Soft rims

[Tremor38]

For my riding, I could go either way. I think the strongest argument for spoked wheels is not the spokes themselves, but the rims, which can be straightened if you're in the middle of nowhere. I don't ever see myself in that situation in the county I live in. From a cosmetic stand-point, I prefer the look of spokes on a bike in this category.

 

[Tremor38]

Don't know all the science behind it, but dirt bikes have spoked wheels. I do know that much.

Second, I know this........those wheels on that Yamaha Beast on the back porch are gorgeous. And they even look better with Heidenaus mounted. (The wallpaper on the desktop at work is Wasp's S10 with TKC's.....even nicer looking)

8000+ miles. Bike is nice and dirty all the time even though the daily commute is all tarmac. Spokes are all good.

I check em.

That's pretty much where I'm at ::014::

 

[pluric]

I've posted in the "Check your spokes" thread as well. I bent both my rims on the S10 the rear the worst.
I did lose a rear spoke nipple and the spoke was bent from hitting the shaft housing.
I bought a stock spoke set to have extra nipples and replace the one spoke. Sent the wheels to
Woody's and they are back on the bike again. I don't baby the bike off road and it has seen
some knarly stuff. I was not shocked to see rim damage. It's part of owning a bike. I've bent rims
on my Strom, the KLR and a rock in the road got the front wheel of the FJR.

I would not call any of those a fault of the bike or a chronic concern. Shit happens.

The only problem I see with the S10 are no problems. People are trying to come up with some
sort of issue just to say it has an issue. Just accept a well made bike and enjoy it.

This is the front wheel off my Strom after hitting a cow. :-[
My son joked there were no turtles in the road so I hit the second slowest moving thing I could.

 

[snakebitten]

I'm back, legs washed!

snakebitten, your the man! ::008::

My pleasure neighbor!

But you weren't gone that long. You sure you actually left?

 

[Tremor38]

I've posted in the "Check your spokes" thread as well. I bent both my rims on the S10 the rear the worst.
I did lose a rear spoke nipple and the spoke was bent from hitting the shaft housing.
I bought a stock spoke set to have extra nipples and replace the one spoke. Sent the wheels to
Woody's and they are back on the bike again. I don't baby the bike off road and it has seen
some knarly stuff. I was not shocked to see rim damage. It's part of owning a bike. I've bent rims
on my Strom, the KLR and a rock in the road got the front wheel of the FJR.

I would not call any of those a fault of the bike or a chronic concern. Shit happens.

The only problem I see with the S10 are no problems. People are trying to come up with some
sort of issue just to say it has an issue. Just accept a well made bike and enjoy it.

This is the front wheel off my Strom after hitting a cow. :-[
My son joked there were no turtles in the road so I hit the second slowest moving thing I could.

What happened to the cow? Looks like you might have knocked the clapper right out of her bell. 8) Time to start hanging strobe lights around their necks

 

[Combo]

My pleasure neighbor!

But you weren't gone that long. You sure you actually left?

Your right, never left, washed my legs right here.

 

[dcstrom]

For off road spokes are stronger and less un-sprung weight so suspensions will work better. Mags will bend and break before spoke wheels.

I maybe wetting my own leg (again) on this but I don't think so.

I happened to have the rear wheels off both my DL1000 and the the Super Tenere at the same time. Thought would be a good chance to weigh them - so bare wheels, without tires or cush drives, but with disks - the Super Tenere wheel was something like 1.5lb heavier.

So not much difference, except in the 80,000 miles the V-Stom has done, the wheel has has ZERO maintenance (including bearings), has no dings, and still manages to be lighter than the Super Tenere wheel.

However I did the sums and the Super Tenere wheel is heavier by the same percentage as the weight difference between the two bikes. Makes sense - the heavier the bike, the heavier the wheel needs to be - given cost contraints...

Trevor

 

[EricV]

I'm not saying the wire spokes are a problem! I am saying it's a maintenance issue I'd rather not have to deal with. I ride long days. I really don't need one more thing to check. And MarkJenn probably has a point about this being somewhat of a shaft Vs chain issue. Some people still argue chains are better, but it's ok, they just don't know better yet.

