Harley Spokes

**route66detail** · 10-19-2015, 05:31 PM

Hello my friends.... So were doing lots of bikes too now. Mostly Harleys actually. My question for the seasoned bike detail guys is this:

We charge a set base amount for touring bikes. That's...washing, polishing chrome, paint, and overall making the bike look ready for BiketoberFest etc... We did a bike the other day and it had spoked wheeles. Oops.... I didn't ask the customer about that in the phone interview. (we will now) but... We did not "detail" the spokes. In my limited experience, spokes are more of a restoration than a usual detail gig. Am I way off? It seems like an hour AT LEAST per wheel with the correct tools. Yes there was oxidation and some rust on there. 2004 Road King Classic. 2004! Thoughts?

**2black1s** · 10-19-2015, 05:52 PM

To me, the spokes have to be a part of the detailing. Shitty looking wheels can make an otherwise flawlessly detailed bike look bad. Kinda like streaked windows on a otherwise perfectly detailed car.

Spoked wheels can be a pain but they need to be done, and charged for accordingly.

When estimating what it will take do the spokes, you have to consider the material to. Factory Harley spokes are terrible - they are cad plated and once the plating begins to fail and/or tarnish they are impossible to clean up nicely. Don't ever promise a mirror finish if you are working with factory Harley spokes - It's not gonna happen. Other popular materials for spokes are chrome plated, and my favorite, stainless.

I've replaced my factory Harley spokes with stainless replacements and they were worth every bit of the cost and effort to replace them.

**GSKR** · 10-19-2015, 07:40 PM

When I do bikes I like to drench spokes with a very foaming glass cleaner.Then use fine steel wool to clean every spoke and then wash bike.maybe a spritz of wheel acid with a brush to get the chrome wheel hub.Its a pain to do them have to keep moving bike forward then backwards to get the whole wheel other than that there cake.I had 6 of them from the same client.I charged a flat fee of 250 a day.

**route66detail** · 10-19-2015, 08:26 PM

So WHEEL acid? Ok. What about a dremmel tool. Saw that somewhere. I figured about $225-$250 if detailing spokes.

**2black1s** · 10-19-2015, 08:46 PM

Originally Posted by GSKR

...Its a pain to do them have to keep moving bike forward then backwards to get the whole wheel...

If you're doing a bunch of bikes investing in a bike jack is a wise move. Not only can you get the wheels off the ground so you can rotate them, you can also keep the bike upright which makes the entire left side much easier to get to.

Even a cheap Harbor Freight bike jack (<$100.00) is adequate for detailing work.

**GSKR** · 10-19-2015, 09:18 PM

you have to be careful with wheel acids ,if you spray it can oxidize some parts like the fins on the motor etc.There is no need for dremmel ,do all of your prep work first stoners glass cleaner and fine steel wool will be your best friend ,use the product when washing the better and thorough washing process will cut your time in half.Make sure you know what real chrome is and not plated fake chrome.I don't do bikes to justify a stand and can't throw a nickel in my transit it's packed with detailing stuff.I hate doing bikes my client has 6 of them I rejected the offer to detail them it was raining all week so I did them indoors at 250 a day.

**route66detail** · 10-20-2015, 07:07 PM

Originally Posted by 2black1s

If you're doing a bunch of bikes investing in a bike jack is a wise move. Not only can you get the wheels off the ground so you can rotate them, you can also keep the bike upright which makes the entire left side much easier to get to.

Even a cheap Harbor Freight bike jack (<$100.00) is adequate for detailing work.

Great. Will do. We do a lot of Harleys. I'll hit Harbor Freight for the cheapie for now. Thanks man!!!!

**route66detail** · 10-20-2015, 07:19 PM

Originally Posted by GSKR

you have to be careful with wheel acids ,if you spray it can oxidize some parts like the fins on the motor etc.There is no need for dremmel ,do all of your prep work first stoners glass cleaner and fine steel wool will be your best friend ,use the product when washing the better and thorough washing process will cut your time in half.Make sure you know what real chrome is and not plated fake chrome.I don't do bikes to justify a stand and can't throw a nickel in my transit it's packed with detailing stuff.I hate doing bikes my client has 6 of them I rejected the offer to detail them it was raining all week so I did them indoors at 250 a day.

Ok. So what I'm hearing is Stoners Glass Cleaner and 0000 steel wool? What type of prep work are you referring to? Thanks for your help man!

**GSKR** · 10-20-2015, 07:49 PM

As you are washing use fine steel wool and stoners and scrub every inch of chrome then wash .After wash blow off water dry ,then go over everything with wax or spray wax.

**snedexracing** · 10-20-2015, 09:35 PM

So what do you guys charge doing baggers,sport bikes,sportys.Got all the lifts,jacks tools 24x30 shop,no room for cars.How soft is Harley paint.Not about to put a machine wax/polish on a 20 yr old HD or any metric bike for that matter just old fashion elbow grease.