KTM Spoked Wheel Tubeless Conversion
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- čas přidán 25. 08. 2024
- In this video I cover how to convert your KTM Power Parts spoked wheel set for the 390 Adventure from tubed to tubeless. I provide an overview of how to seal each spoke nipple and then seal the overall spoke bed. I recommend using NAPA NTH 90426 valve stem. I also recommend using Ride On tire sealant and balancing fluid. I have left a link below to the previous video I did on this topic when I converted my BMW F800GS to a tubeless setup. If you have any questions leave them in the comments below. A couple of notes, always carry a spare tube with you, especially if you ride offroad. You have to use a tubeless tire when you do this conversion and lastly, you assume all responsibility if you choose to this conversion.
• Tubeless Conversion - ...
After I use the bath tube method for leak detection, I grab my wife’s toothbrush and scrub around the spokes to loosen any grime.
Lol... very underrated comment 👏
Hmm, no wife, guess my spokes will stay dirty. Your bike should be spotless.
Lol 😆
Thats a good mod. I would do it if I end up on a bike that doesn't have the tubeless spoked wheels already. Its nice to see your refined process after a couple times, thanks for sharing.
Cool! Converted mine as well when I upgraded to the KTM wheels as well. Been holding air perfectly for about 6 months. Really dislike having to pull a wheel in the woods as well…
That's exactly how I plan on sealing my tires ... good video
Best video about it I've seen.
Don't use any puncture balancing fluid. I had issues with dissolving the tapes adhesion. Keep the wheels dry inside, this will work great.
My aftershock arrived today. I am on my way to FL so I did not get a chance to see it. Looking forward to your install video. - Frank
Dang, mine was supposed to be here two weeks ago. Hopefully mine shows up in the next few days. Video coming for sure.
We played a drinking game and took a shot everytime you said, "nipple" we blacked out and nearly died before the half-way point of the video.
Perfect!
Very useful video, Matt. I have just bough a Yamaha SCR950 for road use only, and I want to do this to the spoked wheels. I am keeping my Duke 390. Great channel.
I had an issue with conversion after 5k miles. Don't use sealing fluid and will be good.
@@advmatt Thanks.
Very informative video. I am still salty KTM never offered true tubeless wired wheels. Hope these work well for you! - Frank
And they discontinued the spoked wheels. KTM seems a little lost right now.
Good video. From the research I’ve done most people recommend Permatex 5100 marine silicone
I think the permatex would have worked better. It would not be as susceptible to moisture or sealing fluid damaging the seal. I had a problem with the glue on the tape dissolving from the Ride On fluid. I got about 5k miles before the seal was lost. It was a real pain in the butt. I may try again but not use any fluid and do a manual balance.
@@advmatt I’m in the process of doing mine now. I’ll let you know how it turns out
@@chrislovett6120 how did it turn out? All going well?
Very well explained video, thanks for sharing.
thanks! I wanna try this on my 450 adventure project.
You might not want to us any sealing fluid. After about 4k miles the adhesive on the tape failed in mine. If kept dry it works great.
You the best bro tanks perkonsian cara pemasangan tubelelss spoked std no comen k😎👍👍👍
This did eventually fail on my, but I think it was because I used Ride On fluid in the wheel to balance it.
Great vid Matt, something I continually think about with spoked wheels - especially when changing tubes in darkness at freezing point! . Outex kits get good reviews but at $100+.....
I spent $20 and a few hours. Not a fan of tubes. It's worth the upfront time commitment.
Nice video thanks for the tip
Good video!
Sealing each nipple and using the tape is the way to go. Use lots of lube on the tire when mounting so it will seat and seal. Good tips on the water bath check and valve stem.
Some tire's beads are simply not agreeable, look for any sort of ridges or issues there. If it it not perfectly smooth at the bead area it won't seal. Have even had problems with that on my dirt bike using a TuBliss system with certain knobby tires which, to be fair, aren't designed to be tubeless, but with the low pressure air in the tire itself and the 110 PSI bladder smashing them into the rim, it should work 😆
I have a Rabaconda and a Harbor Freight wheel balancer which makes tire changing easy, going tubeless is even easier! The Rabaconda tires spoons are simply the best. If not wanting to spring for the machine, get the spoons.
You are right on about getting tires mounted and sealed. I am considering getting the Raboconda tire changing stand. I change so many tires during the year it will save me so much time and busted knuckles. Then I can try out those spoons. Cheers.
@@advmatt The Rabaconda is money, but it is a lifetime tool. The bead breaker on the Rabaconda is awesome too for breaking beads of course, but it is also awesome for getting the tire mostly mounted before even needing the spoons for the last bit.
I also use a "Bead Buddy" to hold the other end of the bead from slipping off while levering the tire on, that is a handy tool also, and not expensive.