As far as I'm concerned, wire spokes are a styling effort. Someone else mentioned the ST probably got them because of the GS and popular demand. I wouldn't be surprised by that. Weight? We have heavy ass cast steel hubs and then rims that are relatively light. A cast aluminum wheel is uniformly strong. You can damage either one, but you're not going to fix that damage on the side of the road/trail if it was bad enough to cause the tire to lose air in either case. Pluric's cow damage would have been just as bad on a spoked wheel, maybe a little worse or maybe a little better, but almost certainly not rideable. And there was likely other damage as well.

@Pluric - my friend, you may not realize it, but wheel damage is not part of owning a bike. Shit happens, (black cows + darkness = scary shit), but there's a thing called mechanical empathy too. You don't have to beat the hell out of the bike just to get from A-B. We aren't talking about a dirt bike here either gents. Dirt bikes are made for beating the hell out of them off road. And it makes sense to have wire spoked wheels for lower repair costs. The S10 is 600 lbs. You're simply not going to ride it like a pure dirt bike and if you do, you're going to have some additional expenses for repairs.

Lets face it, most bikes don't get ridden much. Most people that buy an "Adventure Touring" bike probably never go on an adventure or tour. Some of these bikes ride on pure street tires while others get full knobbies, but still just go ride the local roads and trails. Do people buy them because they look cool? Sure, just like people buy HDs for the same reason. And sport bikes, etc. There will always be a segment of the owners that just want to impress the guys at the local hang out.

Just saying I value function and I don't see any useful function in the wire spokes. What I do see is additional maintenance and additional hassle. I do maintenance, I don't worry so much about washing the bike or making it look pretty. I'd rather be riding. I got the S10 because I needed the extra ground clearance and it had shaft drive, (based on where I've been riding and the stones banging off the bottom of the FJR, as well as where I planned on riding in the future). I've had good luck with the last two Yamahas, so that helped too. It's not everything I want, but hopefully it will do.

 

[Rasher]

I agree, personally I would prefer lower "hassle" factor of cast wheels, my GS has cast wheels and as it ain't likely to see anything worse than the odd large pot-hole they are fine.

Constant Maintennace & extra cost Vs the slim chance of needing a new wheel means most people would be better off with Ally wheels, perhaps this is one thing that should have been an option - very few pay extra for wire wheels on a GS (It is only the Adventure that gets them as standard.

Most UK owners don't go far on any bike, you could call them posers, but they help keep bikes selling in large enough numbers to keep them affordable for us lot so lets not berate them too heavily, they also ensure a good stock of low mileage barely run in bikes for those of us that can't afford new - Hurrah!

I like "Adventure" bikes because they are comfy over distance, have all the performance I need (and not enough to get me into serious trouble without needing to try a little) can carry two people plus their luggage and the handling is still way beyond my meagre skills and I know I really could not get through twisties any quicker on a sportsbike.

I don't even like the looks much, but as I ain't buying bikes because they look cool or do 200mph this does not matter, but not having to do a lot of daily maintenance is a high priority, I want to be able to ride it whenever I want and do little else between the service intervals, I now love shaft drive since havng the GS, but if the spokes take more maintenance than a chain whats the point?

I see the new Honda has alloy wheels too

 

[pluric]

I'm not saying the wire spokes are a problem! I am saying it's a maintenance issue I'd rather not have to deal with. I ride long days. I really don't need one more thing to check. And MarkJenn probably has a point about this being somewhat of a shaft Vs chain issue. Some people still argue chains are better, but it's ok, they just don't know better yet.

As far as I'm concerned, wire spokes are a styling effort. Someone else mentioned the ST probably got them because of the GS and popular demand. I wouldn't be surprised by that. Weight? We have heavy ass cast steel hubs and then rims that are relatively light. A cast aluminum wheel is uniformly strong. You can damage either one, but you're not going to fix that damage on the side of the road/trail if it was bad enough to cause the tire to lose air in either case. Pluric's cow damage would have been just as bad on a spoked wheel, maybe a little worse or maybe a little better, but almost certainly not rideable. And there was likely other damage as well.

