thanx..bro..

Ok, will consider it... if I can find it somewhere that is! But I'm sure better metal polishes are available...? But I doubt this problem can be solved by a polish...

It is not branded. I didn't find it abrasive too. But the only problem is to find it!
What happened to your spokes? Have they just become dull or are they faded? Many a time its just due to the solidified water droplets which can be removed with some polishing. I think you can try this, or else chroming would work out too expensive. It might be better to replace the spokes itself!

^^^I think watever plating that was on the spokes has come off. Tried WD40 on them. That removed a bit extra dirt and rust off them but the look is gone - they have faded. Didn't notice this before as I thought it must be dirt - had not pressure washed the bike for many months. The recent pressure-washing done at servicing revealed it.

The rear rim was also considerably corroded. Thought I might have to replace it, as it looked really bad. However about 3 - 4 repeated treatments of WD-40 with some mild scrubbing seems to have done the job quite well! The rims look good now, but the spokes dont.

Don't want to change the spokes now, as that will involve removing the whole wheel, tyres, and everything all over again. Then again there might be problems truing the wheel and all, risk of scratches, etc, etc. Just been there and done that... don't wanna repeat it just for the spokes.

Also the underside of the rims have some rust. Didn't dare to apply grease or oil as that might affect the tube and tyre's grip on the rim. Might also adversely affect the rubber. Any solutions, please?

Chrome-plating the spokes makes them look good and easier to clean, but they are prone to rust eventually. Cleaning them regularly will keep them looking good longer.

Galvanizing (zinc oxide) is a better option this will give the spokes the same finish as on the bolts on your bike.

For rims, there isn't much you can do beyond a point.

Keeping them dry and parking the bike under shelter will prolong life. Periodic cleaning (I used to do this when I took my wheels over to the local wheel-truing guy) will help too.

Once rust sets in, the best you can do to my knowledge is to apply a good quality red-oxide paint-base on the insides.

^^^Thanks Nirvan!

But galvanizing or chrome plating will require the spokes to be removed and all... and thats what I dont wanna do... at least now r'now... phew!

How did you clean them? Im asking becaue you have mentioned you did this when you took your wheels to the local wheel truing guy. Did you use something special, etc?

Also, since you seem to know about spoked wheels, would appreciate if you could tell me a couple of things -

1) Is it like the wheels need to be trued on a periodic basis or something? The wheels on my bike have never been trued since the 1st servicing. Strangely TVS had left this very important procedure to the service centre, who in turn just sent the wheels to a local wheel truing guy! (Hope they dont still follow this ridiculous procedure).

2) These wheel truing guys don't seem to have any kind of equipment except for a simple stand on which the wheel rotates. No instruments or anything. Seems they just adjust it using their sight and at best a finger to see if the rim is true. Is this the right way? How can this kind of method be really accurate? Is this the way its done everywhere?

Racoon, I will take a close-up pic of the dunlop monster and post tomorrow. And thanks that you liked the pics.

@Raccoon: I would say please check your rim undersides for rust. Removing them is not that big a deal.
As for the spokes, you cannot do anything beyond a point. Even cleaning inside is tough, so best is to leave it at that.
Coming to the wheel throughing procedure, it is done in a crude, but effective manner. It need not be done on periodic basis, unless you feel some difference in alignment.

Thanks... will look forward to it.

Well removing the rust from the underside is a big deal because it seems damn tough to remove. The only effective way I know to be effective for removing rust is to let it soak in WD40 for quite sometime. May even require multiple applications and some scraping. Well, that worked well for the upper (visible) side of the rim... perhaps because the chrome there seems quite thick. I can't do all this on the underside as I'd have to do it at a puncture shop... which ain't possible. Also the WD40 is also a lube, though a weaker one, and may cause the tyre and rube to slip on the rim. So I guess I better leave it as it is... as there seem to be no solution.

As for the truing procedure, I seriously don't think its as effective as it should be! But again... no better solution! If it was possible to perfectly align stuff this way, we wouldn't need expensive equipment like they use for wheel alighment for 4 wheelers.

