Spokes that fit without drilling?

[oic0]

I'm looking for a new set of spokes. The reviews for Excel sound pretty crappy, something about the nipples being to fine threaded. Pro wheel also got a few negative reviews bout poor threads. That leaves Buchanan but I can't find any info on if they fit our wheels without them being drilled? Do they fit or should I just shell out the big$$ for OEM?

My current plan is to buy a set, lace it myself, and pay a bicycle shop to true it (if I can find one willing). Some kinds fellows gave me some of their spare spokes but as I'm working on it I think mine just aren't salvageable. I think it will be a constant battle of never ending spoke work unless I just buy a new set.

On a good note, I got my engine back together. Now I just need to put the rest of the bike back together, replace the fork seals, check the linkage bearings, and replace the spokes.
 

[BDI]

A bycicle shop will not have the proper stand for truing a motorcycle wheel.

[oic0]

Dang, a street bike shop maybe? The dirtbike dealers around here all have the rule that they won't touch anything unless you buy all the parts through them. Can't think of how to get them to do it without bringing them the complete wheels, paying for disassembly, lacing, truing, and 20% markup on two spoke kits.

[bigbellybob]

If you make a wooden jig first you can get dam close with out the truing stand. First take a measurement with the rotor sitting on something flat take note of how high the rim is from the flat surface. Then make a X that is L?ed at the ends so that the outer rim sits snugly in side. Place a dowel in the center to center the hub. Then build up the ends of the X so the unlaced rim is sitting as high as it was when you measured it. Now you can get the spokes all started lay the rim in your jig and tighten them up. This gets you very close to perfect as long as you started with a true rim when you made the jig.

Very bad drawing but hopefully you get the idea.

[oic0]

I went ahead and bought the Buchanan ones. Don't know if I'll have to drill or not but there were too many bad reviews on the others.

[Rd]

I used the pro spokes from RMATV on the wheels for my 90 K5. The rear was not an issue and the front had to be drilled.
I may get one of these.

 http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/productDetail.do?&navType=type&webTypeId=168&navTitle=Tools%2FShop&webCatId=22&prodFamilyId=26856

[Goat]

Looks like a nice stand RD. I may get one myself.

Hopefully you are able to get your wheels done for a reasonable price oci0. I hate when businesses turn people away because they didn't buy product from them. Money is money but because they don't get to overcharge you for the parts they tell you to find someone else.

[BDI]

when you build a wheel the first thing you want to do before taking the wheel appart is figure out what the offset is in MM. when you take the wheel appart lay the spokes out in a way that you know where they came from. You will have inner and outer spokes and left and right spokes. Sometimes they can be all different lengths so keeping every thing in order will help you figure out what length spokes go where. when you put the wheel back together start at the valve stem hole and make sure each spoke goes out away from the valve stem hole. If you build the wheel with the spokes crossing the hole you will have problems putting air in the tire or putting the bead lock in not to mention it's just not right. Once you get all the spokes in you want to run the nipples down until you get to the last thread on each spoke   (I use antiseize on my nipples ).Once you have done this then you know all your spokes are at the same length. then you take a marker and number three spokes in a row 1,2 and 3 then you start going around the wheel skipping to every third spoke nipple and give it a turn. Once you go all the way around move to the second spoke and do it again then to the third spoke. after you go around all three times you will have hit every spoke on a 36 spoke wheel. keep doing this until you get tentioned, once the wheel is tentioned then you true the wheel. You true the wheel by loosening the spokes on one side and equily tightening on the other side. once the wheel is true its time to set the offset, you do this by loosening all the spokes on one side and tightening them all on the other. make sure you do everything you do equily if you loosen a spoke on one side half a turn then you need to tighten the spoke on the other side half a turn or the wheel will not turn out right. Do not over tighten the spokes or the wheel will crack do to lack of flex in the wheel. wheels need to flex some to live. Have fun and if you read all that you are a trooper. dont forget wheels have a break in period. you have to stay on top of spoke tention as the spokes stretch in. if you do this right you will have a trouble free wheel for a long time.

[don46]

Brian has outlined it pretty good if you follow those instructions you will get the job done. A couple of other notes, Buchanan Spokes are first rate and probably the best I've used, some of the less expensive have a tendancy to strectch more. typically spokes are a cross 2 pattern, sometimes you get spokes that require a cross 3 pattern, these are supposed to be stronger than a 2 pattern, all this means is that each spoke will cross 2 or 3 other spokes, so if you try to do a cross 2 with cross 3 spokes they will be to long. As Brian mentioned, anti seize is your friend, not today but later as you need to tighten your spokes. And the offset is so critical, if you go in with no idea your bike may not track straight.

 I don't like the stand you for the link that RD posted, or maybe I'm not seeing all of it, but it appears the shaft is floating and since I use a dial indicator to true my wheels I would constaly be changing it even rolling the tire over would cause it to change. The stand I use has fixed points so when tightened the hub stays in a constant position.

Most wheels are extruded and rolled so there is always a spot that is flat where they weld them together, Sun Rims are the truest I've seenm they to are made by Buchanan.

[oic0]

All of that sounds like a headache and room for me to screw up. Does the replacing them one at a time method avoid all of that? Also, what goes wrong and what feels wrong when one is out of true or spaced improperly? I can't tell anything is wrong with my bike even riding at high speed so does that mean they are relatively true right now?

[Rd]

This is a good tutorial.
http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=583471&highlight=true+wheel+90+minutes

[BDI]

I like what he was saying about the truing stand. For a long time I used my bench vice turned sideways with a 3/4" piece of all thread and two nuts. I would use the wheel spacers and tighten the nuts on each side of the wheel. It don't matter if the allthread didn't really fit the hole as long as the spacers and bearings were all lined up, wich they do automaticly. Then you just clamp something off the bench to check it.

[Rd]

That was my concern about the stand also Don. If you were trueing a wheel on it  any side to side motion would be undesirable. I am sure a mig and a metal tab on either end could fix that.

[maddoggy]

that tusk stand would be a really nice tool if it was modified a little with clamps on both ends and make a new shaft that you could use nuts to tighten the wheel in the center position. let the hub do the rotation duty like its supposed to do. not sure if you guys get what i am saying.

[don46]

that particular stand is also used to balance wheels, albeit a static balance that would still be better than no balance, i'm refering to street bike tires, dirt tires are a different animal. my stand is made of square tubing shaped like triangles about a foot apart and at the top of the triangle are acme threaded collars and shafts to go into the wheel bearings, a very simple machine that could be duplicated. Its worked for years for me.