Part of a trip, but not a fun adventure

Not so much fun, but interesting. We were hoping to get to a lake and national park near Eğirdir when the bike started to feel unstable and bouncing around in ways that it should not. We stopped to investigate and found a load of broken spokes in the rear wheel.

Not good, and less so given we were hundreds of miles from home. We walked a mile or so to a local Sanayi, (industrial area) and found a bike mechanic. A father, son and grandson affair. This was going to be fun, they’d never seen a Harley before, but anyway, they recovered the bike to their place and took a look. They had spokes that would fit, were the right size and the elder mechanic seemed to seemed to know what he was doing and obviously thought he could re-spoke the wheel.

They had never seen a belt drive, this caused confusion, it took them a little bit of time to work out how the rear wheel is removed. They had no hoist, so the bike was lifted manually onto wooden blocks, and soon enough the rear wheel was off.

Next came the repairing. Done by hand and eye, with no electronics or other gadgets. A spanner and pliers, and rotating the wheel on an axel. 18 new spokes fitted. I was impressed, and more so when three hours after walking into the place the bike handled perfectly on a quick road test. Equally brilliant was the cost, less than the equivalent of 100 bucks.

A question. I have never known a wheel fail like this before. Has this happened to anyone here?

Spokes MUST be checked regullary for tightness. If not they will wear slowly at the hub. The holes in the hub enlarge and that end of the spokes will wear,making the wearing accelerate untill one breaks and ther rest cant take the strain and sudenly what you decribed happens. Luckilly you didn't get hurt.

Spoked wheels have been around a long time. IMO I think they look great. But the drawbacks are: cleanung them is a PIA and they have to be always checked for tightnes. All it takes is going around tapping them with a small wrench and hearing that nice "Ping".

Now the motor comp makes tubeless spoked wheels.

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I check my spokes every now and then. Yup, just tap them with a screwdriver or small wrench and if any sound "dead", tighten 'em up. I even try to get them to all have the same "pitch".

I run inner tubes but I'm also running "Ride On" goop in the tires. Not only helps prevent the tires from going flat but also balances them, too. Took the weights off and my front end doesn't vibrate nearly as much as before. $45 for two cans plus shipping. I think it's $$ well spent.

I checked the spokes on a regular basis which is why I was so surprised this happened. Agree that going for an alloy wheel will solve many problems, but parts here are stupid expensive.

We have amazing riding. Just not the cheap parts.

They were very likely already worn out, loose, or stripped before you got the bike. Spokes are reliable, you don't need an alloy wheel; you just have to keep 'em tightened up. Takes, what, 20 minutes to give 'em the once over.

Glad it all worked out. And now you have a memory with a happy ending. Its all in the mix and an integral part of being a 2 wheeled warrior. The good and the bad. The rain and the sunshine.

I have a few horror stories of mine just like yours. Broke down in the middle of BF eygpt, stator smoked , no chance of getting one anyplace near w/in a 100 mile radius yada yada yada,lol. It all worked out, got home and like you...I have a story.

That is awful odd about the spokes..never heard of that happening much short of using the bike as an off road enduro? How are the roads where you live and ride most of the time?

Update.
More spokes started to come loose after less than 500 miles. I tightened them and took the bike to HD Izmir for a once over. Was told what I expected, that the wheel needs to be replaced. That it will last for a while providing I am careful and keep a watchful eye on the spokes.
The dealership told me how much a replacement wheel would cost if they ordered one, pointing out that over 50% of the cost is taxes. They suggested it would be better value (half price) to get one myself from London or anywhere else in Europe, how to minimize import costs, and they would then fit it for me. Not the usual dealership experience.
Oh well, an excuse to go to Greece.