You can always charge your friends to change their tires. I don't charge them money, I get paid in beer 😆
You know, I am wondering, self fusing plumbers leak tape ?? few wraps of that around the rim instead - I might try this.
Let me know how it works for you.
@@advmatt I think I will go with the caulk, then the tape, just to be sure :D
The issue you ran into with not being able to set the bead on the first tire is a real thing, and you just never know which tire is going to work, or not, until you try it. Some years ago I purchased a custom set of wheels from Woody’s for my GS and like you I battled for days trying to get a Heidenau K60 mounted until I got in touch with Woody’s and they told me that they too have had the same trouble with K60’
There is also a difference in the lip of tubeless rims vs tubed rims. Rims that are designed for tubes usually require a tire that is designed for tubes as the tube also helps to keep the bead seated, so I am curious to know which type of tires you are using. ✌🏾
Right now I have the Bridgestone Battle Axe AX41 Adventure Cross installed. It mounted really easily.
First of all, THANKS for the detailed explanation. I have never done this before & new to Honda DCT Africa Twin world. I was riding with the wife and had no clue as what to do when we got a rear tire flat, was a complete nightmare. Seeing your video I have purchased everything and will start the process this week. I do have a question 🙋🏼♂️ I’m going to replace my rear tire and don’t know if I buy for tube or tubeless? Please advise and advise is greatly appreciated. Again, thanks & ride safe.
You need a tubeless tire. I will caution you, using Ride Fluid is great for balancing the tire but it will eventually degrade the sealing tape adhesive. It took about 5k miles before it happened. I had to install a tube on the side of the road. I recommend not using any fluids in the wheel. If the inside is kept dry the tape won't deteriorate. Just a tip. Good luck.
The main problem with tube tires is the hassle of changing a flat on the trail - whereas with tubeless you can just plug it, re-inflate, and go on your way. My current strategy is to go with my tube tires and bring along a "tube approved" sealant (like Sahara, Ride-On, or Slime). If I get a flat I'll inject the sealant, re-inflate, and this should quickly get me back on the road. Do you think this is a good approach?
I don't know. If your tube only has a small puncture this might work. Tire sealants are recommended to be installed before the puncture so that it seals at the time of the puncture. Sealants in tubes don't seal as big of holes compared to tubeless tires. If your tube gets obliterated like mine did over the summer it won't matter if you have sealant. Unfortunately the best approach is to be prepared to replace a tube roadside for worst case scenarios. I have tens of thousands of puncture free miles but if you ride enough it will happen.
i had 2 spokes leak, wasnt too happy about taking the tire off twice
Mine eventually failed, but I think it was from the ride on fluid. I should have used marine grade silicon and 3m tape. I had to insert a tube roadside.
@@advmatt do you think the fluid messed with the tape adhesive?
@@damienwg8829 yes I do. If I had left it dry and manually balanced the tires I don't think it would have failed.
@@advmatt ive just re sealed with silicone and used tuck tape.. hopefully it holds 😅
@@damienwg8829 let me know how it goes.
Me gusto mucho eso lo tengo q hacer gracias 🙂
This conversion eventually failed. Video coming on the failure.
I wonder if you use flexseal for the whole process and do the whole circumference of the wheel. Just a thought.
Perhaps. I think my big problem with this failing was using Ride On fluid for balancing and punctures. I think it dissolved the adhesive of the tape. I have used 3m silicone tape in the past with good results. If you try this let me know how it works.
I wonder if 3M Scotch 23 self amalgam rubber tape would be a good tape to use. You might not need any silicon on the nipples, just the tape.
I used that when I did a conversion on my F800GS, but I still sealed each spoke. I was wondering the same. I think it would work.
Sooo what about when you need to have your wheels trued?
@@user-kp8lb5lk6f you have to lift the tape and remove the silicon from the spokes you need to adjust. Then apply new silicone and tape. Not ideal but it was the only way to have a spoked wheel tubeless setup at the time.
How are the sealed rims holding up and would you do it again? Thinking about doing it to my Africa Twin and my wife's 800DE.
Mine failed after 5k miles. The reason it failed was the tape came loose due to the adhesive interaction with the Ride On fluid. The silicon around the nipples did okay but I didn't seal two of them up well enough so they leaked after the tape failed. I recommend using marine grade silicon on the nipples and 3M adhesive. If I hadn't used the Ride On fluid the tubeless conversion likely would not have failed. I will try again with the marine grade silicon and 3M adhesive. I did a video on the F800GS I had when I did the same conversion. It went much better but I used the marine grade silicon and the better tape. You should still carry a spare tube if things go really wrong.
During your video there was a flash on the screen to use a NAPA NTH 90246 valve stem, was that the original bad one or the new improved one?
