I'm lacing up a new Excel aluminum rim and stainless spokes from Buchanan (2.5x18) to a stock GS750 hub for some vintage racing. Actually they "loose-laced" it for me because I am apparently too retarded to be able to figure it out myself, and I am truing and torquing the wheel (something I'm surprising adept at). Anyway, Buchanan's instuctions say to torque the spokes to at least 80 inch pounds. That sounds outrageously high to me; 40-50, based on "feel" seems plenty to me. (The nipples and spoke threads have been lubed per the instructions.) I'll call them next week, but want to get some advice from you vintage sages. This wheel is going on the front of GS1000. Also I need a not-so-shagged rear racing tire (2.5X17) to run on this thing just at Barber, then the cast rim will be replaced with a wider and taller spoked rear this winter. I posted it in the WTB section. Thanks!
Really, Sir Chum? Foot pounds? No, not foot pounds. My post specifically says "inch pounds." Reading is fundamental, they say. :up: Maybe foot pounds would be appropriate for a two-stroker! But thanks for double checking. Now, any advice on my question? Charles should be along soon to set us all straight on this.
The only thing Charles knows about spokes is that his never rust because of all the mung drooling onto them from that infernal two-stroke. IIRC, 80 INCH lbs sounds a little high from when I was researching such things around the beginning of the year. 50-ish is what comes to mind. Once it's trued, the torque measurement will vary from spoke to spoke. I'm not positive on it though. I'll dig around and see what I can find.
Once trued, the spokes should be gone over till all are the same tension, as it can be trued with as little as 20 in/lbs. Tdub
OK, after taking comfort in the fact that we are indeed on the same page, I have collected my wits and now, finally, I understand the dilemma... Buchanan, pretty much the acknowledged spoke wheel gurus in the Western hemisphere, recommends 80 inch pounds, or 6.67 ft. pounds if you prefer... That number seems high to you, you prefer something in the neighborhood of 3.33-4.17 ft. pounds, or in the alternative, 40-50 ft. pounds, based upon, "feel." Tdub, who knows a thing or three about two wheeled racing conveyances says you could go as low as 20 inch pounds (1.67 ft. pounds), but the most important thing is to ensure that all the spokes are uniformly torqued. I would defer to Buchanan on this issue only because I haven't had the chance to ship my "feel" to Charlie and have it properly calibrated and my "feel" gets bounced around and soundly abused with regularity, or look for some period Lester or Dymag wheels...
My operatives are everywhere; eyes in the sky see everyone; and the big ear hears everything...resistance is futile.
I am glad you in particular wrote this, it is a subject that has concerned me and the only thing you didn't say was: does one need some sort of 'tension-measuring' device (I understand bicycle mechanics use them)?
Neither my Yellow Peril nor the Red Menace suffers from this outlandish situation you have described. This is 2010, not 1934, and Sunoco 110 blended professionally with Motul 800 provides not only clean-burning awesome tire-shredding power, but a delightful beverage straight up or on the rocks. All spokes from Yamaha Racing division are made rust-proof, and, if you want, you four-stroke diesel guys can buy spoke rust-proofing in can or spray bottle.
Thanks, everyone for their input. I won't admit how many man hours I have in getting this wheel trued, but let's just say I've learned a lot. The best lesson is not to adjust all the spokes at the same time. Instead of incrementally adjusting all 36 spokes, I focused first on the three of the nine groups of four that are 60 degrees apart. That way you're only dealing with 12 spokes to get the wheel trued and then bring the other 24 up to tension. That, and to be sure to just torque the spokes a little at a time and to use the same cross pattern as you would in torquing a head so that no part of the wheel gets adjusted too much at a time. The wheel is now perfect, both horizontally and vertically. I ended up going with 60 inch pounds, which seems more than enough.
When I said 20 in/lbs, I was refering that the rim could be trued at this tq. I should have clarified that this would not be the finished spec. as it is way to low. If trued at a lower spec, it is much easier to get all the spokes to a uniform 50-60 in/lbs. Your system seems a bit different than mine, but the end result is what matters. Sorry about the confusion on my part. Tdub
