Broken rear wheel spokes drive side 07 Baghira

[crashmctavish]

Broken rear wheel spokes
Anyone experienced this?
I lost four out of 10 tension spokes on the drive side in 250 kilometres, I was not far off the wheel collapsing.
Note the bike has only done 8000 Kilometers & still under warranty.
Yes I am talking to the suppliers regarding a warranty claim.
No the spokes were not loose
Yes the bike is standard, 18" rear wheel

[pamonster]

about a week after I bought my baggi I noticed the same thing, 2 were broken though. I ended up e-mailing Grahams motorcycles, getting a price quote for shipping me some new ones (I live In Iowa,USA) & their paypal account account to pay for it. Took about 6 or 7 days and cost like 30 bucks. I'd order extras since they are like a buck each, and make sure to get all new nipples as well.
I was due for a rear tire change so it worked out that I didn't have to pay too much to have the spokes put on since the tire was coming off anyways.
Before contacting Grahams I did try to have some made by Buchanan Spoke and Rim, Inc. in the US, they were frustrating, little help and did not work out. And cost 25 bucks.....so I'd highly recommend just going through Grahams. They were extremely helpful and quick responding.
Best of luck

[Spurdog]

I have just had two spokes on my Baghira supermoto rear wheel break. I have just had the tyre changed so don't know whether that has attributed. I have just come here to check if it is a common problem. The supermoto has a 17 inch rear wheel so not sure if it is similar to the 18inch of Crashmctavish.

The bike is five years old and I have had it two years with no problems so I'm a bit surprised this has happened.

[kman.45]

I broke a total of 5 spokes on my rear 17" wheel before I sent it to Woody's Wheel Works for a respoking with larger diameter higher quality spokes in a stronger pattern.

[jacquesnaude]

I have also noticed two spokes broken on the rear wheel. When I removed the wheel to have the spokes replaced I also noticed that two of the wheel bearings were in bad shape. I bought the bike second hand but it has only done about 8000km. I am battling to get the correct spokes and have resorted to having some made up. It appears that finding spares in SA will not be easy.

[Bill Jurgenson]

Larger Ø and better quality is no problem but there is no way possible to change the pattern as long as the original rim is used. Anyone offering such is not serious. The rim must be drilled (angle in both directions) for the specific pattern and hub Ø.
As for the problem itself - if it is one - it is just a standard 17" wire wheel with an aluminum rim. It ain't no different than any other 17" supermoto or motorcross wheel technically and any serious shop can supply spokes and/or rebuild as necessary.
e.g. in the UK, Central Wheel in Birmingham. There will be several in the States (in any country) - or are you implying that the tensofthousands of cross riders throw away their wheels when they break a spoke?
Why do they break?
Well, wire wheels are delicate under any conditions. Apart from pseudo-reasons such as looks, they are chosen because they are not too stiff and can take a lot of punishment before giving up entirely, long after a cast wheel would have broken. They are not chosen cause they are lighter - they ain't by any means. And they aren't maintenance free, far from it. Spoke tension must be checked regularly and they should be kept clean. Individual spokes break when they are too highly loaded and this happens when the tension becomes uneven, overloading those individuals that are highest.
What they do not like is too much torque and too much side pressure.. In both directions. Too much torque in our low-performance context is too much gas at too low RPM, i.e. at RPM below 4000. e.g. Wheelies. Heavy going, uneven terrain does not bother them much, however. It is their inherent flexibility that makes them preferable for off-road usage. For street use with only occasional outings into the bush and for continual show-off wheelies, you are far better off with cast (or forged=$$$$$) wheels.

[samandkimberly]

Bill - you might be surprised at the light weight and low moment of inertia of a good spoke wheel, even a decent stock one is probably lighter than any but the more expensive aftermarket wheels. As an example, I just weighed all the components of a front wheel I'm building for a Moto Morini - just under 9 lbs, and that's with a flanged rim, heavy duty spokes, steel nipples, and a stock hub. - a well built flat track wheel can easily get under 7 lb, and very little of that is rim mass. I think this is the real reason they've remained the wheel of choice for off road sports like grass and flat track - they accelerate well at a fraction of the cost of a solid wheel with a similar MOI. Unfortunately, as you point out - they are not that stiff, which is a problem for road bikes and road racers. And they *do* require maintenance, not to mention they're a PITA to clean, and you have to deal with the tube issue. They sure look pretty though.

If I had a new spoke wheel and several spokes broke right off, I'd suspect the spokes are too tight. Loose wheels have to be really loose before spokes start snapping.

Sam

[crashmctavish]

I bought a new 17" rim & laced the new rim myself. I do corner hard & use all the power. However I belive the orginal spokes which were chrome plated suffered a problem known as stress corrosion cracking through the chome & then following into the substrate.
I have had no problems since.
Regards to all.

[Spurdog]

Hi Crashmctavish

Have just come back to this forum topic.

I replaced the two broken spokes with MZ ones. I have now had another break. I realise that you are probably right about the quality of the original ones so I don't want to repeat this mistake. I always thought the originals were stainless spokes and not chromed.

What kind of spokes did you use to lace the rim with? Where did you get these from?

This has been an irritating problem on what has been a great bike so I look forward to riding it again soon.

Cheers

dawg

[angustoyou]

2 broken on my rear wheel too. I only use it on the roads, although they are bumpy B roads, with the odd hump backed bridge.

Having seen that this is reasonably common, I'm having the wheel re-built with stainless steel spokes. The wheel itself is true, and not a bad weight. The wheel build is £35 cash, not sure how much the spokes will be, but I reckon £100 all in.

[angustoyou]

Job done, rebuilt with all new stainless spokes, all in for less than £100.

[Spurdog]

Hi

Where did you source your stainless spokes?

I was just about to order some more from Grahams Motorcycles and have my wheel rebuilt. I realise there are three different types of spoke, do you have any part numbers for the stainless ones that you ordered. Did you order thicker spokes as others have done?

Also interested who did the rebuild as this seems like a reasonable price.

Cheers

Spurdog

[crashmctavish]

Grahams supplied the spokes & nipples. I built the wheel myself. Need a hand? I do charge mindyou. CrashMct.