Well I have decided that since I have been such a good boy that I deserve a present and so that is to get my rims and hubs powder coated red which is what I have wanted since I first seen the bike. My question is to all you is there any things that I need to be aware of when removing the rims? Hints or tips? After I get them off of the bike I then will have the tires removed from the rims and then I will be removing all the spokes. Is there any tips here as to an order to remove them or ??? I have a company here local that relaces and trues rims so they will be re-lacing the rims when that time comes.
Also, what do I need to do for the hubs, as far as what to remove from them and not and for all the holes in the rims and hubs is there something that can be inserted into the holes so that they do not get clogged up? or at least hints for this?
Thanks for any your time to respond, it is greatly appreciated.

 

I would remove the bearings from the hub. Make sure you bag and mark them so you know what side of the hub you removed them from. Same with the spacers.

Buy a Service Manual for your bike that would really help you.

Tomt

 

Tomt,

Thanks for the info. I have planned on taking alot of digital pics of the whole process and I will be marking everything, how and where it came from. I do have a service manual and will be using it, I just did not know if there may be something that is not explained very well in it that someone may know of that I should be aware of.
Thanks for your time to respond.

 

Hey stanger got the email add. thanks........what color spokes........LO

 

If you are going to have someone else build your wheels then don't worry about the spoke pattern. However, if you want to relace them yourself do this:
Take a few photos of both sides of each wheel before you begin to remove the spokes.
Notice how many times a spoke crosses the other spokes. This is going to be 3 times most likely. Thus, this is known as a 3 cross pattern.
On a 40 spoke wheel you are going to have 20 spokes with a short neck and 20 spokes with a long neck. The long neck is there to allow this cross I mentioned above. All of these will point in the same direction.
If you have a factory manual the instructions are in there to allow you to build your own wheels. If it were me this is what I would do. It is very simple to do. run up the nipples to the same approximate point on each spoke and then just count turns on each nipple as you lace it up. This keeps the hub more or less centered within the rim and keeps the final true from driving you nuts. You can make yourself a truing stand to finish up the wheel(s). See what I did by clicking on my photo album link.

For the powder coat of the hubs (and rims too for that matter) you want the powdercoat guy to keep wood toothpicks in all of the spoke holes and small dowels in the nipple holes in the rims. I would make sure that the inside of the hubs and bearing seating areas are well covered with tape also.
The powdercoat is really brittle and if any of the stuff gets into the spoke holes you are going to regret ever doing powdercoat.
Good luck..........pg

 

Piniongear,
Thanks for the hints and tips. I have just but one question left. I will have the rims off the bike today and the tires off shortly there after and then will begin to remove the spokes. Is there a pattern to follow or ?? or ???
Again, to all who have helped, I thank you all!!!!!

 

Stanger....
What I suggest is that you get yourself a small container of Triflow oil and put a drop on each nipple at both where the spokes go into the nipple and a drop where the nipple comes out of the rim. A drop at each place is plenty. Let it sit for five minutes and then begin to remove each nipple.
You do not really need to do these in any order, as when respoking the rim, but I always prefer to take it apart in the reverse order that you must use to respoke it.
1) Position the wheel assy with the brake disc FACING DOWN on the bench. Make note of the valve stem hole position in the rim.
2) Remove all of the nipples on the spokes in the top row of spokes. By top row I refer to the hub. It has two rows of spoke each side.
3) Remove all of the nipples on the bottom row of spokes. You are halfway done with the breakdown at this point.
4) Flip the wheel over and do the other side in a similar fashion. At some point you can move the rim, but I suggest you just remove the ALL of the nipples first because they will have to come off to enable the disassembly.
Do not lose any spokes or nipples. Yeah, I know you have them in a can, but find a lid for that can. It will be awhile before you need these parts again and these things seem to walk off.
Let me know if you need anything else..............pg

 

BRAVO PINIONGEAR! Very well explained, that explanation is getting me thinking I can do this myself.

 

Rudedog.....
Yessir, you certainly can do it yourself. When you are through you will really feel good about your efforts after building a wheel. Most people are intimidated by this subject, but it is a very easy thing to do.
You are going to need a good quality nipple wrench of the proper size and you also need a true stand. This does not need to be the $300 plus model from Harley either. I made mine homemade in my shop in about three hours. Part of the fun of doing it yourself.
All cycle riders need to be self dependent. We all should strive to do as much as possible ourselves and save trips to the dealer.
I feel really strong about that.................pg

 

I can build a truing stand, I happen to be a metal fabricator so this project is right up my alley.
You wouldn't happen to have a picture with some measurements for this little item would you?