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Stelvio rear wheel - loose spokes ????

bigkev

Tuned and Synch'ed
Joined
Oct 9, 2011
Messages
44
Location
County Durham, UK
Anybody out there had this one ?

Just spent 4 days touring Scotland and on day 3 decided new tyres were required, so arranged to call at a motorcycle dealers along our route and had the original Pirelli Scorpions replaced with Metzeler Tourance.

Tyres were fitted and off we went, I've done about 500 miles since and more than happy with the tyres.

I get home and wash the bike down and whilst it is on the centrestand decide to check the rear wheel, only to find EVERY spoke is loose.

The bike is a 2012 NTX and had 4000 miles on the clock when the tyres were changed.

So...

Question 1, can having a tyre change cause all the spokes to become loose ???

Question 2, can loose spokes (all of them) just happen ???

The bike has never been off road, I have not hit anything or anything like a big enough pothole to cause any damage. Rim is in good condition and appears to spin true.
The bike handled fine for the 500 miles since the tyre change.

Whilst it was not a motorcycle dealer I am familiar with that fitted the tyres, they had a good setup and all the correct equipment for changing tyres. I also noticed they had a lot of work in which suggests they are a popular garage.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I will be talking to my dealer on Monday to see what can be done.
I can't see how a tyre change can cause this.

Kev
 
That's a tough one

- but I'd guess if they used a car tire changer the center stud/speed nut up thru the center of the hub and heavy bead breaking jaws could have pulled the hub and rim out of true with enough force to cause this issue

Bike tire changers I'm used to grip the outside of the rim and don't put any pressure on the hub
 
The garage that fitted the tyres was a bike dealer with a large workshop, unfortunately it is 6 hours away from me, I cannot think they don't use the correct equipment as they are a reputable main dealer, not a back street affair.

Looks like a warranty argument coming, not sure how that will go tho !!!

Kev
 
FWIW, during my cross country trip last year, i had quite a few spokes loosen up. I chalked it up to a fairly heavy load and some moderately rough roads heading up to and in Alaska.

Tightened them up on the road and then had the rim trued when i got home. I've heard it mentioned that the rims should be inspected and tightened after the first couple of thousand miles after they've "settled in".

Makes sense to me, as it hasnt happened since.
 
I'll be having the wheel checked out at the dealers next week and if no defects are found then hopefully get the spokes retightened by someone who knows what they doing, especially as all the spokes are loose.

Dealer has never had this occur before so still concerned why it happened.

Kev
 
Sounds abnormal to me.

Lighter bike (G8VSE), lighter rider, maybe (178lbs) paved road all the time.

When I check them at 10,000km (6250miles), only one spoke from the rear wheel sang a slightly lower tune when I tapped it with a wrench.

PDSCN6725.jpg
 
I'm surprised you didn't lose any air considering it is a tubeless with an o ring system.
 
If I'm reading Daniel's Maintenence Chart for "Wheel Nipple Tightening" correctly
(here: https://www.guzzitech.com/forum/190/10971.html)
You're to inspect them every service interval and according to the note (1), before every journey.

For my bike, which will never see any road surface less than gravel, I'm going with the cast wheels. Not going to mess with this issue.
 
Just checked tyre pressure and no loss after being stood for 2 days, it seems this is a new one, I have tried a bit of research and can't find any info on all the spokes coming loose at once on any wire wheels much less on a stelvio.

So it will be back to the dealers next week, there is a growing list for him to sort:

1: rear wheel
2: small oil leak from the top of the carc
3: cracked winglet
4: centrestand recall
5: mounting post for spot lamp coming away from the crash bar at the weld

Hope this can all be sorted in a few days

Kev
 
Hi, I hope you get all sorted, Whilst not trouble free my 2011 Stelvio has 34,000 miles on the clock. The only touble I have had with the wheels has been coments from other bikers (not Guzzi owner) asking if they leak? One tyre fitter decided in his wisdom, he wanted to reset the tension on the spokes?? when the bike was a couple of months old (No they did not need reseting), I was not impressed and told him DO NOT TOUCH, Its under warranty. I have been very lucky, any problems have been sorted very promt by my dealer. Love the bike.
 
Well that's the bike trailered up ready to go to the dealers in the morning, checked in with them on the phone today to find that parts ordered for oil leak on carc 2 weeks ago still haven't turned up.

I'm hoping 1 to 2 weeks to get sorted, fingers crossed. As long as the wheel is sorted the other issues wouldn't stop me riding.

:unsure:
 
It is well within the realm of normal for spoke wheels to require the spokes to be tightened.
That does not mean they will require tightening, but they may require tightening and should be checked. More so when new, as they get older the need for checking should abate.
That is not something the dealer should be required for.
I would be disappointed that the shop changing the tire did not notice the loose spokes, but for all I know they were not loose at the time.

The great thing about spoke wheels it the look.
The downside is they actually require maintenance and attention from the owner.
 
I'm hoping the wheel is simply in need of maintenance as this an easy fix, however, if on inspection there is some defect which caused all the spokes to come loose I fear a long wait for a new wheel due to warranty delays.

There is still a big question mark over why all the spokes are loose as I cannot find any info of this happening on a new wheel (4,000 miles) on a bike that has never been off the tarmac.

I might know more tomorrow.

Kev
 
Now this is gonna hurt. But here's the truth. It was Friday afternoon. Luigi had just a leeetle too much wine with lunch. He got back and thought 'Now wadda was a that I was supposa to finish uppa? Somea thinga with a the rear wheeleo. Lemma me a se.....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
 
I had a few loosen up on the rear wheel of my 12 ntx as well at about 3-4kmi, It never lost any air, and even when I nipped them up the pressure did not change and I have had no further loose spokes at 9kmi. These wheels have held air better than any I have ever had on any bike. I checked side truth and the nipping up did not alter the wheel alignment ( I will check the runout on the perimeter at the tire swap)

Have not had any loosen on my griso.
 
I'm off to Italy touring in July so i might just pop in and see Luigi and tell him what i think of him :evil:

Dealer got the bike now, they sending the wheel to a wire wheel specialist and hopefully he can sort it, as long as the specialist tells me the wheel is good to use that will do me.

Still no sign of the other parts tho, 2 weeks and counting since they were ordered :(

Kev
 
bigkev said:
I'm off to Italy touring in July so i might just pop in and see Luigi and tell him what i think of him :evil:
Kev

Well, if your doin that, can I give you a list? :lol:
 
V. interested to find out what caused the whole lot to loosen off.
I check the spokes once a year just before the mot test and have only ever had a couple of the rear spokes need tightening.

I was at a French service station a few years ago and got talking to a bloke who liked the bike, he told me he went to the Guzzi workshops at Mandello, - a bit like your or my garage but a lot less organised :laugh:
 
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