The R80ST has spoked wheels front and rear. In order to refinish the wheels using vapor blasting, I remove the spokes. This let me assess the condition of the spokes and spoke nipples so I can decide if I can keep most of them, or they need to be replaced.
On the rear wheel only 17 out of 40 spokes weren’t bent or rusted and only 8 spoke nipples were not damaged. On the front wheel every spoke was bent. So I replace all the spokes with stainless steel spokes and install new plated brass nipples.
This documents shows how I do this work.
And this video shows the techniques I use in more detail.
VIDEO: 1983 BMW R80ST Lace The Spokes And True The Wheels
Here is what I started with.
Front Wheel-Before
Front Wheel-Before
Rear Wheel Before
Rear Wheel Before
And here is what the wheels look like after refinishing them and lacing and truing the wheels with new stainless steel spokes.
What All Done Looks Like
Looks great. Who you utilizing in Denver for the vapor blasting? Jason
Jason,
Click the link to the document and you will find a link to Colorado Vapor Blasting, a division of Vintage Twins in Arvada.
Best.
Brook.
Wonderful work. Curious that all those spokes were bent – is that common? Or was there damage to the wheel that caused it?
Stephen,
I have no idea why they were bent, but the bike was in storage for 25 years before I got it and the front tire was flat. They are straight now. π
Best.
Brook.
Wow! Looks amazing. Great work as always.
Brian,
Thank you. It was an “experience”, for sure. π
Best.
Brook.
Thanks for another informative video Brook. Is there a reason you went with brass nipples rather than stainless steel?
Gregg,
That’s what was available, so that’s what I used.
Best.
Brook.
Thanks Brook for a very detailed account of how to respoke the wheels! Appreciate the hard work with the videos to show us how this great bike is coming along!
Mike,
Thank you. This video has the most “not used” segments of any work I have documented. It was hard to try and be succinct but not overly long. But in the end, it’s over 45 minutes long which is pushing the boundaries of folks attention span.
Best.
Brook.
Hey Brook, nice work once again. How did they come out as far as balancing them? Did you check before you mounted the tires?
Jim,
I just ordered tires, tubes and rim tape, so I haven’t balanced them yet. I’ll do that work soon.
Best.
Brook.
Fantastic work my friend. Woody’s better look out.
Chris,
I don’t think Woody’s has much to worry about as it took me far too long to complete this work. They would likely complete 50 sets of wheels in the time it took me to complete one set. π
Best.
Brook.
Hello!
Did you changed the drum liner on the rear wheel or is it just the cleaning? Looks brand new!
Congrats
Andre,
It is the original and was vapor blasted.
Best.
Brook