Spokes

[hughes]

Hey Guy's. If I remove the rear wheel,tire and tube can the spokes be removed one at a time  I do not what to just remove all spokes down to a naked hub and start over. I am thinking I can keep the wheel ture if I replace one at a time.

[alan]

I have replaced broken spokes on the bike from time to time! I am not sure if I would try to replace them all one at a time!  I would just  bite the bullet and take it to a pro, because it is truly a pain in the butt!

Alan

[hughes]

That's what I figured.

[KXcam22]

Hughes,
  Pulling out individual spokes is next to impossible. In many cases the other spokes get in the way and you have to bend them to get them in. Suggest you follow Alan's advice and take it to a pro. Cam.

[Rick]

Guys,

Relacing a wheel is really not very hard at all.  I just swapped my 19" for an 18" and laced it up sitting on the floor while watching TV.  The key is that the initial installation does not result in tight spokes.  I initially screwed the nipples on until the threads were just covered.  Once all of the spokes were in place, I put the assembly on the swingarm and slowly tightened all each spoke while periodically spining the wheel to check runout.  Remember, we ride dirt bikes, to the wheel doesn't need to be perfect.  

Rick

[Timbowe]

Same here. But in the shed. Not watching the telly.

[Kawadougie]

Over the years I've replaced many rims on many different bikes.  Like Rick, I replaced the stock 19" rear rim with an 18".  It was the easiest one I've ever done.  Kawasaki drills the hubs so it holds the spokes in the proper position to insert into the rim.  On other bikes you have to tape the spokes in the proper position.  You can replace individual spokes but you need to loosen all of them in order to remove them.  Trueing a rim isn't that hard either, particularly when all of the spokes have a simple cross-two pattern and are the same length.  Try an old Husky drum brake cross-four pattern and you'll understand what I mean.  Rick is also right about using the swingarm as a trueing stand.  Check your runout for side to side as well as up and down.  Hold a pencil on the swingarm and rotate the wheel.  Move the pencil in until it touches the side of the rim.  Tighten up three or four spokes opposite of where the marks are, clean off the rim and check it again.  Once you get it close, you can tap the spokes with the spoke wrench and hear the tone.  It should be a nice clear "ping!" tone.  If you hear a dull thunk, you need to tighten up that one.  Once all the spokes have the same tone, the wheel should be true.  

Unless the rim is bent...

[ebers17]

Whats the advantage of you guys putting a 18" rim on vs. a 19"?

[hughes]

With the 18 wheel you get more shoulder area with the tire. Might be able to run lower air psi and not pinch the tube or dent the rim in rocky area's.

[KXcam22]

Lacing up wheels is failrly easy, just take your time. When I lace wheel If find it is nice to draw a diagram or take a couple of pics so you can easily get the spoke pattern correct.  I also like to put twist ties or small tywraps at the spoke crossing to keep things lined up while you are getting the rim ready to lace up.  With my 19" I have to run a higher air pressure to preserve the rim.  On past bikes with 18", I could typically run lower air pressure.  I believe the 19" was intended for MX and supercross racing where the shorter sidewall of the 19" tire makes the tire lighter and flex less, like performance car tires.  On orange bikes, the MX models have 19" rears and the off-road models come with 18".  Cam.

[stuckthrottle]

I managed to buy a hub and 18" wheel for my K5. I just need to buy the spokes and lace it up. Both the wheel and the hub are stock kawi and was wondering which spokes I need to buy. Will the stock 19" (202mmx) fit, do they need to or can they be trimmed? Do other bike makes fit? And what aftermarket spokes can I use?

Thanks.

[Paul]

Call Jeff 866/monkey1 and he'll hook you up. I got my bulldog stainless steel spokes from him.

[alan]

We need to start a spoke bank for guys with broken spokes! I have a couple of broken ones on my project bike and I hate to buy a whole set when I need 2 spokes!

[gowen]

Alan, I have some oversized spokes I believe. If you would like a few I'd be more than happy. I also have a 19in' rim w/ spokes if you want me to get a few I'd be happy to.

On another note: Every dirtbike I've gotten that had bad/loose spokes I've replaced with Excel spokes that are about 1.5 times thicker than stock spokes and they NEVER break or come loose. Just a thought. I've replaced about 5 rims with them. Very satisfied.

[Ramski]

I laced up my current wheel set myself after some convincing from my brother and glad I did it myself.  Time consuming but actually pretty easy.  I did screw up a little in the fact that my rim is slightly off center from hub in the rear.  It's actually kind of nice since it's dished out away from the silencer so that now, the tire does not rub the it.