Author Topic: Unlaced wheel. Can I reuse the spokes? (Read 9448 times)

BrandonB13 · « **on:** January 22, 2011, 06:20:08 PM »

I'm new to motorcycle repair/maintenance. I'm polishing the rims and hubs and i want to know if I should buy new spokes or if I can reuse the old ones.

fire113 · « **Reply #1 on:** January 22, 2011, 06:26:03 PM »

Hi Brandon,

I don't know how Your spokes look like, picture please.

...Georg

BrandonB13 · « **Reply #2 on:** January 22, 2011, 06:45:25 PM »

They were painted black. I plan on stripping and polishing them. No rust

MCRider · « **Reply #3 on:** January 22, 2011, 06:59:39 PM »

Assuming little to no rust, I've never heard of any reason not to reuse the spokes. I'd do it in a minute.

Roach · « **Reply #4 on:** January 23, 2011, 01:01:37 AM »

i wouldnt use the spokes again if they were the originals they tend to stretch if you dont put them back into the exact place they came out of you will never get that rim trued properly just my 2 cents

cobrajunkie · « **Reply #5 on:** January 23, 2011, 02:52:45 AM »

wow... really? Spokes will stretch to the point they can't be adjusted to true a wheel? Even if the wheel was true to begin with? I was looking to do do the same.

Kevin400F · « **Reply #6 on:** January 23, 2011, 03:46:25 AM »

I think it depends a lot on what you find under the black paint. Polishing will make them look good temporarily, but if original plated finish was bad, then polishing will remove more of the remaining protective plating, exposing bare steel, and the spokes are going to start rusting. An option might be to strip and polish them and coat them with clear paint.

I would not worrry about issues with stretching...you're going to have to true the wheel anyway. Just check afterwards to see if any of the spoke ends are protruding excessively through the spoke nipples and touch them up with a Dremel or similar tool.

Kevin

Kong · « **Reply #7 on:** January 23, 2011, 06:33:06 AM »

Quote from: Roach on January 23, 2011, 01:01:37 AM

i wouldnt use the spokes again if they were the originals they tend to stretch if you dont put them back into the exact place they came out of you will never get that rim trued properly just my 2 cents

I don't think that is accurate. If the rim was undamaged when it was disassembled there shouldn't be any reason the parts can't be resused.

Used spokes should not be stretched appreciably* and a rim that has been relaced using them can certainly be trued properly by anyone with the patience to do it.

* obviously don't reuse any that are bent.

Really? · « **Reply #8 on:** January 23, 2011, 08:01:12 AM »

To me, it depends on the condition and how much you wanna spend on the spokes. Some are cheap and some are not.

Kong · « **Reply #9 on:** January 23, 2011, 08:30:34 AM »

Yep. What do you want to spend?

The cheapest I've seen spokes selling for is $30 a set*, Buckanon's sells a set of stainless spokes and nipples for between $98 and 116**. A good wire brush should set you back five bucks and a can of spray paint about the same, your time has gotta be worth something - I would charge $10 an hour just to sit and fiddle with my banana.

* Link, see the 8th and 9th items on the list: http://www.partsnmore.com/parts/honda/cb750k/?filters[category]=chassis

** Link: http://www.buchananspokes.net/products/spoke_kits_honda_cb.asp

Stev-o · « **Reply #10 on:** January 23, 2011, 08:36:36 AM »

I'd buy new:

http://www.cb750supply.com/products/2/chassis-brakes/61/wheel-spokes

Really? · « **Reply #11 on:** January 23, 2011, 08:45:36 AM »

I would like to know who has the ones at 750 supply and what they went through to lace the wheel. I have done the back but not the front. I have to go back over the spokes on the front once in a while cause the rust comes back.

The spokes for the back wheel took a lot of cutting and grinding to get them down flat enough at the nipple. Those were TAS spokes.

BrandonB13 · « **Reply #12 on:** January 23, 2011, 09:09:28 AM »

750supply is out of stock on the fronts. Anyone know of another affordale source.

