Comstar to Spokes

I am not a big fan of the Comstar wheel. It gets the job done nicely, but I think it is quite homely... even with the new satin black powder coat. So I decided to figure out a way to make spoke wheels for my CX500. Anyone else who is interested in spokes for their Comstar clad machine can source these spoke rings I've created from me. Purchase just the spoke rings or I can build the wheel for you. Please contact me for details.

How to disassemble the rear comstar wheel...


The fasteners that hold the wheel together are not a standard a nut and bolt. They are designed to not be taken apart. So we have to get medieval!  First, center punch all the fasteners that hold the hub to the outer wheel.

 Then drill out the heads of the bolts. Use a nice sharp bit for this, it will save a lot of time. I used a cobalt bit. They are more expensive, but well worth it. They stay sharp much longer.


When you drill through to the shaft of the bolt the head will come right off.



After you drill out all of the bolt heads it's on to the rivets around the perimeter. These rivets are aluminum and much easier to drill than the bolt heads. I center punched these too so I was drilling right down the center of the rivet.



Now that all the bolts and rivets are drilled I used a hammer and drift to remove the bolts from the hub.




After I removed all of the bolts the star spokes just about fell out.




This is what we are after; rear hub, drive side...

...rear hub, brake side.



These are the spoke rings, after water jetting and before finishing, bolted on to the stock CX500 Comstar rear hub. I wanted to see how well they fit before finishing.

This is an 18" rim laced to the spoke rings. I laced the wheel together to make sure everything fit and the spoke length was correct. 

I have sent the wheel components off for powder coating. Next weekend I will have the finished wheel assembled. 

Parts are back...


Stock hub powder coated

Hub with spoke rings mounted

I trued the rings on the stand before lacing them, just to be sure they were round.


lace one side at a time

This is the pattern for a standard 40 spoke rim. Flip it over and do the same on the other side.

Now it's ready to be trued up on the stand.

Now it's all tightened up and ready for a tire! I will mount that next week.

Spoke wheel with 4.00-18 tire mounted up. The outer diameter is the same as the 16" Comstar with a 130/90 tire. I really like how the wheel turned out so now I am working on the front. When the front wheel is finished I will mount them on the bike and see what it looks like.

Now it's time to take apart the front 19" front Comstar...

This is the donor wheel I will be using for the hub.

First remove the hubcap.

Now you can see the fasteners that actually hold the hub to the wheel.

The fasteners are just a nut and bolt with a small rod pressed in to prevent loosening. You can see the rod in between the bolt and nut on the right side. With a couple of good 12mm wrenches I was able to unscrew the nuts by hand, one of them just broke off. Either way it doesn't matter, you don't need them. If you can't get them off this way then you can always cut off the nut with a cutting wheel or drill out the head of the bolt like I did on the rear wheel.

I used a hammer and drift to drive out the bolts. They came out pretty easily.

fasteners out

Now you just have to drill out the rivets around the perimeter. They are aluminum so they come out easily.


Here is what we are after. Now I will make spoke rings to fit this front hub. I should have those ready next week.

This is the new 19" rim and tire I will be using on the front wheel.

I picked up the front spoke rings from the water jet guy today.


  They fit perfectly! So I measured for and ordered my spokes. Now I need to finish the corners and spoke holes, then off to powdercoat.

Next week I should have all the parts ready for assembly. I can't wait to see what my CX500 looks like with spokes!

The spokes finally came in. So I laced them up to check fit.

Powder coat time...
I picked up my parts from powdercoat, they look great.


The tolerances on the spoke rings are pretty tight so I needed to sand off the powdercoat on the inside diameter to get a nice fit.

I mounted a drum sander to my drill press for this.

They cleaned up nicely and now I have a perfect fit.



I used nylock nuts to mount the rings to the hub. I don't want those to loosen up.

Time to lace rim to the hub.







 Spokes in place and wheel mounted in truing stand.

I clamped a bar to the stand and made a mark to help see the side to side movement and wheel hop. Both of which you can correct with strategic spoke tightening.

Al tightened up and ready for the tire. I will mount that up tomorrow and see how it looks on the bike.

Tire mounted: 3.25x19.

The OD on the tires are perfect match.

Wheels mounted on bike.

Before

After







57 comments:

  1. Do you sell these? How much? Charles.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes! They go for $129 per wheel set (2 rings). Just click on spoke ring tab.

      Delete
  2. hi do you have a price for completed rear wheels? what state are you producing from? ive been trying to get spoked cx rims for ages!
    thanks -angus (angus_holmes@hotmail.com)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Jerry, i will like to buy 2 set of rings for front and rear wheel?
    From the picture, I can install those right onto the wheel hub without any custom work?
    Please shoot me a mail at Marco@customburner.com

    Nice work!

    thanks
    Marco

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Marco,
      Yes the rings are designed mount onto the stock hubs with no modifications. I will send you a paypal invoice and send them out asap.
      Thank you.

