D.I.D. rims in place of stock steel.

[DannyMoto07]

I picked up a beat up 88' Kawasaki KDX200 and it's not worth saving. I was checking out the rims and it has aluminum D.I.D. 18" and 21" rims on it.

On my 93' Yamaha RT180 I'm missing 2 spokes on the rear end and my front rim has a large dent in it. They both hold air and track true, however they're the stock, chrome steel.

Both the D.I.D and stock steels have the same number of spoke-holes. Would this be a good mod for a stock bike? It'll use the tires I already have on the 180, and should fit the Yamaha spokes just fine.

Just wondering what everyone thinks.

I need new tubes for the Yamaha anyway, so I'll be taking the tires off.

I'm just scared of the spokes, but I think if I go slow and keep a picture or a bicycle wheel nearby, I'll be able to figure it out no problem...

Let me know.

Dan

 

[76GMC1500]

It's not easy building a wheel. Why do you want to change the rims? Don't the Yamahas come with aluminum DID's already? My 1986 TT225 did.

 

[DannyMoto07]

Nope, this came with steel, chrome rims stock from the factory. The reason for change is that the front rim has a good size dent in it and I'm doing pretty much all woods-riding. I would figure the aluminum would hold up a lot better and tend to not bend like steel.

Dan

 

[XRpredator]

it'd be a good swap if you feel like building wheels.

 

[76GMC1500]

They'll both bend about the same. Air pressure will help prevent dents, 14 psi or so will give you good traction and good protection. If you want to do the swap, go for it. But, building wheels is tricky. I started on bicycle wheels.

 

[DannyMoto07]

I may do this mod on the front only. Just to get rid of the dented rim.. that way I can have the rear as a guide.

Dan

 

[76GMC1500]

They may lace up differently. My Honda used a double cross pattern on the rear, I think the fronts might be triple cross.

If you have any bicycle wheels, practice on one of those first.

 

[DannyMoto07]

I may do just that. Thanks.

 

[Bunya]

I just got done replacing the front rim on my RM with a Pro Wheel rim- It was my first. Doing the lacing was easy. I took a couple of pictures for reference. If you don't have a digital camera handy, just take notes.

Truing the rim was more difficult. I was able to get the axial runout to under .010" but the best I could do on the radial runout was .050". There was only about 30 deg. from the low to the high spot so the best I could do was compromise. I don't race, just play so it was good enough for me.

I would recommend a good spoke wrench if you're planning on reusing spokes though. They get corroded fairly quickly and without a good quality, tight fitting wrench you're likely to strip a few nipples. I made one out of a piece of 3/8 plate about 3/4" wide to keep it from spreading and contact most of the nipple. I machined it to fit my spokes with minimal slop to further reduce the risk of rounding the aluminum nipples off.

If you have reasonable mechanical skills, you shouldn't have any problems - It's not rocket science. Good pictures and tools will go a long way to make the swap go smoothly.

Marc -

 

[FruDaddy]

There are several possible lace patternd, so take pictures rather than using a different wheel for reference. Once you get it laced, you can take it to a good bicycle shop for trueing.

This article, while written for bicycles, may help you a bit (just skim you way down until you start to see pics):
http://sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html

 

[DannyMoto07]

Thanks for the help. I think I'd only do the front rim now because my back rim is out getting a new tire/tube and 2 new spokes put in it. I may do it when it gets back... or just leave it. It's just that I don't want to ride on the front being bent like that.

Dan