Checking spokes and possibly tensioning, that's quite a thing.
Because unlike the most told certainties, those spokes are a very important part of your motorcycle. Spokes can go loose and that can in turn influence the handling, the handling of your motorcycle. However, checking the spokes is often forgotten.
Spoked wheels are, in contrast to cast wheels, 'living' things. They are made up of individual components. The constant dynamic load, including an accidentally taken curb, can put them off. Spokes are an essential part of the suspension of your motorcycle. Consider why off roads and allroads have no cast wheels. Furthermore, all acceleration and braking power must be transmitted. That's all a lot of work for some iron wire.
If there is play in the wheel in the frame of a wire spoke wheel, movement is created. This movement ensures that even more play occurs. This allows the rim to 'swab' around the hub and there is a risk of spoke breakage. And that kind of engine does not steer much better.
As an aside: that story of spokes naturally applies in particular to the scarce sidecar drivers among us. But they all know that. Even broken spokes are fairly normal.
Check spokes
The easiest way to check the spokes is to feel if they are loose. The approach after that is to make the wheel spin and then to run a screwdriver or similar against the spokes at the same height in the spoke circle. Well-tensioned spokes give a clear 'ting'.
Loose spokes sound dull, say 'tap'. Of course you can now also buy smart spoke tension measuring devices. You can 'tune' a dull sounding spoke by turning it with a suitable spoke wrench until it sounds clear again. Spokes are 'born' in England. Their size is therefore still not optimal for the use of spanners. And a bahco or pliers are of course completely out of the question.
With that tightening of spokes you have to be careful. The spokes ensure that the hub is in the middle of the rim and that there is no swing in the wheel. And by tightening spokespersons you can make an unwanted change in both of those important situations.
Good tools and patience
That is often difficult because the nipple is stuck on the spoke. Do not force anything in such cases. Use WD40 and patience. Heating a nipple with a fine flame (solder burner from the Action) also helps a lot. A shot of ED40 immediately after that will also crawl in easier.