      Delete
  4. Your bike looks amazing. I just got a 1982 Silverwing GL500 that has had some mods (no fairings) but has a long way to go before it is as pretty as yours. I've been thinking of going with a pearly white but haven't been able to find any other customized GL500s with that color, but in my head, it is truly pretty! We'll see. :) Peace and happy holidays!

    Beth

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks Beth. Pearl white would look great! Send some photos when finished.
    MotoSymthesis

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Great wheels
    Do you know of anyone in the U.K that can supply the spoked adapter plates
    If not how much would they be including shipping to the UK

    Many thanks james

    ReplyDelete
  7. awesome look how can i get a set i have a 1980 cx 500 custom i am in california, how can i get a set for mine u sell it on ebay o something?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Just click on the "spoke ring sets" tab on top of page.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Do you also sell the spoke kits, or supply the dimensions for someone like Buchannan?
    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  10. I would be happy to help you figure that out. I know what size to use for 18" and 19" wheels, that's what I put on my bike. I am currently working on some 16" wheels to see how that works.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Nice work. I am interested in having a set of rings made for an 81 Gl1100. could you shoot me a note at sunnbobb at geemail dot com and we can discuss? thanks

    Sunny

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They should fit your GL 1100. Send me the measurements and I will confirm.
      Thanks

      Delete
    2. Did you ever get any confirmation on the GL 1100 fitment?

      Delete
  12. Are they steel plates? And what size is the steel?

    ReplyDelete
  13. this is fantastic, solved my problumshopefully. do they fit my 1980 cb650 (twin front disc) comstars?
    rick (rickyc83@gmail.com)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, they will fit. I am working a CB dual disc front wheel right now.

      MotoSynthesis

      Delete
  14. Hi Jerry,
    very nice work! Are your plates set up for 40 spoke wheels? I already have a set of older goldwing spokers and would like to use those rims. Its a $ thing. Thanks so much.
    Rob Young
    "Yooperwing"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Most of the wheels I build are 40 spoke. I also have templates made for 36 and 60 spoke wheels.

      MotoSynthesis

      Delete
  15. Hoping to buy a set of wheels - I can send you my hubs
    John (whitesail@hotmail.com)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi John,
      Just saw your post, sorry for the delay. I will email you today.

      MotoSynthesis

      Delete
  16. Does this take away weight or add weight when modifying to the spokes?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good question Kyle. I will weigh a before and after and find out. Stay tuned

      Delete
  17. Pure awesomeness!
    Joe K - Chicago
    '82 GL1100
    9545 documented original miles

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Joe! I would love to see your ride.

      MotoSynthesis

      Delete
  18. Good looking wheels. I really enjoyed to see these.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hey mate, how did the cb650 go? Will they work front and back?

    ReplyDelete
  20. Would this work on a 78' CB750 Rear hub with disc brakes? Very interested!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes! I just built a wheel for a CB750 and it worked out great. We used a 17" x 4.25" rim with 40 spokes.

      Delete
    2. This just made my day! How much would it cost if I sent you the comstar rear hub/disk and a 17"x4.25 rim? (I'm planning on getting this done over the summer)

      Delete
    3. I have a rim, spokes, and spoke rings in stock. I can build you a wheel for $350. Just send me your hub.

      Delete
  21. Nice article. I think it is useful and unique article. I love this kind
    of article and this kind of blog. I have enjoyed it very much. Thanks
    for your website.
    TLR Carbon wheels

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for looking Syad. I appreciate the feedback.
      - MotoSythesis

      Delete
  22. The material used is steel ? it's solid enough ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Steel or aluminum, stronger than original hubs.

      Delete
  23. The kit only comes with the rings, nuts, and bolts right? No spokes or rims?

    ReplyDelete
  24. Does your contact email still work for getting a hold of you?

    ReplyDelete
  25. Yes, Contact info is current. I look forward to hearing from you.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I sent an email to you a couple of days ago for pricing on laced wheels. Did it show up?

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hi jerry, will these rings work with the comstar hubs on my 82 CB900F? I can use any spoke rim just as long as they are the size of my comstars, right? 3.25" x 19 front and 4" x 18 rear. Also, I have new tubeless tires on my comstars. Would I be able to use them on spoke rims?

    Thanks
    Stephen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes!! You can use any rim you want, including your stock size that will use the same tires.

      Delete
  28. hey there, not sure if my last message went through, I'd love to get in on a set of these, last project for my cx besides a tank swap. I'm in Canada, I'd love to hear from you. Haveshoeswilltravel@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  29. Thank you for posting the great content…I was looking for something like this…I found it quiet interesting, hopefully you will keep posting such blogs….Keep sharing
    carbon wheelset

    ReplyDelete
  30. Hello Jerry

    Great job

    Would you send your kit to France?

    BTW could you make a 16 inch rear spoke?
    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Guillaume,
      yes we ship world wide, and yes you can build a 16" rear wheel. There is a photo above that is a 16" rear for cx500 before and after.
      Thanks

      Delete
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    ReplyDelete
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