Wheel Truing Stand

Hey Rick,

Sounds like you are giving advice that would work for most wheels. I highly doubt it would apply with this particular wheel with its huge offset.

Sorry to be picky here, but you said:
"I don't believe my post claimed that the two sides were equally tight

What you did say was: " Tighten the tightest side at 30 in" and "tighten the opposite as close to the 30 in-lbs".

In this wheel, one set of spokes is almost straight up and down. This set needs to be much tighter than the other. Again, twice or more than the other. If your advice is to shoot for equal, or even remotely similar, you will not get the offset you need.

Stephen

Holmeslice said:

An old swingarm held vertically in a vise is the cheapest truing stand you can get.

Click to expand...

Heck the axle in the vice is cheaper still, assuming you don't have an old swing arm layin around.

No need for a dial indicator either, any old piece of scrap iron laid on the bench can act as your pointer/indicator, almost touching the spinning wheel.

It is easy to overtighten while you are trying to pull it into position. It's hard to back off to allow the 180* out side to fall back.

Steven,

I rebuilt and trued the front and rear wheels of my Mk3 last year using the technique in my post, using new spokes, nipples, and rims. Both were disk-brake wheels with substantial offset. Of the two, the rear wheel is by far more complicated to build and true. This task requires some thought but is hardly beyond the skill of a mechanically-inclined Norton owner. Why would we want to discourage a guy from learning and doing a rebuild task on his Norton, especially seeing how interested he is in learning the technique? He came to the forum for help.

Rick

If you know someone that runs a bicycle shop, have them check with United Bicycle Tools in Oregon. They were closing out some very nice Hozan stands a while back for pretty cheap. I've used one for years on both bicycle and motorcycle wheels and it is very sturdy. The Harbor Freight stand works well for balancing wheels, but I wouldn't want to use it for truing as it's fairly flimsy. Take lots of measurements of the offset (use a 4 ft level across the hub and measure to the rim in several places on both sides) and pictures to show the pattern. Lacing is pretty simple if you take your time and don't try to tighten them too much at once. Here is a link to a good article on wheel building for Nortons: broken link removed. Hope this helps.

Thanks to all for the great advice. I bought the Harbor Freight stand today for $55. I have tech articles on lacing wheels in general and Commandos in particular, including the article in the link provided by Nelson (thanks!). Since I'm performing a complete, every last nut and bolt, ground up restoration on my Commando, it seems like cheating to send the wheels out. So I'll roll my own and take my lumps if necessary. No pain, no gain, eh wot?

I've never laced a wheel. That being said, I would think getting the right spokes in the right holes isn't too tough. Tuning the spokes is where experience comes in , especially with the Norton offset.