Ducati Monster Forum

Got my new (to me) alloy wheels (stock were steel) rebuilt with stainless spokes/nipples (stock was cheap chrome), hubs powder coated gloss black (stock was silver), and new Pirelli Diablo Rosso tires mounted up today!  Bike feels great...

(http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n85/dietrichpfeifer/WheelBuilding/WheelBuilding6.jpg)

(http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n85/dietrichpfeifer/WheelBuilding/WheelsOn5.jpg)

(http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n85/dietrichpfeifer/WheelBuilding/WheelsOn3.jpg)

(http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n85/dietrichpfeifer/WheelBuilding/WheelsOn11.jpg)

Sweet!!!!   [thumbsup]  How much lighter are they then the stock ones?  Handeling of course will be better.

Looks sweet, Mr. Never Ending Mod Man!

 [thumbsup]

Thanks guys!  They're a little lighter, mostly because I sealed them to get rid of the inner tubes (about 2 pounds each).  The fun part was lacing them up myself...

(http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n85/dietrichpfeifer/WheelBuilding/WheelBuilding2.jpg)

(http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n85/dietrichpfeifer/WheelBuilding/WheelBuilding3.jpg)

(http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n85/dietrichpfeifer/WheelBuilding/WheelBuilding4.jpg)

Very, very cool!  What is the threadlocker you used? Looks like the bottle of iodine I sometimes haul around to purify water in the backcountry.   :P

That's actually little bottle of oil- you have to oil the threads of the spokes/nipples to get them to torque correctly and to keep the stainless from corroding.

That's a nice looking set of wheels!

Looks fantastic! [thumbsup]

Cool! I've built a whole bunch of spoked bicycle wheels over the years and used all kinds of different concoctions: sometimes oil, sometimes a product by a company called Wheelsmith that's like a very light threadlocker, but my favorite so far is linseed oil -- it lubricates the spokes & nipples during assembly/tensioning, stops corrosion, but oxidizes JUST enough to act as a really mild threadlock.

Looks like you did all the tensioning with a torque wrench; was there any need to true the wheels in some sort of a fixture like this:

(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2172/2528473485_d0da64de64.jpg?v=0)

or was it sufficient just to torque the nipples to the correct value?

I've built a couple bicycle wheels, worked in bicycle shops for about 4-5 years.   This is my first try at motorcycle wheels... You definitely need to true the wheels after torquing, but they were surprisingly round and straight when initially snugged up. 

I first laced them up loose with the same amount of threads showing on all spokes.  Next I torqued them.  The set-up you see in the pic didn't really work out, so I used a 1/4" drive in/lb wrench that just happened to fit in the unused side of a Motion Pro spoke wrench (you know how the nipples are square? Fit right in).  The only thing was I had to convert the torque value by the length of the spoke wrench due to the extra leverage.  Unfortunately my torque wrench wouldn't go down low enough to the "recommended" value, but who uses the recommended value anyway, right?  (Mine are a little over tight.  Time will tell if they hold up.)

Once laced I mounted the wheels back on the bike and trued them for both roundness and straightness by clamping a dial indicator to the bike in various positions and going round and round until I was satisfied it wasn't getting any better.

I've got a few hundred miles on them so far, and so far so good.  Bike is way more nimble and feels great.

Lookin' good [thumbsup] I have Diablo Rossos on my 675 and absolutely love them, and I used to be a diehard Pilot Power fan, you'll be very happy with those tires...

Don't take this the wrong way, but who are you? I didn't see you post in the introduction thread, and you don't list a Ducati in your profile info. Just curious as to how you found us and why you're here...

That's John, he posted on "the other board" as roaddoggpb.

How'd you seal them & make them tubeless?  If the bead on the rim is set to work with tubeless tires, I'd imagine you just have to seal the spoke holes, right?

This looks like a really cool project, one that's got me thinking.... thanks!

I'm not a troll if that's what you're asking [evil]... And didn't know that the board became segregated when people jumped ship :'(... I have a Hypermotard brochure sitting around here somewhere, is that good enough??? [coffee] [moto] [beer] [laugh]

Not at all. I didn't recognize your new name here and was wondering how you found us. All are welcome. I was just curious.
 [thumbsup]

sorry to threadjack... But I posted up in the intro thread, cause I don't think I ever did on the "other" board...

It's cool. Now back to our regularly scheduled drooling over cool wheels....