Pentagram/Star Wheels: My rebuild and How-To thread

[deadchef]

here's some fodder on the tube vs. tubeless debate...

http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34728

i figure i'll run tubes. can't hurt...

 

[JohnGoFast]

Awesome Scott, I've always wanted a set of these, but only ever found fronts. Hope those spacers workout!

 

[scott s]

The wheels don't seem to have the bead lock or whatever you're calling it.

And this is the valve stem hole.

 

[scott s]

I also got in the disc brake spacers I needed. Once the bearings show up, I'll compare the bearing/spacers stacks against one another. I'm sure that between all these parts I'll be able to come up with the right combination.

 

[scott s]

I recently corresponded with someone over on DoTheTon about a set of these wheels that have been in his family since new.
Apparently, the caliper holder and master cylinder bracket were part of a kit. Or else, it's pure coincidence that we both have the same home-made brackets.

Here are a few tidbits that I cut & pasted from our conversation about the wheels:

"I corresponded quite a bit with other 650 owners about the wheels and found out a few details. The Shelby-Dowd versions were made for both Honda 750 and Yamaha 650. The Yamaha wheels were apparently an Yamaha accessory item patterned after the Shelby wheels and would also work on the RD 250/350. "

"Some of them were made by Shelby-Dowd and I think Yamaha had some made. Most of the time they are referred to as "star" mags. They were sold as an accessory item for Yamahas and Hondas, although I've only seen one set on a Honda. I have a set of the Shelby wheels. Both sets are pretty rare."



I never knew they also made them for the Honda. The Shelby Dowd wheels for Honda are similar, but with more spokes in a tighter pattern. I've never seen a set of Star/Pentagram wheels for a Honda, myself.

 

[scott s]

I polished up the lips and spokes of my wheels a bit. I opted to not get too aggressive with them, as I have a theme in mind for the bike and this semi-polished look will work best.

I could have gotten them to shine like chrome had I used some mechanical means. Instead, I used varying grits of SkotchBrite pads, sand paper, 0000 steel wool and polishing compound. There are still a few gouges and scratches, especially on the rear wheel, but I'm OK with that at this point.

The main thing is, they'll now be protected from further oxidation, etc., and I can do a full blast polish job later on should I decide to go that route. Next up: taping them up in preparation for paint on the rough cast areas.

 

[turner]

Looking good Scott. ..

 

[scott s]

Looking good Scott. ..

Thanks! I also got in the rebuild kit for the master cylinder. I hope to make some progress on this stuff this weekend.

 

[scott s]

Taped up the wheels....

Sprayed on Graphite wheel paint...

 

[scott s]

Removed tape...

And followed up with a little Wizards metal polish on the lips...

 

[scott s]

Next up: new All Balls bearings, spacers, discs, sprocket, etc. Tires soon!

 

[scott s]

From this:

To this, so far:

 

[Brassneck]

Nice restoration...good job.

 

[scott s]

Can you guys help me understand these spacers?

As I said earlier, these wheels were on an XS500 and I plan on fitting them to an XS650.

This pic shows the spacer that went between the wheel bearings and a custom(?) spacer that seems to use a Yamaha part and a Teflon spacer of some sort. If I remember correctly, this was on the sprocket side. I can't say with 100% certainty that the seller sent me all the axle spacers and such that were used. And, even if he had, I'm not sure that they would transfer directly to the XS650.

These are the spacers that came from an XS650 disc brake rear wheel:




These are part #'s 11, 12 ....4 and 5.... and 23, 24 in the diagram below.

 

[scott s]

Here's what I have:

I think I'll either have to rob part #6 from my drum brake wheel or source one.



The caliper holder goes on the axle and acts as a spacer, too.

I guess I need to stack the old XS500 bearings and spacer and measure the height compared to the XS650 bearings and disc brake spacers.
Can anyone make sense of what I have here and what possible combination it will take to mount the wheel?

 

[scott s]

Actually, I found part #6 still stuck in the old bearing. I guess I'll just have to assemble the wheel and axle and see how it plays out.
The only mistake I CAN'T make is the spacer that goes between the bearings. No way to swap that without destroying the bearings.

 

[deadchef]

those came out really nice! sorry, but can't help with the spacer fitment. other than the spacer from between the bearings, can't all the outside spacers swap directly from what you currently have on the bike?

 

[scott s]

No, not quite. It's a drum brake bike and even though they use a few common spacers, they don't go in the same space or same order.
Plus, the disc brake bikes use a few spacers that aren't used on the drum brake model.

 

[gggGary]

Great write up, nice info for others headed down this path. Those are looking very cool.

 

[JohnGoFast]

Actually, I found part #6 still stuck in the old bearing. I guess I'll just have to assemble the wheel and axle and see how it plays out.
The only mistake I CAN'T make is the spacer that goes between the bearings. No way to swap that without destroying the bearings.

Haha, I'm glad I'm not the only one that did this with that #6 part.

So, to figure out inner spacer, measure the wheel bearing seats through the wheel, that measurement minus the thickness of the lip on #6 should be the length of the center bearing spacer.

With those outside spacers, you may need to take the metal sheild off of the brake side spacer, keep the sheild and put it in front of the seal between the seal and the brake caliper mount/spacer. I could definitely be wrong though and you may just have to cut down some of the spacers to get it right.

Wheels look fantastic though!