There are a lot of motorcycle and dirt bike riders out there that may not be aware of this, but a spoke torque wrench can be a very important tool in have in your tool box, especially if you do more than basic maintenance on your dirt bike or motorcycle.
I will admit, I grew up riding several different motorcycles, both dirt bikes and street bikes with spoke wheels.
But I never even considered spoke torque being a thing.
Honestly, back then I was a kid and did not think about the torque specs of just about anything on my motorcycles.
Torquing things to the proper specifications is important to ensure your bike’s components are operating properly and to reduce wear.
If you are looking for a spoke torque wrench then take a look at our picks for the best spoke torque wrench.
Why is Spoke Torque Important?
The spokes of your wheel are basically the heart of the wheel.
They attach the wheel hub to the rim and take a lot of stress during riding.
It is important that all of the wheel spokes are at the same and proper torque setting.
A wheel’s spokes hold the hub at the center of the wheel.
If the spokes are not tightened evenly and properly the wheel hub will not be in the center of the wheel.
This will cause the wheel to be out of balance since it will not spin true.
An off center hub will cause vibration.
If the vibration is minor it may not be very noticeable to the rider since the suspension of the bike will dampen it.
But even if it is minor it is still causing some wear and tear to the bike’s parts.
In more severe cases improper wheel spoke torque can cause a wheel to fail, which is an extremely dangerous situation as you can imagine.
How Much Torque?
Most OEM manufacturers list recommended spoke torque specifications from the low 20s inch pounds to a high of almost 60 inch pounds.
A lot of people will never really have to think about their spoke torque too often, but it is a good idea to be aware that torque spoke wrenches exist in case you do need one.
Your motorcycle or dirt bike’s service manual should give you the torque specifications and the check and adjustment interval for your particular bike.
If you have custom aftermarket wheels the wheel manufacturer should have provided these details in the wheel’s owner’s manual, or if not, they should be able to give you advice if you contact them.
How Often do I Check Spoke Torque?
A general recommendation we have seen for average street bikes is to check the spoke torque every 10k miles or so.
If you ride on rough roads or trails you will likely need to check and adjust your spoke torque more often than if you ride in smoother conditions.
The biggest users of spoke torque wrenches are motocross racers.
Motocross racers put a lot of stress on their dirt bikes since they are riding them at near maximum limits and doing lots of jumps and quick turns.
This type of riding puts an extreme amount of stress on the dirt bike wheels and in turn the wheel spokes.
Motocross racers will need to check their spoke torque a lot more often than the average casual rider.
Many professional motocross teams will check a bike’s spoke torque every time a rider comes off the track, of course this is not necessary for the casual rider unless you are riding is very extreme conditions.
You Need a Normal Spanner and a Torque Spanner Wrench
It is best to have a spoke torque wrench and also a regular spoke wrench.
This is because you should not use your spoke torque wrench to loosen spokes because if your spokes are seized it might damage your spoke torque wrench.
You do not want to risk damaging your expensive spoke torque wrench when a regular spoke spanner wrench is much less expensive.
How Long will it Take to Adjust my Spoke Torque?
The good news is that checking and adjusting your motorcycle or dirt bike’s spoke torque generally takes less than an hour, especially when you have done it a few times.
Like most anything else, practice makes perfect, and you will be faster and better at checking and adjusting your spoke torque the more you do it.
There are some people our there that recommend tapping on the spoke and listening to the sound it makes to know if it is torqued properly.
This tapping method can tell you quickly if a spoke’s torque is way out of specification, but it is not very good at letting you know just how tight a spoke is.
We do not recommend the tapping method, instead you should go with a spoke torque wrench to be certain your spokes are adjusted to the proper torque value.
Check New Wheels More Often
If you have just purchased a new set of wheels it would be a good idea to check the torque of the spokes more often for a while.
New spokes will need torque adjustment more often that spokes that have been in use for a while.
If you have experience with thing like motorcycle driver chains then you know that new components will usually stretch more at first and then less once they have been used for a while.
Note for Older Bikes
If you have a older bike you may find that some spokes are seized or very hard to adjust.
It is best to spray some penetrating lubricant like WD-40 on the nipples and let it soak for a while and see if that allows you to adjust them.
If this does not work then it may be time to replace all of your wheel’s spoke.
The process of replacing all spokes of a wheel is called re-lacing the wheel.
How do I Adjust my Motorcycle or Dirt Bike’s Spoke Torque?
The first thing you will need is a quality spoke wrench, so you know exactly what torque values your spokes are torqued to.
Make sure your torque wrench is the correct size for your spokes.
You do not want to risk using a spoke torque wrench that is too loose as it could damage the spoke and make it impossible to adjust the torque.
To properly adjust your spoke torque you will need to raise the wheel off the ground.
This will allow you to easily spin the wheel as you check and adjust the torque of each spoke.
We recommend starting at the the value stem as that is an easy reference point.
You should not tighten any spoke too much at one time.
The maximum you should turn any spoke at one time is ¼ to ½ turn.
If any spokes need more than that you should continue on and then go over all of the spokes again until all of them are at the correct torque.
You should also not tighten each spoke as you turn the wheel.
It is best to start by tightening the first spoke after the valve stem, and then skip some spokes, then tighten another one.
Some people like to tighten every fourth spoke, so you would start with the first spoke after the valve stem then tighten every fourth spoke.
Once you complete a whole revolution of the wheel start with the second spoke after the valve stem unless there are still some spokes you checked during the last revolution that still need to be tightened.
If there are some that need more tightening from the last revolution then go over all the spokes in the revolution again until they are all at the correct torque.
Continue with the next spoke after each revolution until all spokes have been adjusted to the correct torque value.
Conclusion
Using a spoke torque wrench is one of the best ways to make sure your wheels stay true and perform at their best.
Although it does take a little bit of time to check spoke torque it is well worth the effort and gives you better peace of mind.
Ride safe!
