Hello everyone, Boo here.
I've got hold of a Honda SL230 rear wheel to use on my XR250 BAJA (the Japan-market XR250 / MD30).
The SL230 rear wheel is tubeless and fits the XR without modification, so I'd wanted one for a while.
But it seems every XR250 owner has the same idea, and they always go for high prices at auction.
Then one day an SL230 wheel in not-so-good condition came up at auction, and I won it!
This is partway through stripping it, but the hub and rim on the wheel I bought were corroded and the spokes were covered in rust.
Which is why I got it cheaply...
This photo is partway through stripping it, but this is what it was like.
The hub and wheel were corroded and the spokes were rusty...
But I decided to restore this wheel and use it.
I decided to powder coat the hub, fit new spokes and have the rim re-anodised.
The XR still has its original rear wheel fitted, so there's no rush with this SL230 wheel refresh.
I'll take my time over it.
First, strip it down
I could have cut the spokes, but I thought I might reuse them, so I carefully removed the ones I could.
Take photos while you strip it. Otherwise you won't know how to put it back together.
Refreshing the rear hub
I decided to have the rear hub wet blasted and then clear powder coated.
I had Dirt Freak (a Japanese company) do the work.
The total cost was 8,360 yen. The breakdown is below (as of November 2019).
- Wet blasting: 3,960 yen (incl. tax)
- Clear powder coat: 3,300 yen (incl. tax)
- Shipping: 770 yen (probably varies by region)
- Cash-on-delivery fee: 330 yen
Payment was cash on delivery only, and this was for the hub on its own.
If the bearings need removing and refitting, they said they can do that for an extra labour charge plus parts.
Buying the spokes
SL230 rear spokes
Spoke A (outside): part number 06420-KFB-000
Spoke B (inside): part number 06421-KFB-000
Bought from: Webike!
You need 16 of each.
There's no photo, but I didn't want the spokes to rust, so I gave them a coat of two-part urethane clear myself.
Anodising the rim
I had Koken (a Japanese anodising company) anodise the wheel rim.
For prices and so on, see my post on anodising the front wheel (in Japanese).
Assembly
Now to lace up the cleaned hub and rim with the new spokes!
Sorry, I was so absorbed that I didn't take photos, but watch out for the following.
- Always keep the outside and inside spokes separate so you don't mix them up
(Reason) If they get mixed up, it takes time to tell which is which - Start lacing from the inside spokes
(Reason) Once the outside spokes are in, you can't get the inside spokes in
Fitting the tyre
I had a bike shop fit the tubeless tyre.
That's because I wasn't confident about seating the beads.
And that's the job done!