Tubeless conversion for spoked wheels. Any thoughts?

[member3480]

If you look at FAT SPOKE wheels for Harley they are tubeless. Now I have used many of these and most leaked at some point but I did try something for the customer that really wanted no tube and that was I used a tube haha. But not the way you think. I split the tube up in strips and wrapped around the rim where it leaked the most which was the spokes. Anytime you have spokes that move you will get a leak. So the gook that they put around the rim I just gave it a little extra help and it worked. You pay $400 for a tubeless rim and you want it to work but it doesn't. I have use more than 10 of these rims and most I had to put a tube in. I think I had three that still are tubeless and holding air.

 

[wannabridin]

2 thick layers of 3M 5200 " marine adhesive sealant" to cover the spoke ends, letting cure properly. Found this through the VTX crowd and lots of guys have been using it with great success. An old co-worker had me do his 2001 Honda Shadow spirit 750 with it on front and rear wheels and he hasn't had an issue in 3 years. Easy to do and affordable!