@Pluric - my friend, you may not realize it, but wheel damage is not part of owning a bike. Shit happens, (black cows + darkness = scary shit), but there's a thing called mechanical empathy too. You don't have to beat the hell out of the bike just to get from A-B. We aren't talking about a dirt bike here either gents. Dirt bikes are made for beating the hell out of them off road. And it makes sense to have wire spoked wheels for lower repair costs. The S10 is 600 lbs. You're simply not going to ride it like a pure dirt bike and if you do, you're going to have some additional expenses for repairs.

Lets face it, most bikes don't get ridden much. Most people that buy an "Adventure Touring" bike probably never go on an adventure or tour. Some of these bikes ride on pure street tires while others get full knobbies, but still just go ride the local roads and trails. Do people buy them because they look cool? Sure, just like people buy HDs for the same reason. And sport bikes, etc. There will always be a segment of the owners that just want to impress the guys at the local hang out.

Just saying I value function and I don't see any useful function in the wire spokes. What I do see is additional maintenance and additional hassle. I do maintenance, I don't worry so much about washing the bike or making it look pretty. I'd rather be riding. I got the S10 because I needed the extra ground clearance and it had shaft drive, (based on where I've been riding and the stones banging off the bottom of the FJR, as well as where I planned on riding in the future). I've had good luck with the last two Yamahas, so that helped too. It's not everything I want, but hopefully it will do.

I beg to differ.

No you don't have to "Beat the hell" out of a bike to get where you are going, but it can make it more fun.

Of course I know people who have never bent a wheel. My friend has a Strom with 40K on it. Rides it like a grandma
We are always waiting for it to show up on rides. That's his style and it works for him.

I come from a competative riding background and at 57 have never really grown up. ::26::

I like to push the bikes some and realize that can come at a maintenace cost. When I travel distance I try to be more
mellow because an avoidable on road repair could ruin a trip.

Before going to Alaska I'd broken my leg in Moab doing a stupid wheelie. I wasn't going to let that ruin
my planned ride. Did 8,900 miles in a medical boot that didn't allow rear brake use. Dumb?, maybe.
I finished the trip and had an amzing ride.

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=196720

I don't buy anything to ba a garage queen. It gets used and I accept the possible damage from riding them.

I'm just saying places like Woody's would not survive long if wheels weren't getting bent or out of true often.

::021::

 

[Firefight911]

Seriously, we're to the point of posting pics of trophies to prove something. Wow, that's funny!!

Teacher, I need a hall pass. I have to go number 1.

) ) )

 

[pluric]

Seriously, we're to the point of posting pics of trophies to prove something. Wow, that's funny!!

Teacher, I need a hall pass. I have to go number 1.

) ) )

I thought I'd mentioned I was still a little juvenile.

You would think by now I would learn arguing on the internet is kinda useless.
I realize most members have a long history of bike ownership and are accomplished riders.

I didn't mean to come across as an ass. Only to suggest to EricV that perhaps the reason I
have bent so many bike rims is because I didn't buy the bike to do milk runs.

My suggestion to everyone is enjoy their rides to what ever level they are comfortable
and I don't believe the stock wheels and spoke set up are anything more than routine maintenance.

 

[EricV]

Seriously, we're to the point of posting pics of trophies to prove something. Wow, that's funny!!

Teacher, I need a hall pass. I have to go number 1.

) ) )

+1 Hell, my wife has trophies like that. :-*

 

[stevepsd]

My suggestion to everyone is enjoy their rides to what ever level they are comfortable
and I don't believe the stock wheels and spoke set up are anything more than routine maintenance.

::026::

 

[snakebitten]

I'm 53.
Been on 2 wheels for most of it.
I raced MX for a few years in my earlier life.
I don't have an attick full of trophies. I just wasn't that fast.
So I am impressed. And I get the point. You ain't babying your bikes (S10 either)

I'm good with that.

