Loose Spoke

[RobBD]

Found one loose spoke on the front wheel - if there is no obvious damage to the rim can I just tighten it up and are they set at a specific torque? Or does this mean a trip to the "Spoke Technician" (assuming there is such a creature)

 

[dragonrider]

loose spoke

when i played with spokes years ago i would tighten the nipple then twanged it like a tuning fork till it sounded the same as all the rest. the thing with bmw spoked wheels is that there is a locking grub screw (1.5mm) inside the nipple so imo there are two attacks one tighten nipple till grub screw catches (thats the one i favour) or just tighten the grub. I dont think one spoke is gonna be too bad as i have seen bikes with more than that missing
but a spoke technician might just come along and say i am talking a load of b*%%*"#s

 

[Slowdown]

I've been told that if it's just one spoke then tighten it up until it 'pings' with the same tone as the ones next to it. If there's more than one spoke loose then get it looked at.

There's a really good thread on ADVRider about all things wheels. It's fair to say Woody knows what he's talking about

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=145899

 

[BiG DoM]

Advice as above good - but first loosen the tiny allen head grub screw in middle of nipple (spray lube first is a good idea) - then tighten and ting till tuned same as those alongside. finally set the grub screw again to lock it. one or two loose spokes no problem. is meant to be a regular service item these days but have never seen a tech check them???

 

[RobBD]

Thanks for that everyone. As I'm about to leave on a trip to Darwin and back (8000kms) and lots on dirt I chickened out and did the "Spoke Technician" bit at the local BMW dealer. They now all ping like a xylophone!