I didnt use the Napa valve stem on this conversion like I should have. I used it on a previous conversion and it worked really well, which is why I reccomend it over the ones I used.
@@advmatt I went on the hunt at local NAPA stores and that valve stem is no longer carried or not stocked. I went on line and it says discontinued.
Any other valve stem suggestions? Going all the way back in there to replace it is not my idea of a fun afternoon, I want to do this once. Thanks for your time.
I dont have any suggestions right now I am trying to find a valve stem that will work as well. I tried valve stems from Rocky mountain ATV but I cant ger them to seal. I need to work on this to find an acceptable solution.
Hi 👋 you made this application 7 months ago does it still work now?
I had a failure last week. I had to reseal two spokes and retape the spoke bed. Because I use Ride On fluid to balance the wheel and seal potential punctures it cause the tape to fail and the two spokes I sealed. Without the fluid it would have been fine. I will have a video coming soon to tall about what happened.
Simple yet tedious process. I wonder if adding a tiny dab of grease to the end of the nipple would allow it to move for adjustment, yet preserve the tubeless chamber. I am looking forwrad to doing this conversion to my Himalayan one of these days.
Not a bad idea. If you try it leave a comment with your experience.
what exactly is the make and model of the silicone tape you use and the blue tape? also have you tride to tighten any spokes since you have done this to find out if its possible to do that at all and to see it it will leak if you can even get it to turn?
thanks for the help and the video.
I used Gorilla Tape in the clear version. The blue item was the provided rim strip that came with the wheel, it was not tape.
I'm really curious what would happen if you had to adjust your spokes.
I would have to cut the tape and remove the silicon. Once adjusted, seal it back up.
Hello sir,
From were u bought spoke wheel drums...
Thanks in advance
I purchased the spoked wheels from AOMC.MX, but I learned that KTM has discontinued the spoke wheels for this bike. You can also get a custom set of spoked wheels from Rottweiler Performance.
How much successfull its Sir?? I wants to do the same with my royal Enfield...
Well, it worked great for about 5k miles but has since failed. I have a video coming to explain what happened. If I hadn't used a sealing fluid in the tire the failure would not have happened.
Oh GOD, no Gorilla Tape. That shit will take a year to clean off. After you glue the spoke nipples, how do you adjust spike tension or true wheel?
You have to go back and reseal the nipple you adjusted. I used Ride On tire sealant that eventually disintegrated the glue on the tape. It took 5k miles bit the rim was clear of adhesive. I am back to tubes.
Isn't this somewhat comparable to having 32 plugs in a tire?
Uh, not quite. The tires integrity isn't compromised.
@@advmatt
How's it seal after you tighten the spokes?
If the seal on the spoke that was tightened is disturbed it will need to be resealed. It is pretty easy to do and worth it to stay tubeless.
I'm going to break away from the normal silicone solution and use camper roof sealing tape. It's like FlexTape on steroids in terms of stick... good for 5yrs in the sun probably immortal in the tire...
Eternabond baby! Fantastic idea. I might try that too.
@@advmatt I just tried it.... so basically it doesn't work because the screws stick out too much. They super streched the tape to the point they were tearing open on a few. Perhaps I shouldn't have put the black rubber band back on. Maybe that was what forced the tape down and streach it too much... used RTV gasket compound this time around.
@@nicholas2932 thanks for the update.
As you said is tedious and you just have to take your time. One thing I would add is that if you dab your finger in alcohol you can smooth over the silicone. Which removes the need to cut off protrusions.
Great tip. Thanks.
this thing ll not work dude many of my friends did the same on there Himalayan but the air leak, only thing works is a allow wheel or spoked tubeless rim
It worked for me for about 5k miles. If I hadn't used fluid for balancing and sealing punctures it would have held air. I did a video on the failure of this system.
@@advmatt 😅
This is really not a good idea to do with a new bike or new wheels.. it takes 2 to 5k miles and several re torque of spokes..
Good point, but it is really not hard to reseal the spokes if you do need to retorque any them. Perhaps waiting until 5k miles is a better.
@@advmatt yea spoke wheels have to break in.. my 2022 t7 had to do it 3 times in 1200 miles.. have 200 mile on my vstrom 800de and check them and several had loosened up.the manual says to check them evey 250 miles
If you crank it up to 1.5X he sounds normal.
don't use Silicon it sucks, and tape dose not adhere to tape use Big stretch caulking, just food for thought!!
I had issues for sure. Marine grade sealant works. I have used tape in the past, but the sealing fluid destroyed it. Great tips, thanks.
Toujours OK ?
This eventually failed on me. I think the Ride On fluid I used dissolved the adhesive on the tape causing it to leak air. If I ever do this again I won't use fluid in the tire and I will use marine grade tape and caulking.