Advice needed on lacing/truing wheels (’77 CB750 SOHC K-Series) Buchanan spokes.

[nanda007]

Q1: Are the stock rims (front and rear) perfectly centered with the hub or are they a bit offset? Also, how about the rear wheel that has 16” HD rim?
Note: I took some measurements and notes during disassembly but unfortunately lost the info. Rims have been sitting disassembled since the fall Never found time to get back to it. I guess now is the time.

For the rear wheel, I went ahead and did the common conversion by pairing the OEM hub to the HD 3.0 16” rim using stainless Buchanan spokes. That was quite a challenge for me since the outer spokes would not fit at all until I drilled the outer spoke’s nipple holes (on the rim) with 8 mm drill bit to gain more clearance. The lacing was made possible but still after lacing the spokes are very stiff w/ no play left for truing.

The outer spoke’s nipples simply seem to have too wide of a head which prevents nipple to sit flush with the rim. As I tighten each spoke, the nipple starts dragging along the wall of the nipple seat indentation (in the rim) creating resistance and eventually cutting itself into the rim. The issue only is with the Rear HD rim while the front one is perfectly fine having tons of play left for trueing.

Q2:
Am I the only one experiencing issues with Buchanan spokes or do I simply have to go back and make more clearance but this time focusing on the nipple seat indentation in the rim?
Maybe shaving off some of the material of the nipple head would help as well?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[mydlyfkryzis]

That does not look right at all. Is that the right rim for the hub? The angle of the indentations should match the angle of the nipples.

How confident are you that the rim is drilled correctly? I think the holes need to be slightly larger, and better angled. The nipples should sit flush with the rim surface, not angled up.

Send those pictures to Buchanan's and ask them for assistance. I talked to Kenny Buchanan when I was re-lacing my rims, and he was very knowledgeable and helpful. That is part of the service you get when you pay their prices. He can tell you what size to drill, and what angle.

Another note, when you have it properly assembled, the spokes sticking out past the nipple need to be ground off flush with the top of the nipple. You don't want holes in your tube. The rubber rim strip won't protect the tube from a raised spoke.

I had no issues with Buchanan's spokes. The fit properly and worked very well.