1932 Chief - wheel aligning/truing question

[bdawson]

Hello all. I have taken apart the front wheel, painted the rim, removed and replaced all bearings, removed all spokes by very carefully numbering them....having them all Cad plated.....and have reinstalled all of them correctly. Now to my question....I have never "trued" up a wheel. I have tried to educate myself by watching videos, but I am worried that if I don't have a knowledgeable person do this that I will be fighting everything else when I go to reinstall it into the frame if it isn't perfect. One side sticks out about an inch further than the other side, which is correct.....but if it sticks out 7/8" or 1 1/4" will things never work? Just looking for your guys opinion on this. Should I tackle it? (I don't have a truing stand) Should I take it to a motorcycle shop who already has a truing stand? Should I send it to an Indian specialist who knows exactly how far it should stick out on the brake hub side vs the other side? Thanks for your thoughts/opinions. Brent

On a side note, I just wanted to let you all know that I just recently was able to acquire my deceased father's AMCA #. I think my AMCA number was #14,100 and my Dad's was #89. So shoutout to the folks who made that happen in the AMCA board of directors community. Really appreciative that the change was made and I can carry my father's AMCA # forward.

[PaulCDF]

I took this on for first time with a set of 741 wheels bike is still a parts pile but in the stand wheels run true.
I used a China Bob/Harbor Freight truing stand and a DVD by "Spritz by Fritz" (Great Guy)
Where others use a wire fixed wire for runout Fritz uses a dial indicator Brilliant!

All part of the fun. And hey if your not happy with the results it can be re-done.

[pisten-bully]

Brent, the correct wheel offset should be adhered to as closely as possible because you can run into problems with fender valance clearance, spoke length, rocker clearance, and more. It's not precision, like maybe a 16th" off will work fine, but maybe a 1/4" is too much? I mounted my wheels in the frame (before mounting tires) and then rigged up some home made, jury rigged pointers to true up my wheels and it worked for me!

Consider taking a shot at it, you won't do any irreparable harm if you give up and take it somewhere, but while it might not qualify as "fun" it is satisfying when it's all finished!

[tfburke3]

I would assemble the wheel in the fork/frame complete like final mounting and then true.you don’t really need a stand
mount a dial indicators or pointer to see radial and lateral runout.it’s way easier with dials
tom

[tfburke3]

Obviously with out the tire
tom

[joe fxs fxr]

It's not rocket science, just takes patience. Make a lot of small adjustments and take your time, you'll do fine. The first wheels I did, I just clamped the axle verticallly in my vice and used a pencil to find the high spots. Got it so there were barely any. Years later I bought a cheap truing stand and used a micrometer and it was easier but no more accurate. I would shoot for .010" runout in each direction to avoid vibrations but 1/16 will be OK.

[bdawson]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and insights.