Wheel spokes

geosar · Post by **geosar** » Fri Apr 22, 2011 4:18 pm

For my 1966 CL77 I am considering using new spokes. Mine are pretty pitted and I am not sure I can buff and zinc plate them.

There are several companies who offer full spoke kits for a 10" hub. They range from $45 to $75.

Anyone have any suggestions? There is a great difference in several of the Thai companies-I don't need them show room but since I have the wheels off I would like to up grade the look.

These folks are in the states and have reasonable prices but I do not want to get hurt for saving a few dollars.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-CL ... _985wt_776

This is a cheaper Thai company:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/F-R-Spok ... 3420wt_812

$45 for a complete set?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HONDA-CL ... 632wt_1001

And this company has been used by some of our colleagues at $75
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HONDA-CL ... 2595wt_776

Or should I buff the rust off and just paint them with the high temp engine enamel.

They all feel they are "awesome-excellent"

Thank you

George

Arizona

david lucas · Post by **david lucas** » Fri Apr 22, 2011 8:28 pm

George, I bought the Made in Japan chromed spokes for $75.00 that your colleagues have used. They look good, laced up easy and seem alright. Have not road tested them to give a opinion. You will need to keep your old spacers (washers) they don"t come with new ones and you"ll need them.
Good luck,
David

davomoto · Post by **davomoto** » Sat Apr 23, 2011 10:11 am

George,

Don't paint them! I have had the chrome Thai ones for a CB77 before, and they were smaller in O.D. than origionals. I think I have NOS front sets, or replate them all in cadnium, zinc, or nickle.
One concern of mine is that all of those sets, except the first say "40" spokes and nipples for the rear, it only uses 36. The early small hub is a 40 rear.

Davo

geosar · Post by **geosar** » Sat Apr 23, 2011 11:30 am

Thank you , Davo.

I definitely want to make sure I have spokes for the larger hub. It appears that some of the offerings do not differentiate.

Off the Harbor Freight

George

Snakeoil · Post by **Snakeoil** » Sat Apr 23, 2011 1:07 pm

George,

You can probably bead blast your old spokes and zinc plate them and they will look fine. When I did mine I think I did 6 spokes at a time.

Davo says not to paint them, but before I learned how to zinc plate at home, I spruced up an S90 with some pretty ugly spokes and I could not find NOS or replacement spokes that used the original pattern. So, I cleaned them up with a wire brush and then shot them with a caliper paint that was silver. That was a year ago last winter and they still look great. Idea was to keep them from rusting more than have them look new, but turns out they look pretty good to boot.

I made a small block with a series of holes to stand the spokes in with sufficient space to be able to shoot all the sides. After they were painted, I baked the paint in the over for a half hour at 190F. You just have to be very careful when you installed them on the hub and when you tighten the nipples because being paint, it is easy to scratch compared to plating.

regards,
Rob

geosar · Post by **geosar** » Fri Apr 29, 2011 10:22 am

Okay.

Found a nice used sand blast cabinet on Craigslist. It's big enough to hold my rims.

Did a little clear coat removal from front hub late last night because I couldn't wait. Much faster than wet sand by hand.

Watch out! I'm on my way now.

George

Snakeoil · Post by **Snakeoil** » Fri Apr 29, 2011 10:31 am

I'm not a big fan of sand or bead blasting something I'm going to polish. You are better off using paint stripper to remove the clear coat. It will not attack the finish already on the aluminum, making it that much easier to polish. You will hate yourself for blasting that hub. The only part I blast is the center section because I like the dull look on some hubs more than a polished look. But the outside always gets polished and left uncoated.

regards,
Rob