Thanks for the offer, but I'm thinking I will either get a new wheel, or fix the one I have....

Since you owned one, I have a couple questions for you.

Why are you selling it?

What did you think of the quality v OEM?

Thanks in advance for sharing your opinion on that wheel...


PS- I noticed you moved to CA from Rochester, NY. I did the same.
I moved to SoCal from Rochester, NY in 1978 with my then new '78 FXS Low Rider at the age of 21. Been in motorcycle heaven out here since... well, until recently. CA has lost its luster for me... but I don't want to get into that discussion...

 

If the OEM hoop is available, I'd do that, stainless spokes from Buchanans and have the hub powder coated.
I was in similar situation. My hoop had a flat spot, spokes looked horrible and a friend had given me a nice chrome hub off a duece.

If I can re-lace a wheel, I know you can
It really is not that difficult.

Good winter project too



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The OEM rims are still available from the MoCo, as are the spoke/nipple sets. My hub doesn't look too bad at all....

It's a gouge on the rim at a spoke nipple and rust on the spokes that I don't like... I noticed when cleaning the wheel, the gouge has caused the chrome to separate... that will only get worse.

I have seen the Buchanan website and I am partial to their spoke/nipple sets...

I have actually watched a couple wheel lacing videos, and I am not intimidated by the prospect of re-lacing the wheel myself.... It's truing up the wheel that intimidates me.... A little voice in my head tells me I should let that be done by someone with experience....

I'm sure I'm overthinking this, but......


Anyways, I appreciate your feedback....

 

Hattitude, be aware that the FX Springer has a different "laced in" Rim Offset than the other FXST models. Check your FSM.

 

Thank you.... I was totally unaware of that...

 

Nice! I made the move in 1989. Loved it when I first got here and still love the climate. But watching the direction that the state, and locally, Los Angeles has gone has me very disillusioned, (for all of the reasons that I'm guessing we'd probably agree on in the "discussion"). Once the wife and I retire in 2 - 3 years, we're out, probably heading to one of the Carolinas or Tennessee where our opinions will not be frowned upon. We currently both work in the entertainment industry and working remotely is not an option or we'd be gone already.

I was back in Rochester last week. My elderly Mom lives there, as does my sister and her family and I try to get back every 2 - 3 months for a week or so to see them and help out with things. It ws beautiful - perfect fall weather.

As for the wheel, I think it's great. The quality seems solid - spokes good and tight and chrome looks great. The only reason I'm selling it is that scratch on it - my Springer is my Sunday putt bike and I'm a bit OCD with it. I bought another of the exact same wheel because that scratch was driving me crazy. So if buying that wheel new makes sense for you, I'd say go for it.

 

I’ve been replacing or relacing wheels for awhile now. Lots of junk out there. I prefer using the stock rim and hub with Buchcanans spokes or Black Bike stainless spokes. Many of the wheels I’ve done for people are 10+ years old with no rust or pitting.
No big deal relacing if you follow your FSM directions. All the offsets are in the FSM. Buy a decent truing stand. Be sure to put a dab of synthetic lube in the nipple hole to ease trueing.Have a good clean flat surface to do the job on. There are several you tube videos available to help out.
Oh yeah if possible take measurement to your fork leg before taking wheel off to check your offset and look at the center position of the disc.

 

Thank you all for sharing your opinions and experience.

Based on all I read here, I decided on getting a set of Buchanan's spokes, a new OEM rim, keeping the current hub, and doing the wheel myself. I got the time and the motivation to learn, so I decided to go for it...

I read the factory service manual and watched a few videos. The factory service manual is pretty good at explaining the offsets for the various wheels, and how to set it.

I sent an email off to Buchanan's with a question, and decided to wait for their reply before ordering parts....

Then it happened...

It was raining this morning, so instead of going on a Sat ride with some friends, I had a bit of time on my hands....

I just spent about an hour with my Springer on the floor jack, and my old butt in a rolling chair... I used a few brass wire wheels and some Mother's polishing compound... just to see what I could do...

Damn, that front wheel came real clean... the spoke rust was all surface rust, came off pretty quickly/easily, and the wheel looks pretty good now.... Based on how they looked, I thought the spokes were trashed... turns out that was just not the case...

In a month or two when it's time for the new tires, I'll pull the wheels and be able to do an even better/easier job of cleaning and "polishing" those spokes.

So for now at least, the spoke replacement and wheel re-lacing has been put on hold....

I appreciate all your advice and experience. You gave me the information I needed and the confidence to be the one rebuilding the wheels, should I decide to have them rebuilt in the future...

Thanks again...

 

Wow good news. My spokes have rust on them as well. I’ve been putting off dealing with it as the rims are fine. It’s just when you look up close do you see it. Maybe I’ll have to try giving them a polish as well.

 

FWIW...

I worked the rust on the spokes with brass wire wheels on my Dremel. That removed the unsightly rust and there was just a trace of faded rust marks etched into the spokes. It was obvious the rust was surface rust and didn't compromise the spoke integrity.

I then hand rubbed them with Mothers mag polish. In a couple spots I used the shoelace method. I didn't really get a good "polish" on them due to them still being mounted on the bike.

I cleaned up the chrome rim with Mother's Chrome Polish, then put some clear nail polish on the gouge spot, to hopefully seal the small area with compromised chrome.

I was so impressed with this quick fix, I decided to put the new rim/re-lace on hold.

When I remove the wheels for new tires next month (or two), I will use a set of 1/4" drill, brass brushes to go over the rust spots again. I also bought a wheel buffing set for my cordless drill, with various sized polishing wheels. I will be able to give the spokes a much better polish off the bike with these. Plus I can do them outside... so I won't care about flying polish griming up my shop and other bikes....

I suspect they will look even better after that....

Good luck with your wheels...