. Why not just cut them? It is my intention to replace these spokes with a new set, purchased recently on Ebay, and after reading some of the other threads, I thought it might be better to leave a majority of the spokes in place until I am comfortable with the spoking pattern - the last thing I want to happen is to get most of the new ones on, only to find I've mis-spoken...(ha-ha)

The hub is now sort of "floating" in place - about 1/2 of the spokes are still attached and holding the whole thing together. When the new set comes in I should have it scrubbed clean and the rust frozen and sealed.

I have to say that getting the old tire off was a LOT more trouble than I thought it would be. Because it is a 16" tire, I was not able to fit it in the vise to break the bead and resorted to a Sawzall - yep.

I am not looking forward to mounting the new one and am considering re-spoking and then taking the hub/rim and new tire in to the shop and having them put it on and true it for me.

Are there any methods for truing a wheel at home, or are there too many special tools necessary for this operation?

[dusterdude]

junkie,our boy beachpeople did his and i think he made his own truing stand,give him a holler.

[eldar]

That might be hard. I have not seen him around lately. I could have just missed him though.