As for the spokes being a maintenance issue. They are I guess. But a small one for me.

How much time are you guys spending on them?

I wish my SM950 had them.

 

[Checkswrecks]

I'm with Pluric in the "shit happens" train of thought. Plus
::021::
I've had and seen plenty of bent rims, but the spoked ones can be beat out with a rock in the middle of the Mojave. Been there done that. This bike may never be used by most people to it's full potential, but I'll ride it around the continent in the summer and the wheels are something that I won't worry about.


On the flip side, I've had cast aluminum wheels both bend and crack, and seen them break.


As for the trophies, I gotta chuckle and empathize. Anybody who'se ever gotten a couple also probably killed himself for every one. They were the most important thing in existence, one day, somewhere. And now they have earned a rightful historic place behind the unused furniture & whatnot, while we cheer on our kids to learn that same focus and strive to collect their own.

 

[Old Git Ray]

Good on ya mate. I wish I had a pile like that to show off to my kids.

BTW, I do not get to ride as much as I would like and I was the first person (I think) to change my spokes for chrome ones last year. I have a problem with loose ones and have lost a few (of the new, self installed, stainless ones.)

I do not see it as an issue. Its a bike and I regard it as part of my soul. It's to be nurtured, cared for, coveted and taken out to have fun on. In the grand scheme of things, a few spokes is nothing compared to the issues that could befall me. Hell, when I had my GSA, all I could think of was when the ignition ring/fuel pump/final drive was going to stop my travels.

I did find that I lost the spokes when riding rock trails and it has taught me to look at them more often. It only takes a minute at max and makes sure that I look the bike over for other safety issues more often.

Its not like a car where seat belts and cages will save most injuries, its a bike and when things go wrong it can be very painfull.

 

[justbob]

Nice trophy collection, I'm impressed.
Be proud of your accomplishments, most people never put forth the time or effort to achieve that level of success.

 

[tc9988]

When I bought my 2001 BMW R1150GS it had 14000 miles on it. I checked the spokes when I got it and haven't checked them since. The bike has gone 65000 miles now without a single problem. Its been up the Dempster, up the Dalton, down Copper Canyon and on countless rocky fire roads and technical trails. I've hit large potholes at speed that I was sure had bent the rims. Nothing happened. I never worried about wheels but always carried a replacement rear drive big bearing and constantly checked the rear wheel for signs of a paralever bearing and/or big bearing failures. That regular checking and constant worry got to be a real pain in the ass after a while.

I recently did 3000 miles in Africa with a 2010 R1200GS on lots of nasty washboard roads at a brisk pace. No wheel issues. The bike had just gone 3000 miles on the same roads when I picked it up. So 6000 hard miles without spoke problems.

I don't expect to have to check the spokes any more frequently than the recommended maintenance intervals. If I do and start to find loose and or broken spokes I will not be a happy owner.

 

[Tremor38]

When I bought my 2001 BMW R1150GS it had 14000 miles on it. I checked the spokes when I got it and haven't checked them since. The bike has gone 65000 miles now without a single problem. Its been up the Dempster, up the Dalton, down Copper Canyon and on countless rocky fire roads and technical trails. I've hit large potholes at speed that I was sure had bent the rims. Nothing happened. I never worried about wheels but always carried a replacement rear drive big bearing and constantly checked the rear wheel for signs of a paralever bearing and/or big bearing failures. That regular checking and constant worry got to be a real pain in the ass after a while.

I recently did 3000 miles in Africa with a 2010 R1200GS on lots of nasty washboard roads at a brisk pace. No wheel issues. The bike had just gone 3000 miles on the same roads when I picked it up. So 6000 hard miles without spoke problems.

I don't expect to have to check the spokes any more frequently than the recommended maintenance intervals. If I do and start to find loose and or broken spokes I will not be a happy owner.

Sounds like you should have stuck with the GS.