Lace and True Your Dirt Bike Wheel for the First Time!

In this video I walk you through the process of how to lace a dirt bike wheel and true it up! I will be continuing to work on my 1999 Kawasaki KX250 getting it ready to rip! Don't get me wrong, this can be a tough task to tackle, but if I can do it, so can you. Be patient and take your time.
If you decide to grab a truing stand to alleviate a bunch of the stress, pick up the one I use in the video below 👇
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[@HooligansMx]

Ome thing i also noticed is that tiny tiny tiny little bit you said was good enough at the end once you have the tire on and aired up it can actually pretty much solidify it to where its dead nuts perfect

[@dr00andrew]

easiest way to get wheel straight is to mark the nipple inside the rim with a sharpie. after all spoked are in the hub and threaded through the rim, put the wheel on the stand and hand tighten each nipple 2 full turns (or until all are the same tension), using the sharpie mark on the nipple to keep track. go around and tighten each 1 a quarter turn. after they have been hand tightened and turned 1/4 turn in, then begin truing it. it is essential the adjustments are made long before the nipples are near the final torque spec

[@GregHitchko]

Thanks for contributing that method of truing Andrew! With the sharpie, are you marking every single nipple or a specific one, and then everything is based off of that marked one? Where on the nipple do you mark it as well, I can't quite picture it in my head. Much appreciated dude!

[@dr00andrew]

@@GregHitchko i mark everyone on the inside of the rim where you would use a drill to tighten it. its just so i can confirm i am doing a 1/4 or half turn. to help you picture it, most nipples use some sort of philips head on the tube side of the rim, not the side youd use a regular spoke wrench on. its sole purpse is to put a reference mark on it so when i tighten each one, i can visually see 1/4 or 1/2 turn

[@GregHitchko]

@@dr00andrew Ahhhh yes! I see what you are saying now. Thanks for clarifying that. I am going to try that technique in the future and give it a shot to see how it goes. Sounds like i'll need a full pulpmx show ready to rock for when I do it!

[@Hyngyynj]

Good work

[@GregHitchko]

Thank you Bobby 💨💨

[@empiresrikesfat]

Yes! Original silver colour looks great, not enough mid range priced silver wheels to choose from for this model bike, Excel here in Australia are $1800 without tyres, there's green and black alloy rims they are cheaper but to common now

[@GregHitchko]

Dang that is wild! Didn’t know they were that expensive. Seems outrageous to me

[@empiresrikesfat]

@@GregHitchkoThats for set of assembled delivered (only option atm) Excel wheels .. hubs, spokes, rims but yeah expensive.

[@GregHitchko]

@@empiresrikesfat maybe I should start lacing wheels for people for cheaper haha dang.

[@jacobfreese1810]

I have had an easy time getting the wheel true until I get the torque wrench out. Some say you need to torque the spokes but I’ve found it impossible to get a rim to stay true if you torque each spoke after truing.

[@GregHitchko]

I'm personally not a spoke torque wrench guy myself. I feel that it throws the wheel back out of true. I just go by feel and make sure they are all tight as the wheel gets trued. Thanks for sharing those same struggles with the spoke torque wrench Jacob

[@zealobiron]

Some manuals just tell you to hit them and tighten them based on tone

[@tylerwhelanmusic]

Thanks 🙏

[@GregHitchko]

Hope it helped you out dude! Thanks man

[@erickawasaki4351]

Hi Greg, I have a kx 125 1996 in restoration. Do you know how to center the rim and the hub on the rear and front wheel? Sur, the rear rim is not in the center of the hub. How to now where I must place the rim compared with the hub? Thanks a lot for your answer. Best regards, Eric from France

[@Sunspot-19]

These are straight pull spokes. The holes in the hub flange dictate where the spoke will go. Try the same with J bend. Now, what cross pattern is the hub designed around? Lacing wheels happens to be a damn sweet hobby. Dirtbike or mountain bike, either are rejuvinating and the only way to take possession of a bike of any type.

[@GregHitchko]

Nothing like lacing your own wheels that is for sure! I'll stay away from the MTB side of things and leave that to you lol

[@Sunspot-19]

@@GregHitchko Bicycle wheels have a little learning curve to them since they can be laced in several different patterns. 2x, 3x and 4x. Then we can do a race lace that lays two spokes side by side at the hub. Makes for a stronger wheel that is very elegant at the same time. There are various straight lace type hubs as well however, they are typically 28 spoke. Wheel building is my escape. Really intrigued me with your wheel build video. Dunno if many people can actually do the deed properly these days. Keep it going, my friend!!

[@ryanphillips727]

Lovin the KX….I’ll be home tomorrow checking dates on my rims on my KTM380, supposed to be all original. We will see. Great videos BTW!

[@GregHitchko]

Right on Ryan thanks man, let me know when you find out if the rims are original or not. That would be super cool if they were.

[@Nahtanoj65]

Didn't know about the mfg date on the rim, that's pretty neat. Looks like I have an oem 99 on the rear (assuming it is lol), and a 02 takasago on the front of mine!

[@GregHitchko]

It’s a pretty cool fun fact right?! That’s rad you’ve got the oem in the rear, and cool to know when the front was made too 💨💨

[@PercyJackson93]

What can I do if I didnt measure the offset before removing the old spokes? Do all motorbikes have an offset? I cant find any mention of it in the manual, only the horizontal and vertical buckle tolerances

[@GregHitchko]

What type of wheel are you lacing up?!

[@PercyJackson93]

@@GregHitchko It's a triumph street scrambler with disk brakes. Is there anything else I should know? I've been trying to find everything I can online but I can't see much on this topic.

[@PercyJackson93]

I see that offset is often stamped on the rim as an IS or an ET number in mm but I don't have that either. I do have spacers either side of my bearings so I assume the offset will be 0 and then spacers have been used to position the entire wheel. This is my first time hearing about offset though

[@chrisstokley7687]

i wanna scream > <

[@chaneli4855]

😭😭😭😭😭😭

[@lawrence6559]

p♥r♥o♥m♥o♥s♥m ✔️

[@twenty-js1kd]

would locktite hurt the spokes?

[@GregHitchko]

Ehh I would stay away from it and just make sure that you always check the tightness. It's worse when the spokes seize or lock up in the nipple