Posts
95
Joined
7/23/2020
Location
Tampa, FL, USA
2022 KTM 350 SXF. Came stock with black excel wheels, black spokes, silver nipples.
I’ve broken 3 different spokes on the rear wheel over the last 10-15 hours of ride time. My mechanic says it’s because of the mismatch metal of the spoke vs nipple causing corrosion.
I’m having a real hard time finding a spoke kit with black spokes and silver nipples (so the rear still matches the front). All I see is silver on silver (excel kit) or black on black (turner kit). I did find on eBay a black on silver kit made by MXChamps but they seem Chinese and I haven’t been able to find any reviews on them.
I’d really rather try to avoid spending $300 on buying 36 individual OEM replacement spokes. Anyone have any advice or recommendations?
KTM definitely has spoke issues, the spokes come loose often and you need to be diligent with wheel/ spoke maintenance. Unless you have the wheel stripped already, I would order the 3 stock spokes, apply anti sieze to the threads….maybe spokes over tightened? I keep spare front & rear spokes in my van….😂
If you continue to use OEM spokes, make sure you wire tie or zip tie the spokes at all the crossings. This will at least hold the spoke in place when it breaks. If you don't, eventually you will get a spoke wrapped around the hub and it will egg out the hole in the hub and make the hub useless. Might even gouge up your brake caliper and caliper hanger since they usually break on the right side.
I would say corrosion would only inhibit tuning/truing (due to seizing), not cause them to break ... unless you ride in salt water and their is REALLY bad corrosion.
I like the idea that spokes might be too tight.
Typically there is an underlying issue with suspension setup where too much load is being sent to the wheels and not soaked up.
Do you have the correct air pressure/shock spring for your weight? Are you riding FMX?
I am also looking for a replacement spoke set - 21/18in for my old wheels that I ride in the desert. The rims are cracked from slamming into rocks with old moose bibs. All OEM parts except for an A60 rear hoop.
I've had very good luck with the Tusk spoke kits from RMATV.
They are slightly thicker (heavier) than OE spokes, made from stainless, and the nipples have a socket-head that speeds up the lacing process.
I have the Tusk spokes in three or four of my YZ wheels and both wheels on my KX500. I've also used them in wheels on bikes I've owned in the past.
With Takasago Excel rims, they always settle in after a ride or two and need very little adjustment over time.
When I put in my 2023 MC350F (KTM rear wheel) it shows the option for black spoke / silver nipples.
https://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/tires-and-wheels/tusk-motorcycle-spo…
The Shop
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
I had a Tusk Impact front wheel that busted a few spokes (like 10 or so) that I replaced one by one with KTM spares I had over the course of 9 months.
Then one day practicing hard pack at Glen Helen on my 2013 350SXF, the front wheel almost exploded ... basically collapsed on a landing that I didn't think that was extreme. This was back in summer of 2015-2016 or so.
I've been tempted to try these spokes in a personal rear 18in wheel build with a DID Dirtstar rim (only bc of price). Do you think they've changed the spokes/improved them since then? I see a lot of good reviews ... but I have my trauma, lol.
I've never owned the Tusk wheels or hubs, but I've used plenty of sets of Tusk spokes on YZ wheels over the past several years and I trust them.
I'm pretty hard on wheels, but I do keep my spokes tight and check them pretty regularly. I stick with OE hubs and Excel Takasago rims on pretty much everything. Even when I tweak the lip on the rims, the spokes have held up.
Put a little anti-seize on your spokes and in the nipples before you thread them together.
I just broke a spoke in my 2023 MC350F rear wheel at 35 total engine hours...
I'm planning to replace the rear rim with a standard Excel Takasago and re-lace the stock hub with Tusk spokes and nipples.
Since day one, the OE KTM spokes on that rear wheel did not stay tight for more than one day of riding.
My OE KTM front wheel has been relatively trouble free.
I'm a pretty light rider (160lb) both on the scales and how i ride the bike.
I do run bibs pretty often and sometimes they go bad during a race ... that's really hard on spokes/wheels. I might ride on a soft rear, but typically won't tolerate a soft bib up front so usually the rim is pretty well protected, at least enough to stop tore roll. Still, when you hit a 12 inch braking bump/step going 65 mph, I do tend to put a lot of lip dings in my front wheels.
If I think back to my 2013 closed cart fork, that thing would just jack hammer on consecutive square bumps. Really poor fork performance. Come to think of it, a lot of WP forks are that way. So WP equipped bikes tend to be harder on wheels than KYB equivalent, in my experience.
And I ride year round which means the tracks are baked 9 months of the year.
So anyway, conditions have a lot to do with how the wheel will hold up. It's good to hear you're having good performance when you combine the spokes with a good OEM hub and Japanese rim.
Conditions, riding style, suspension, etc are all part of it for sure. Your off-road stuff sounds like it puts far more energy into the rim than what I do.
I'm about 165lbs and ride moto 100% of the time. I run 13.5psi to 14.0psi almost everywhere. Also, I'm heavy on the rear wheel (on throttle) and not afraid to jump into braking bumps, or jump to flat where many people choose to slow down a little.
I end up getting a ding or two in the lip of every rear rim I own after a few years.
I ride some hardpack clay and some rocky tracks, so it's just part of the deal.
My KX500 wheels are about five years old with that same combo of components and they're 100% perfect with zero dents, dings, or damage. I kinda baby that bike since parts for the KX are expensive and difficult to find.
Lots of similar experiences since going orange in 2019. Most of my rear wheel issues went away when I ponied up the cash for a spoke torque wrench. I was definitely over torquing things.
Are the tusk spokes ~10% or 20 or 30% heavier than stock?
I'll try to figure that out today... I have a brand new KTM OE spoke sitting here and some Tusk spokes. The Tusk spokes are straight, constant diameter, while the KTM spokes are reduced diameter.
https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/8801/what-are-the-pros-and…
KTM Rear wheels are junk. The spokes are garbage, made by Alpina in Italy. When they break, they will wrap around your hub and cause damage, maybe even wallow out the hole in the hub badly. If you replace them with heavier spokes, you might be OK, or you might end up pulling a spoke head through the hub. The hub is very thin cast aluminum on the brake side. Look close at the pic below. At the end of the day, you're better off just getting a complete wheel with a solid hub and good spokes. I personally avoid chinese spokes as I have had bad luck in spite of others' success.
Another problem with the KTM wheels. They are trued and torqued by a machine, not a human. If you look at a new KTM, you'll notice some spokes have no threads showing while others have a crap ton showing. The machine don't care. But having minimal thread engagement in a nipple is not a good thing.
Post a reply to: Need KTM Spoke Recommendations