Triumphrat

07-10-2006

[ This message was edited by: scort on 2006-09-27 10:04 ]

Wombat · 07-11-2006

Check with your local dealer or if no luck there call Eurosport cycles in DFW.

Mojoinco · 07-11-2006

Check with local chopper shops and dirt bike shops. You might want to look around for an aluminum rim. Would be lighter. And you can get some mighty purty spokes too! Would make it 'custom'.

This is doable at home, but can be frustrating. My grandfather got his first mechanics job that way. He was the delivery guy for a pharmacy (~late thirties) on his Indian. While waiting for deliveries he would hang out at the neighboring scooter shop. One day the owner had a wheel that needed to be laced but got called away to do something else. While gramps was hanging out he went over and started lacing it up before he got a delivery call. When the owner came back and saw the wheel and found out gramps had done the work, he hired him. He learned it fixing his sisters bicycles on the farm.

You can attempt to true the rim, as it's not that hard, just very detailed. You probably wont get it all out, but you might make it better (it's already broke, right?). It's all about nuance and progressiveness as you work your way around the wheel. I start by marking the wheel (spin it, holding a fine marking pen along the fork on both sides of the rim). Look for the pattern (you already know you have flat spots, but this verifies it). On both sides and see if they are reflections of each other (the lines will not be on both sides at the same spot if it is out laterally, they show a different center if the lines waver vertically by going up and down along the rim edge, and has a flat spot if both sides have marks on them). Take a small wrench (10 mm will do) and listen as you tap each of the spokes (take a kids bike and try it, you may need a larger one for a motorcycle spoke). You will want a short wrench for the spoke wrench (gives more room to work, but mostly it will be handier). If the sound is real sharp (high) then it is tight, if it makes a real dull thunk or you see it actually move, it is loose. And that may be an indication of the problem that caused it, or an indication of the result (meaning if the rim has a flat spot from hitting something, then the spokes in the flat spot will be loose)

The rim area (not the edge of the rim, but the bead area) is where you want to worry about, as that will be what holds the tire in position (don't worry about the appaerance so much as the effect).

This would be a real good thing to practice on a kids wheel (plenty of kids with loose spokes on there bike). Not difficult, just detailed. You don't want to leave any loose spokes, which is what you end up with if you try to use the spokes to return what is a wasted rim with the spokes. You can make it better though ( or at least minimize it).

Use a drop of loctite (the low or medium torque color) on the spoke nipple. A drop of clear lacquer will work as well as a thread locker.

MickMaguire · 07-11-2006

Quote:

On 2006-07-10 22:48, scort wrote:
looks like it was made in Italy? Is that OEM?

yes

jimmyj900 · 07-11-2006

Quote:

My front wheel is out of round, infact the rim is flat in 2 spot on the bead

Mojoinco gave some good instructions for truing an out-of-round rim, but that's not going to help you much if your flat spots are from ramming curbs and potholes. That tends to spread the lips of the rim and needs to be taken care of before you can adjust the spokes properly.

If the rim is spread (wider in the flat spots) you can sometimes correct it with a large vise. Using copper jaws or a couple of blocks of wood to protect the finish, gently squeeze the spread area, check it and repeat. There's spring to the rim so be careful or you'll narrow the bead area too far.

If you don't want to tackle it or things go all pear-shaped, consider sending it out for repair.

I had major wheel damage to Mutato after the crash so I sent my rim out to http://thewheelmaster.com for repair with EXCELLENT results. Checking the wheel on my DIY balancer showed it was probably better than factory specs.

I can't remember the cost of having wheelmaster do it, but it was less than half the cost of the Triumph replacement wheel at about $450.

Jim

07-14-2006

Thanks Guys I have just found out that the T dealership
wants 750 for a new front wheel and 400 for just the rim

I will try to true it out myself...

I needed an excuse to buy a bigger vise... :hammer:

jimmyj900 · 07-14-2006

Quote:

Thanks Guys I have just found out that the T dealership wants 750 for a new front wheel and 400 for just the rim

I just found some notes and the Wheelmaster repair was $100, so you might want to reconsider that option.

Jim