Unofficial Royal Enfield Community Forum
General Discussion => Sidecar Talk => Topic started by: H2O on April 10, 2013, 06:50:30 pm
-
I purchased a brand new rig on 19 January 2013 (see my post elsewhere).
I have done just over 4,500 km's of which about 4,000 km's were with the side car attached.
The bike has had it's services as specified. The 500 km service at 481 km's and the 3000 km service at 3037 km's.
I have not ridden on dirt (gravel) roads or been off road. I don't wheelie (lift the front wheel on pull away), do wheel spins. I'm 59 years old and have no reason to prove myself.
On 6 April I discovered eight broken spokes on the sidecar wheel and three on the rear wheel of the bike.
On the sidecar six spoke were broken on the outer side of the wheel fairly evenly spaced around the wheel. Two were broken on the inner wheel on the same side of the wheel. In every case the head (the end that attaches to the hub) had sheared off. There is no visible damage to the rim itself.
On the rear wheel of the bike two spokes were broken on one side of the wheel and almost directly opposite the third spoke was broken. Again the head of the spokes had sheared off. All three were detached on the same side of the hub. Again there is no visible damage to the rim.
Our local distributors are puzzled by this and so am I.
Any comments, advice or remedies will be most welcome
See photo's
-
Side cars put a huge side load on wheels when you are cornering. Spokes break at the bend because they aren't tight enough. They must be tighter then the highest load they encounter. (I don't know how to determine that). If they aren't tight enough they repeatedly bend as the wheel flexes.
-
sorry about those spokes going bad..Maybe they were loose from the start...Make sense re. the extra stress created about a sidecar but then again....
Just had this conversation today with a Honda mechanic regarding a few loose spokes on my rear 1100 tire...I was told to lift the bike off the ground, take out the air and then proceed to do the ping test on each spoke..If you hear a thunk, tighten that spoke just enough to hear it ping striking it with a metallic object (screw driver)...Don't be a gorilla using the spoke wrench and another good idea is to put a little liquid wrench on the adjuster nuts....you don't want loose spokes as it can create issues and you don't want to do it with the tire full of air...
-
Also you really should install complete spoke sets in both wheels. If you look closely at the rest of the spokes you may notice cracks on the inside of the bend. Even if you can't see cracks, the broken spokes are telling you all the spokes are damaged.
-
Might want to get a set of somewhat bigger spokes. They are available from wheel shops
Bare
-
Buchanan's has the best. They really know what they're doing when it comes to wheels.
-
Thanks so far for the advice and support. I won't be surprised if it is indeed loose spokes that gave rise to the problem. It certainly does fit in to the circumstances that I described.
Unfortunately I'll find it a bit difficult to purchase the thicker spokes from Buchanans. As far as I know they don't have a branch in South Africa. In any case, the bike is still under guarantee so I'll have to stick to genuine parts for now.
I hope that the bike wheel will be repaired before the month-end as I want to attend a rally in Margate about 720 km's away. This is one of the largest rallies in South Africa sponsored by Harley Davidson.
-
Good luck to you. :)
Here in the USA the 2 year warranty lists a number of things that will void it.
In the list it includes, "Motorcycles fitted with side cars." which is rather ironic because CMW (the importer) sells side cars for these bikes.
-
I have just checked the warranty and fortunately it does not state that the warranty is void if a sidecar is fitted.
My frustration is that the distributor apparently does not have spokes in stock. Apparently they can only supply 5!
Their next shipment only comes in the end of April. I hoping to get a new rear wheel then.
-
Aren't there any wheel shops in South Africa? One of those should be able to fix you up. You certainly shouldn't have to get them from Buchanans. Hitchcocks's has heavy duty spokes for sidecars.
Bare
-
To my knowledge there are not any specialist motorcycle wheel shops in South Africa.
We have a number of chain stores that sell accessories and riding gear and then ofcourse motorcycle dealers. These dealers often carry out repairs to wheels themselves and will carry parts for the brands that they sell.
Apparently the wheel on the sidecar comes from a Honda motorcycle. The particular bike was sold as the CG 125 in South Africa. I took the wheel to a Honda Dealer to have it re-laced and was told that Honda in South Africa no longer stock these spokes as the CG 125 has been discontinued. They referred me to a motorcycle scrapyard who was not very hopeful either saying that the CG 125 spokes were becoming scarce.
The biggest frustration is the distributor's inability to supply me with new correct spokes. He sent spokes to a RE dealer to install on my bike and sidecar but they were incorrect!
I have sent inquiries to Hitchcocks and to RoyalEnfieldZone and should hear from them soon.
Thanks for all the support so far.
-
Oh man, now I have to go and check my spokes as I beat on my rig like a rented mule......
-
A wheel of a 125 is WAY too small for a sidecar. Get something bigger. You will continue to tear up wheel that size! There is a massive difference in the sideloads put on a side car versus a motorcycle.
Bare