[Cultosaurus]

I think I jinxed myself by putting my dream bike as my avatar before she was actually in my possession. She got stolen before I had my money situation fixed. So, now, I have to down grade from dream to what is acceptable and available. I'm running into questions. But I am sticking with my chosen ride. Road Star, hopefully Silverado. and yes, a narrow window, 2004 to 2007. Air cooled and NO fuel injection . .. no computers, ever. Yeah, I know, blah, blah ~ it's what I want. I'm old school.

I have read and seen videos where some guys with spikes can fix a flat on the road, Tube and all. That worries me. I didn't have all that much luck growing up and fixing holes on some famous in those days . . . a 10 Speed bike. I'm not looking forward to the same problem on a much tighter and heavier tire and rim.

My dream was a 2006 Silverado with cast aluminum rims which are much easier to fix in the middle of a desert . .. if that's where you break down. It's bound to be miles from help at any rate.
For those of you with each type, do you find problems with a higher frequency of repairs with spokes? or are the tied in frequency with cast rims? I know that if I had to repair anything out there alone, it would be a tubeless.

I have to ask because having lost my dream, I'm now back to a plethora of rim types again.

and Most importantly, I have seen where spoke rims can be converted to use tubeless ~~ which is also a goal. Has anyone seen more successes or more failures in trying to convert a spoke rim to tubeless. I'd get the proper rims to replace spoke rims, but that's about $1000 for rims alone, then the tires as well.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cult

 

[GARider]

I like the look of the spoke on certain classic looking bikes but the easy maintenance of the cast rims and the styles they offer makes any bike look good so today cast.
My VTX had spoke, looked nice and cast rims wouldn’t do it justice.

 

[Jaguartech]

Tubeless on a wire wheel can be done by coating the area where the rim strip goes with 3M liquid urethane. There are tubeless valvestem assemblies available that will fit the rim.
However steel tube type rim bead areas are sometimes not as well finished as an alloy cast rim and wont seal perfectly.

I have ran slicks on spoked alloy (Akront and D.I.D.) rims prepared this way with no problems, not sure if I'd try this with a steel rim though.

Cast rims although not as cool looking are by far more reliable and practical.
A plug kit with the little CO2 bottles will quickly get you off the side of road.

 

[Deeksvstarclassic]

I haven't ever been stranded with a flat my whole life. Lucky i guess. But i do have AAA with rv coverage which will tow a cycle also.

 

[lesblank]

In the past 10 years or so, 3 flats. Two held enough air to get me home on the rear. One was an instant front flat on way to work. Called wife to get me, went home, pick up jack, tools and extra tube I keep at home, fixed on side of road. These were all on spoked wheels.

 

[faffi]

Tubes will let out air rapidly. Synthetic rubber holds air better during normal operation, but will rupture if punctured. Natural rubber will usually not split and hence lose air a bit slower, but will need to be checked every week or two since they leak more air over time.

A tubeless tire will usually lose air very slowly, making it easy to come to a controlled stop. Even when totally flat, a tubeless type rim and tire will virtually always remain reasonably controllable since it is very rare for such a tire to derail off the bead. A tube type rim, regardless of what kind of tire is used, will usually see the tire derail off its rim beads, making control next to impossible. If you run a synthetic tube on a tube type rim and pick up a nail when cornering hard at speed, you will usually go down. Which could prove fatal.

Even converted to tubeless, a tube type rim will not hold a flat tire in place on the rim unless you use Tubeliss or similar. But at the same time, a sudden and total loss of pressure is only likely to happen if the valve blows out, which does not happen often and only if the valve stem has become old and brittle.

When I have tube type wheels, I always fit natural rubber in heavy duty version to reduce my chances of a quick loss of air pressure. But I do prefer cast wheels made for tubeless running. These rims are easier to keep clean, are lighter, needs no maintenance and are safer.

