Ask Woody About Your Wheels

WOW,,,it's THANKS giving day 2013,,,and some 469,125 viewers and 3,184+ answers/replies later,,,i figured it was time to thank ALL of you and add a few observations to post #1...


in an effort to serve you all better,,,i'm offering this thread as a general place for you all to pick my brain and see what i can offer in the way of enlightenment and solutions.

Please,,,do not PM me about your questions/problems/price quotes ,,that's why this thread was created,,,ask me ??? in my PM ,then only you get the advice,,,pop your ??? here then EVERYONE get's the answer

FYI,,, i have started a variety of threads since the early days,,check em out,,,i'll add more as time permits,,,i've added some threads by others pertaining to the same subject...

for your perusal,,,

BMW:

**ALL GS's with X-laced/genuine tubeless wheels

*demystifying the bunk re: straightening /truing/rebuilding GS wheels
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=70578


*Who has had problems with cross spoke wheels?
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=601987&page=8


*GS wheel truing
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=639315

**F800GS

*Tubeless spoke wheels for F800GS
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=634150&page=8


* BMW F800GS rear wheel Bearing failures and solutions
www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=505577


**HP-2
* Hp 2 19" front wheel conversion ?
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=271145


* SuperTuff II ss sidestand brackets for HP-2
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=654825


*r80G/S, offsetting rear wheel for larger tires
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7053


*Replacing spokes on GS wheel
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69728


* Woody's 21" vs OEM 19"
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=663107

**F650GS

*21" spoked front wheel on a F650GS?
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=618481

*Flat spots on a GS rim
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=661761


*
KTM:
* Ask Woody about your KTM 19/17 wheel set-ups
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=439443

*product up-date on KTM/Caponard 19/17 tubeless wheels
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=284243


Suzuki:
*ask woody about your billet hub wire Vstrom wheels
http://www.advrider.com/forums/editpost.php?do=updatepost&postid=5920752


SUPERLACE:
*Show 'n Tell us about your Superlaced and Superlite Wheels.....
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=646947


Misc:
*
*

*who wants adjustable sidestands for their bike???
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=358866


last but not least,,,a special note of gratitude to our Moderators Arch and Gadget Boy for their helpful hints,,advice and encouragement over the years

....and in case you'all are wondering who daman with the plan is...thanks to fellow inmate Sakurama capturing me while truing his Rickman front wheel restoration...

Seeing your post I hope its appropriate for me to post here rather than separately (which I was planning to do b/c I just got a set of Woody's Wheels)...

I just mounted my Woody's Wheels 19/17 combo on my KTM 950 last Friday and absolutely LOVE them! I found Woody and Chris to be very responsive to all my telephone enquiries pre-purchase, and my most recent questions regarding 'the care and feeding' of my new wheels.

I have the Excel black rims w/Supersized Superlace tubeless Tourances - sweet setup! Handling doesn't appeared to have changed much except now with more rubber on the road she seems more grounded but certainly as responsive as before. Most notable has been at absolute dead slow speed maneuvering, she's a lot stickier, but didn't take long to get used to and figure out considering the bike is SO well balanced. Did some gravel and slimey stuff last weekend and was very please as well with how she handled. I'm heading to Alaska this up coming week so may have more comments about handling on long distance pavement - expect it to be excellent though. The few hundred km on pavement I've done so far have been great!

For those that are vertically challenged like me, the conversion to 19/17 made the most dramatic difference of all (had adjusted forks, suspension, seat, etc.) and made the bike a 'keeper'.

To sum up...they're beautiful and I love them! And it's kinda fun when people come up to look and say 'HOLY S*%#, LOOK at THOSE spokes!'. Most of my riding is long distance on pavement with some off road so having a wider choices of tires and the tubeless for repairs is really nice.

I would highly recommend Woody's Wheels to anyone that's considering them.

