With the sizes of motorcycle tires growing by leaps and bounds, you may think that figuring out how to make one of these monster wheels fit your chassis and driveline would be the biggest hurdle you have to face. Well guess again, bubba.
What you may not realize is that finding tubes for 230, 240 and 250 tires can be a problem. This is all well and good if you like the look of so-and-so's billet wheel selection, but lots of guys are dyed-in-the-wool spoke lovers! Particularly the old-school types who find the look of a shiny set of spoke wheels the only thing worthy of being mounted on their rides.
Wheel Works, in Garden Grove, California, has developed a solution for fans of spoked, fat wheels. By using a top-secret, spage-age polysulfide, which is a blend of polyurethane and sulfides, Wheel Works can take any spoke wheel and seal it so that mounting a tubeless tire is a cinch.
Here's a look at how Wheel Works performs their magic on a 15-inch wheel they are assembling for use with a 230/60x15 AM21 Avon tire.
We arrived at Wheel Works...
We arrived at Wheel Works first thing in the morning, just in time to catch Dave stoking their state-of-the art heating system before getting down to work.
Dave begins lacing the Road...
Dave begins lacing the Road Wings hub and rim with a set of Wheel Works own stainless steel spokes by inserting the inside spokes (which have the less acute head angle) into their respective holes. The inside spokes must be installed first.
Once all the inner spokes...
Once all the inner spokes are in place, Dave drops the rim over the wheel...
...and threads on each of...
...and threads on each of the nipples for the inside spokes. The outer spokes then get installed one at a time to complete the lacing process. The wheel in then trued to perfection before the sealing is done. Getting the wheel "tight and right" at this point is essential since after the sealant is applied and cures, no further adjustments can be made to the spokes without breaking the seal.
Before the sealant can be...
Before the sealant can be applied, the wheel must me absolutely clean and dry, so it gets washed... Before the sealant can be applied, the wheel must me absolutely clean and dry, so it gets washed...
..scrubbed...
...and carefully dried with...
...and carefully dried with compressed air and a clean cloth.
With the wheel on a roller,...
With the wheel on a roller, the pre-mixed polysulfide is dripped onto the rim as it spins on the roller.
A plastic spatula is used...
A plastic spatula is used to smooth the sealant, which looks a little like cake icing at this point.
Once the wheel is completely...
Once the wheel is completely coated, it is set into this vacuum fixture ...
...and the sealant is sucked...
...and the sealant is sucked into the tiny gaps that exist where the spoke nipples and rim meet.It's easy to see the dimples created by the vacuum procedure.
The wheel is placed back on...
The wheel is placed back on the rollers for another layer of sealant to fill any gaps left after the vacuum process is completed.
After the sealing in done,...
After the sealing in done, the wheel is placed in a rack to dry. The polysulfide must cure for a minimum of 24 hours to ensure proper sealing, and Wheel Works recommends 48 hours if possible.
After the wheel was allowed...
After the wheel was allowed to dry for the weekend, we dropped by in time to see our 230 Avon get lubed...
...and mounted on our sealed...
...and mounted on our sealed wheel, using Wheel Works' Coats 100 tire mounting machine.
Here's a final look at our...
Here's a final look at our completed wheel before mounting it on the bike. Look ma, it stands up all by itself! Wonder if we'll need a kickstand?