 

[RonK]

--
As to what looks the best, that's just a personal choice with no "right" answer. As to practicality and safety, tubeless solid rims are far superior to spokes. That said, of the four spoked rims I have sealed, three would not hold and after a fashion (from a day to two years) would leak. One other lasted for a number of years (which happens to have a tubeless car tire on it), but is becoming suspicious. It's in storage so I don't know if that has anything to do with it.

Definitely the ability to patch your tire on the side of the road is a valuable safeguard.
--

 

[pauli466]

I think I jinxed myself by putting my dream bike as my avatar before she was actually in my possession. She got stolen before I had my money situation fixed. So, now, I have to down grade from dream to what is acceptable and available. I'm running into questions. But I am sticking with my chosen ride. Road Star, hopefully Silverado. and yes, a narrow window, 2004 to 2007. Air cooled and NO fuel injection . .. no computers, ever. Yeah, I know, blah, blah ~ it's what I want. I'm old school.

I have read and seen videos where some guys with spikes can fix a flat on the road, Tube and all. That worries me. I didn't have all that much luck growing up and fixing holes on some famous in those days . . . a 10 Speed bike. I'm not looking forward to the same problem on a much tighter and heavier tire and rim.

My dream was a 2006 Silverado with cast aluminum rims which are much easier to fix in the middle of a desert . .. if that's where you break down. It's bound to be miles from help at any rate.
For those of you with each type, do you find problems with a higher frequency of repairs with spokes? or are the tied in frequency with cast rims? I know that if I had to repair anything out there alone, it would be a tubeless.

I have to ask because having lost my dream, I'm now back to a plethora of rim types again.

and Most importantly, I have seen where spoke rims can be converted to use tubeless ~~ which is also a goal. Has anyone seen more successes or more failures in trying to convert a spoke rim to tubeless. I'd get the proper rims to replace spoke rims, but that's about $1000 for rims alone, then the tires as well.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cult

There must be very few roadstars with spoke wheels in those years 2004-2007 because i really don't see any on the road, if you get one in those years it will most likely be with cast rims

 

[Cultosaurus]

There must be very few roadstars with spoke wheels in those years 2004-2007 because i really don't see any on the road, if you get one in those years it will most likely be with cast rims

I wish that were the case. I keep finding lots that have spokes, at least up here for sale in Canada. Cast is my preferred rim, thanks to some good advice. But, about half of what I see have spokes, even in my limited year range, which is 2004 to 2007. There are only small differences between the 1600 and the 1700, but they are enough for me to make up my mind.

I also want to thank everyone for their great advice. It really helped in narrowing my choice. Hopefully, this income nonsense will get finished so and I can finally get back on two wheels.

Peace
Cult

 

[BubbaKahuna]

I work at a Yamaha dealership & we don't repair any more spoke wheel tires than those on tubeless cast rims.
I buy-fix-flip Roadstars over the winter, had probably 10 in the past 10 years, no difference in my eyes about tire failures.
My main ride is a 2006 spoke I bought new. over 50k miles with no tire issues.

 

[Cultosaurus]

I work at a Yamaha dealership & we don't repair any more spoke wheel tires than those on tubeless cast rims.
I buy-fix-flip Roadstars over the winter, had probably 10 in the past 10 years, no difference in my eyes about tire failures.
My main ride is a 2006 spoke I bought new. over 50k miles with no tire issues.

2006 is my preferred year. The white was what I originally liked so much. What worries me is being miles from nowhere and getting a flat. Fixing a tube in the middle of Death Valley just isn't on the menu for me. With a cast rim, at least a worm repair can get me to somewhere. I would absolutely love to have access to all the Road Stars you're finding. I'm presently without any vehicle, so trying to find something that I can actually get to is also a problem. I just don't have the financial resources for failure out on the road, that's why I don't want any ECU mucking things up in the middle of nowhere either. Strait up carbureted I can handle, I have at least enough mechanical skill for that. I guess I just have a little too much anxiety over failure. Having been a trouble-shooter of various kinds of equipment over my lifetime, having failures on my own machine just isn't an option for me.