Jacqui

Hi Woody, I've been meaning to call you and ask you something. I have 25,000 mile on my F650GS, good amount of dirt and dirt road riding, and the wheels seem to be not as crisp. Especially the rear wheel. The spokes seem to be ok, none loose, but there is a looseness/sloppiness feel to the bike now and I'm wondering if the the spokes need to be tightened up? I realize there could be something else wearing out (swing arm bushing maybe), I know my steering head bearings are fine. Do spokes/wheels need to be tightened up periodically?

they definitely need to be checked periodically!!!

BTW,,,''PERIODICALLY'' ,,,can mean everyday,,,or every six months,,,,it ALL DEPENDS on how hard and over what kind of terrain and conditions ya ride

How often they need to be tightened and trued also depends on what happened since the last check-up,,,the quality of the previous tuning/true job,,,and even the quality /composition of the materials used for spokes/rims/nipples.

Woody,

I'd like your opinion on sealing spoke wheels, specifically on an F650 Dakar, so that they can use tubeless tires. Is this process reliable and durable? How often does the sealant need to be reapplied? Would you recomend it? I did see that you offer the service on your website. My major motivation for this is that tubeless tires are MUCH easier to repair in the field than tube types. I don't relish the idea of having to remove and replace a Dakar rear wheel in the middle of nowhere, especially without a centerstand.

Thank you for your time.

Had a similar experience but in the opposite direction. I went from 19/17 to a new set of wheels for the GS being 18/21.

For people who don't conform and ride the GS where it supposedly should not be ridden the 18/21 combo is a great improvement. If you don't ride it in difficult sandy rocky rutty and compromising off road situations stick with the 19/17, these are much better for road going work.

Thanks woody, wish I had done the 18/21 before wrecking my 19/17 wheels. Dont have any good rims for those hubs do ya?

Cheers
Pilbara

this topic has been hashed over numerous times just enter ''tubeless tires'' in the search engine,,,

tubeless tires can be as reliable as tubes,,,all these technologies are fallible,,depending on factors such as who installed the tube or sealant,,,errant tire irons,,,and what object/obstacle/incident caused you to get a flat

nail/thorn punctures are easy to seal with a plug,,,most everything else will require a tube ,,,preferably a heavy/ultra duty tube to make a repair,,,,

we no longer offer sealing on 21'' front tires for dual sport use,,,'cuz the TKC-80 tubeless tire is too flimsy for plugging and has a spotty record when used by my customers

sealing your dakar's rear wheel should be no problem if your rim has a safety bead on it,,,,$99 parts n labor,,,w

Pilbara,Surly,YellowPpig,CrASH,Afekete et al,,,please chime in,,,

BWOE,,we have found out that it all depends on just what model you own,,,,Surly has an 1150GS Adventure,,,with 30-36 Tokico calipers that threw a wrench in the works for his 21'' conversion AND his 18'' rear conversion didn't have enough clearance

here's what does work,,,doing the 21'' with oem x-laced rim works on all bikes....Yellow pig and CrASH,,,both will agree it works great off road using their oem 17 rear wheels,,,it's the simplest way to improve your offroad capabilities


we have a similar combo available in Excel rims 1.85x21 and 2.50/3.50x17 with conventional lace,,using the Monzter spokes


and Pilbara,,we can relace/repair your wheels for far less money than buying new ones,,,we have new and used rims in stock should we not be able to repair your rims,,,w

Woody,

Thanks for the quick reply. I didn't mean to rehash any old issues. It's just that I got a screw inmy rear tire on Saturday and have been frustrated by my current inability to deal with it efficiently. I certainly need to gain experience removing tires and patching tubes, but that's not something I ever had to do before.

BTW, what is a 'safety bead' and how does it differ from a normal bead?

Thanks again.

well,,if it were tubeless,,all ya need to do is:

1.. remove the screw

2,,prep screw-hole and plug

3,,apply cement to plug,,insert,,remove tool,,,and cut off excess plug

4,,drive to first place you can remove the plug and have a T-patch installed

5,,continue til your next incident that is plugable

6,,if not plugable,,,i e any hole too big for a plug,,, go to plan B and dismount wheel tire et al and install that spare tube you've been carting around,,,

7,,at earliest convenience, install a T-patch to fix the hole in your tire or else that hole will be wanting to chew a new hole in your tube

last but not least the safety bead is that little ridge,,unless ya own a KTM in which case it IS the biggest ridge that your tire has to jump over in order to seat on the bead,,this ridge helps tires from popping/sliding off the bead when you have a loss of air pressure,,,it was mainly used in tubeless applications but has of late been used universally for the same reason,,,

sweet dreams,,,woody

Woody
I noticed over on the orange crush section you mentioned that you no longer do 21 with tubless tires ....
the HP2 has this combo what are your thoughts?

