2012 October 28: Remove spokes from wheels (3.25 hours)

Updated: 2012 October 28

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After cleaning a few miscellaneous pieces (and emptying my second 2.5 gallons of degreaser from my tank for recycling), I removed the spokes from both wheels. The nipples and hubs (where the spokes go through) had been soaking in a ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ mixture of ATF and acetone for the past 10 days. The nipples unthreaded easily and the spokes all came out of the hub with great ease. If this does not impress you, then you've never struggled with removing stuck nipples and spokes before. Soaking for days in ATF and acetone yields very good results.

Not all is possitive, however. Some of nipples on the rear wheel had been previously mangled by someone who had no idea what they were doing. A number of nipple heads were missing due to someone attempting to adjust the nipples with a flat tipped screwdriver (never tighten or loosen spokes with a screwdriver - a screwdriver may only be used when the nipples are already loose on the spokes). A few other nipples showed distinct signs of being turned with an ill-fitting wrench on the flats (please use the proper wrench - they are not expensive). I've got plenty of spare nipples in my stash, so I should easily be able to replace the damaged nipples. Fortunately all the spokes look good.

For re-assembly reference, the Borrani stamp on the front wheel was located on the right side of the wheel and aligned with the hole for the valve stem. The Borrani stamp on the rear wheel was also located on the right side of the wheel. However, the rear stamp was much larger and longer with additional stamp marks. The hole for the valve stem was located between RM01 and 4324/1.

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