Ask Woody About Your Wheels

you should post a picture of them. will be easier for the Doc

Woody, I'm interested in installing a later Bmw fork with a 25mm axle onto a bike which originally had a 17mm axle. Do you know whether the spoke type hub could be safely machined from a 40mm o.d. bearing size to 47mm? Also, do you know whether the newer type hub could be laced to an older type rim with the spokes in the center? Thanks much, Jonathan.

Woody,
Do you think you could do a hub and wheel set up for a 2009 Aprilia Dorsoduro?
17 or 18" rear with a 21" front.
Thanks,
Steve

NO PROBLEMOS SENOR!!!

send it in and we'll give ya close estimate to make em as near perfect as possible...actually better than "NEW" ones...all preseated/straightened etc/etc

costs circa $200-350 without seeing it...ie per your description

woody

OK...ya got me on that one ...i'm multilingual but i better google that baby...any pics or specs,,,,geez,,the dementia is getting me ,,ie send some pics /specs
woody

folks you are hitting me with a bunch of verrrryyyyyy interesting stuff tonight.

first..what wheels are we trying to fit on what bike????..then i'll tell ya what's do-able

woody

Woody, I'm thinking of putting a later model airhead fork onto an earlier airhead frame. I'm interested in using BMW parts as much as possible. My old wheel won't work as it has a 17mm axle, and the 19" rim diameter might be wrong as well. The later model, single shock airheads for road use had a 25mm axle in front and an 18" rim with the spokes mounted along the outer edge. So, at this point I'm mostly wondering whether that newer style front hub could be laced to a more traditional 1.85 or 2.15 x 18 rim with the spokes in the center of the rim, this would better match the rear wheel. Thanks again, Jonathan.

Woody thank you i will be shipping them in the Morning.....

Woody,

Is there a strength or any other issue with a used Front KTM hub from a 2002 520SX to be used for Superlacing a 19"x2.5" setup??

CHeers

PS and that's for a KTM 640 fitment using a used Excel rim!

you've got me,,,ie i can't recall ..i do know they upgraded all thir hubs around that time...i'm in vermont,,,,

call Zach at the shop..toll free # 1-866-936-0232...i know all the early LC-4 hubs were updated.,,,ie made much beefier

for a few bucks more you can always go billet

woody

jonathaon,,we can convert most ANYTHING to any thing

bring it on!!!!,,,give me the full monte

woody

Denver, Colorado, US — Current local time: 5:59 AM on Tuesday, May 19

Hmmm only another 3 hours to wait and its 10pm here!!

Hi,

I have an '08 GS Adv I am planning to do a long trip to central and south America next year with my wife and some heavy luggage of course.
Do you think it is necessary or useful to put stronger spokes in my wheels?

Thanks,
Emiliano

wanna see something that embodies my philosophy???

QUALITY: when it looks as good as it works AND works as well as it looks!!

i present Ristretto' masterpiece....19'' oem tubeless rim X-laced to oem HP2 modified sumo hub:

Emiliano,,
es mui importante,, to have reliability,,,durability and what works best on the terrain you will be covering...

the reliability and durability are the easy part for me,,,

FYI: the oem /stock wheels are a well thought out design,,,what makes them better and more durable is making sure that the spokes are all seated/set and tightend to spec before you go,,,you do NOT want loose/unseated spokes because the hammering they will receive will loosen the spökes and i know of no one out here that will be of assistance,,i say this because we have bailed out numerous souls venturing to Alaska and points south !!!,,doing that runs circa $150-200/wheel depending on how corroded the nipples are.

the Superlaced beefy 8g ss spokes and nipples are another improvement/upgrade over the oem,the beefy 8g ss spokes added to ss nipples that won't corrode/rust are what we use for super heavy loads and competition .

what i would seriously consider is going to a 21'' front wheel,,many serious round the world tourers convert to them because 21''tires are easier to get and less expensive where you will be heading
Most importantly,,, they just handle the dirt ,,,sand ,,,mud much better ,,,there are enough posts out there confirming the marked improvement in the handling department,,,keep the air pressure somewhere between 32-38psi and you are in good shape,,,OBTW,,,these wheels can be buildt BMW tubeless X-laced style using rims of the R100GS/PD in silver or black OR we can Superlace n true a nice 1.85x21 Excel rim with my Monzter spoke technique

pics will follow if you need some,,

woody

Woody, I'm about to check the torque and true on extremely low mileage wheels (550 miles) on a 07 DR650. I've got a Fasst Company adj. torque wrench and the listed oem specs are 3 ft/lbs or 36 inch/lbs.

I would like to be able to achieve evenly retorqued spoke nipples, without throwing out the probable good true of these wheels. I will have prelubed the spoke nipples and have the instructions at hand, for applying the every fourth spoke approach. Say the wheels are in true presently, should I check for the spoke "tone" first and address any that are dead sounding first, or strictly just begin with a full rotational retorque, backing off each nipple first and then bring back to 36 inch/lbs ?