Stev-o · « **Reply #13 on:** January 23, 2011, 09:11:12 AM »

Quote from: BrandonB13 on January 23, 2011, 09:09:28 AM

750supply is out of stock on the fronts. Anyone know of another affordale source.

Did you check Parts n More? Kong posted link above.

BrianAdair · « **Reply #14 on:** January 23, 2011, 09:13:17 AM »

I re-used my front spokes, cleaned them up and polished them in a tumbler, It trued just fine, I have it within .015.

PartsNmore.com has spokes also for $30

Stev-o beat me to it guess I type slow...

Roach · « **Reply #15 on:** January 23, 2011, 11:16:36 AM »

im just saying they strech from personal experiance.

i had problems with there not being enough threading on the spokes to properly true the wheel went to new spokes rim trued right up. plus if you went and put all that trouble in getting the rim off polishing the hub and re doing the rim why put a 30+ year old spoke set on?

Kong · « **Reply #16 on:** January 23, 2011, 11:52:36 AM »

Roach,

I'm not trying to deny your experience, but it seems to me if there wasn't enough thread for the nipples to grab when you tried to reuse the old spokes that would indicate that they shrank, not stretched.

Am I missing something here?

Roach · « **Reply #17 on:** January 23, 2011, 12:03:00 PM »

yes i screwd them down to the point on atleast 4 where the threads stoped on the bottom anyways its all said and done new sets look better then old pitted rusted spokes

camelman · « **Reply #18 on:** January 23, 2011, 07:25:14 PM »

I spent a lot of time trying to clean up a couple sets of spokes. I actually powdercoated the spokes for one wheel, but screwed up the powder for the second wheel. I would have used them with the powdercoat if it had worked out for both, but I ended up buying a new set because I couldn't remove the powdercoat on the set I screwed up. Now, if I were to do it again, I would never have tried to powdercoat them. It took entirely too much time to prep them correctly.

Camelman

faux fiddy · « **Reply #19 on:** January 23, 2011, 08:10:25 PM »

Off/ on topic...

I remember a tool at the bicycle shop that you used with long spokes. You would put them in at the measured distance and crank a handle and it would cut and thread the end with one crank or two.

Can't remember that much more about it. Prolly built by park or campagnolo.

Kong · « **Reply #20 on:** January 24, 2011, 04:41:38 AM »

Quote from: tree fiddy of industry on January 23, 2011, 08:10:25 PM

Off/ on topic...

I remember a tool at the bicycle shop that you used with long spokes. You would put them in at the measured distance and crank a handle and it would cut and thread the end with one crank or two.

Can't remember that much more about it. Prolly built by park or campagnolo.

That tool was called a "spoke roller" if my memory serves me correctly. I haven't seen one in years but they used to be pretty common, at least common enough that an old ape like me can remember something about them.

MattFreeman · « **Reply #21 on:** January 24, 2011, 06:50:51 AM »

On a same but different note, I've built over 100 bicycle wheels and prefer to never re-use spokes. And I won't guarantee any build that reuses them.

When the wheel is completely de-tensioned and then re tensioned the memory of the metal is such that it compromises the strength of the metal. Also the spoke and hub "settle in" together and when you put a spoke in a different hole from whence it came you mismatch the "groove" and will run into problems here as well.

Different but the same.

BrandonB13 · « **Reply #22 on:** January 24, 2011, 07:09:33 AM »

Parts n more are out of stock also.

Stev-o · « **Reply #23 on:** January 24, 2011, 06:25:34 PM »

Quote from: BrandonB13 on January 24, 2011, 07:09:33 AM

Parts n more are out of stock also.

What is everyone rebuilding wheels?!?

Call Bike bandit?:

http://www.bikebandit.com/search-products?q=honda%20spokes&ch=0&sc=0

News:

Author Topic: Unlaced wheel. Can I reuse the spokes? (Read 9448 times)