Woody,

Thought my rear rotor was frigged on my 950. Took the tire and tube off, remounted rim, and ran in first gear on centerstand to file down the safety bead. I noticed the entire rim/hub/rotor ass. was out. By out, it seemed to be out of round both on the X and Y axis. I'm thinking if I just buy a new rotor, the same will happen. Guessing I'm a candidate for a rim workover? Retrue? Recommendations while keeping an eye on price?

Is is possible to take the dents out of my front 950 rim?

tubeless is a great idea,,,it has it's advantages and disadvantages,,will try to find the numerous posts on this...you can try the search engine

the advantages of plugging a pinhole are dependent on tire selection

the advantages of running low tire pressures are offset by not being able to install rim-locks if ya want to keep the advantages of running tubeless,,,,and on and on,,

get the drift,,,it's a never ending series of trade-offs,,,

we routinely repair wheels within your budget constraints,,,most rim straighten and retrue jobs run under $100,,ina and out within a day or two

we always analyse your wheel and make suggestions so ya get the most bang for your $$$$

Ok Woody, this might be a an odd question. I'm a relatively new owner of a KTM 640 Adventure, and it is too damn tall for me. I've worked with it long enough to know I'm not going to be happy with the height.

So I know about the lowering links, and I'll probably install those. I know that causes risk of slamming the rear tire into the fender, although I ride it on nothing more demanding than dirt roads. I bought it as littler option to my BMW 1150 GS.

I think the wheels are 19", although I have not measured them. Would building a smaller set of whells be an option?


I'm thinking a set of 18" wheels and lowering links would get it down to a height I would be happy with, and the smaller wheels would give me additional space before contact between the tire and fender.

Problems?

your bike comes with a 21''front 18'' rear

check out post #2 in this thread,,,going to a 19''front 17 rear,,,lowers the bike circa 19mm/3/4'' on both wheels,,,hence your steering geometry is unaffected,,,you'll end up with enhanced braking,,,better handling on the road and in the curves plus lowerto the ground,,,,,it's the most highly loved mod we do on the LC-4s and 8s,,,you do give up some handling in the real dirt,,,the 21/18 combo works better on single track and rough stuff

So I discovered 2 loose spokes last night on my front wheel. 1150 GS Adv. The wheel is slightly bent where it hit a monster pothole - when it had about 500 miles on the bike. Now it's at 6,000 and heading for a big week long dual sport trip this Saturday.

Questions:
Any reason not to snug up the loose spokes before leaving?

How long do I lose my wheel for on a rebuild?

If the ding in the rim is minor (at least in appearance) does it get repaired or replaced generally?

Is there a stronger rim to replace the BMW one? If so is that a good idea? This ding was on a monster pothole at speed (filled with water - looked like a small puddle) and the stock wheels have held up to lots of offroad use. I do tend to ride this thing through stuff where I wonder why I don't use that perfectly good KLR sitting in the garage, and the wheels have otherwise survived.

How big of a deal is shipping? It would really be a shame if I had to ride out to Colorado but I'm guessing this is pretty well figured out.

Thanks for the input.

Another ? for you.

I have a set of Behr rims from my LC4 640. (3.25x17" and 5x17" from the KTM Hardparts catalog) I was wondering how much it would cost, if possable, to swap in a set of hubs that fit my KTM 950?

Thanks Woody.

check the ktm section on my website,, www.woodyswheelworks.com

peruse the pics,,,talk with my kid chris toll free 1-866-936-0232

i'm in Vermont til july 18th...just tell him and he'll take care of you,,woody