Gave this new spoke torque wrench to a friend with an 07 CRF450X with 28 hours on it and only snugged spokes according to "ring" having been done up to this point. With lubed spoke nipples and breaking the nipples free before retorquing to oem specs using every fourth spoke, he ended up with the wheels out of true and had to finish by retruing in the traditional methods, loosen across draw in etc...

What are your opinions on the use of this torque wrench on these low mileage DR wheels ?

996DL

OK 996DL,,,i can see by your post #1203 that i didn't answer your questions to your satisfaction,,,so let me try again,,

i obviously answered your last question and tried to share with you the secrets of getting the job done with or without a torque wrench...

i am very curious what Faast Company provided you with instructions on using their tool.

FYI,,you have created a scenario for me and yourself that has created a whole host of extra variables to contend with and even more assumptions,,

BWOE
a,,the 'probable true' of the wheel:huh ,,it's either true/within spec or it isn't
b,,i will have 'pre-lubed' the spoke nipples,,:huh to me a pre-lubed nipple is one that is clean and has a drop of oil on it as well as on the clean spoke threads BEFORE iassemble it,,, ie so that i can count on an accurate reading which includes the oem suggested torque X the COF= the modified spec ..i bet your idea of a pre-lube is putting a drop of oil on both ends of the nipple on a wheel that most probably already has dirt that worked it's way up the threads of the nipple!!! add som hi pressure car wash and it's jammed in there even further.

YOUR EXPENSIVE TORQUE WRENCH WILL ONLY TELL YOU THE RESISTANCE between the nipple and thread +niipple head and the rim...see i just tossed another variable that can change the reading,,,, ie the resistance between the nipple head and rim where it seats, did ya get any oil there too??? 'twould change the reading...HENCE listening to the sound/pitch of every 4th spoke tells ya more real quick than looking at your torque reading
so yes start with checking the tone and getting em to sound even

c,,,your friends experience backs up what i've been trying to explain all along

REMEMBER: every time you are turning one nipple it increases the tension on some spokes a swell as decreasing others:eek1

!...the majority of torque readings are done with DRY....CLEAN nuts/bolts or spokes n nipples...lubricated stuff changes the reading as well as dirty or rusty/corroded stuff..hence you need to reconfigure your torque setting to the type of lubricant you are using,,every lubricant has a coefficient of friction

2,,,use your spoke-torque wrench to get a sense of what the manufacture called for dry...GET THE FEEL OF IT...ALL YOUR spokes SHOULD FEEL READ the SAME AFTER YOU ARE DONE TRUING THE WHEEL

3,,,the secret is to loosen then tighten,,it'll help find overtorqued spokes,,nuff said,,,get the wheel to be located properly,,,and move no less up/dowm or left/right than the manufacturer calls for...

4,,,ideally ALL the spokes must sound the same,,ie doing the same amount of work,,,minimally ,,,you want all the sets that are going CW and/or ccw to sound the same in each set....

5,,,you WANT ,,,,,ALL the spokes to be doing the SAME AMOUNT OF WORK

6,,,,YOU want ALL the spokes to be doing THE SAME AMOUNT OF WORK,,,,AND,,,have your rim be properly located in relation to the hub,,ie: called 'offset' ,,,AS WELL AS,,,,being within the manufacturers specs for latitudinal run-out ie 'wobble' AND longtitudinal run-out ie 'hop'

7,,,then get rid of the torque wrench unless you like an expensive clunky tool for truing we have short_light spoke wrenches to do the quick pre truing ,,then use an 8'#er for cranking em down

8,,,grab a beer and celebrate
woody

Woody, if I built and reconditioned spoked wheels for a living, I probably wouldn't have an adj. spoke torque wrench in my toolbox. Repetition would take of that in the long run. I'll look elsewhere for answers on the majority of questions I asked.

996DL

i redid my reply on post #1202,,,hope it sheds more light ..you can try buchanans they also sell torque wrenches,,the wheel shop,,Pro wheel,,BlackBike,,all masters at it.
woody

Jeez, how come so many gifted artisans are wound as tight as a watch's hairspring ? All kidding aside, thanks for taking the time to post your opinions and advice !

You've prompted me to find that the precision heads on the adj. torque wrench, can also be interchanged into a simple fixed spoke wrench that Faastco offers as well, I'll order one this coming week so I can have both on hand, before checking these wheels.

Despite the new to me DR being two years old, there's only about 500 miles on it and I'm stripping it for chassis servicing, accessory installs etc... I didn't go overboard with lubing the spokes, just a drop of a Tri-Flo teflon lubricant on top of each nipple to keep future corrosion at bay.

When the 2nd spoke wrench arrives, I'll apply traditional techniques to check true and tension. It's been a long time since I've touched mc wheels, but I've managed to keep my fancy ass mountain bike's wheels in true over the years and I'll find out on my own, whether I like or loathe my adj. spoke torque wrench.

996DL