Raccoon, for spokes: Yes, that is the way wheels are 'trued', by placing them on a stand and passing an axle through to allow them to rotate freely. Then, by tightening or loosening select spokes with an occasional firm hit with a mallet to the rim itself, the rims are somewhat brought back to shape. That is the only way I know of to true spoked rims.

As for cleaning them, I'd typically vigourously wipe them with cotton waste which was slightly oily the best I could, but have gone to the extent of gently sandpapering stubborn areas.

If your rims have reached the stage where you have stubborn spots of rust, then take the tyres off, clean/sandpaper the insides and give them two coats of red-oxide. If you can't do it yourself, then maybe you can tie up with a painter near the wheel truing guy. red-oxide dries fairly quick in sunlight.

End of the day though - looking back, it may not have been worth the effort - its probably easier replacing the rims (and the spokes at the same time). But yeah, when in college and on a shoestring budget most of the time, these measures went a long way. The *best* way is to paint brand new rims with red-oxide, thyis seems to hold the rust at bay for extended periods.

Coming back to truing, I'd say its necessity would depend on the type of use, but getting them trued once a year anyway is probably a good idea. To check if a wheel 'out out of true':

* Place the bike on the center stand.
* Rotate a wheel firmly and and while it is rotating, put a finger close (an inch is fine) to the the edge of the rim.
* If there are imperfections, this will become obvious because the distance between your finger and the rim will vary.
* A flat spot would also show itself clearly.

Edit: I sometimes used to take the wheels off the bike at home, drive them to the tyre-wallah, take the tyres off, get them trued, work on cleaning them at leisure at home and then drive back to the tyre-wallah to have the tyres remounted.

Yikesssssssss... thats an amazing amount of work! In fact its not just the work thats the problem. You gotta be super alert at every step of the way. These people are pretty crude in the way they work, so have to keep scratches, dents and contamination away at every single step of the way. Whats more cheating/carelessness is also likely... in the form of replacing the tubes and other things.. and a million other issues!

As for truing the wheels, thank gawd the guy didn't use a mallet. I'd have seen red otherwise!!! Anyway, its just the rear wheel that I got trued recently... after all these years! The bike has done only about 30,000 km till now. The truing guy said the front rim is fine (thank gawd... phew!). Seems fine when I checked twice with a finger too. So I seriously don't think truing them every year or something is necessary.

One intresting thing the truing guy told me is that all rims will have a spot which is raised. That is in fact the joint of the rim. Not visible to the naked eye, but can be felt using the finger method. Hitting the raised joint can give the feel that the rim is out of alighment, when it is not.

I guess I'll just give all that lenghty and messy procedure a pass... as the rust on the inner side of the rim did not seem significant enough. Will consider it later or something... if ever I have to remove the tyre for a puncture or changing or something.

For the spokes I'll just try a metal polish or the powder mentioned above (if I can find it). The slight rust has already been removed by WD40.


Since we are speaking of truing wheels, one horrific incident came back to mind. This was at the Service centre (Automark Motors, Paud Road / Kothrud, Pune) of my Hero Honda dealer. In fact saw other horrible things there, but I'll stick to wheel truing episode -

Some poor dude had left his bike there which apparently had the rear rim out of alignment. The truing guy in the most careless and crass way possible, was hammering the rim to glory! Remember, the rim was still on the bike with the tyre and everything else on it. The extreme force with which he was hammering the rim made me wonder how something on the bike or the rim itself didn't break/bend/go outta alignmet!! And the extremely amateurish and careless way he was working, while indulging in some big time small talk with other mechanics there, also spoke for itself... In fact he was hardly even looking at the poor rim that he was hammering away!

So this is how even authorised service centre handle our bikes! BEWARE dudes.... this could happen to your beloved bike when you leave it behind at a service centre, expecting them to set your rims right!

hi guys i wanted to know if a wider tyre can b fitted on the alloys of shine for eg 3.00 18 because i find 2.75 18 for rear to skiny. help plz...

You can go for 3.00 18 on shine. Expect a very slight drop in mileage.

Mrf zapper Q 90/90 x 18 is the best.

why go for 3-18 or 90\90-18 when u can go for 100\90-18 . it will fit on ur stock alloy nicely and cost is not much moreover milage drop is also not much!!