Regular motorcycle riders go through this at least once in their lifetime. You notice your wheel getting wobbly and discover a broken spoke. It raises the question – should you keep riding or get it fixed immediately?
You can ride a motorcycle with a broken spoke. If the spoke breaks suddenly, and there’s no repair shop nearby, you can continue riding. However, make sure you tape, tie or remove the broken spoke so it doesn’t damage the other spokes or bike parts. You can also try repairing the spoke yourself.
This article provides a complete 101 on a motorcycle with a broken spoke. You’ll learn about the role of a spoke, recognizing a broken one, and what to do under such circumstances.
The Crucial Role of a Spoke
Spokes are mechanical rods that connect the wheel’s rim to the hub. Many people don’t even notice them because they’re generally out of the way. However, spokes carry out quite a few critical tasks:
- They transfer the weight of the rider and the bike between the rim and the hub.
- They strengthen the rim by pulling it evenly inwards.
- They transfer the rider’s leg power from the hub to the wheel.
Dangers of Riding a Bike With a Broken Spoke
Now that you know what spokes do when you’re riding, it’s understandable how harmful it may be when one breaks. Riding with one broken spoke isn’t very risky, but when several of them break, that’s cause for concern. This is especially true for bikes with low spoke count. To sum it up:
- If you prolong the repair, one broken spoke can easily damage other parts of the motorcycle. Every spoke is crucial, and even if only one is broken it may cause increased pressure on the others because of the wheel’s construction.
- Multiple broken spokes lead to more spokes breaking.
- If a motorcycle’s wheels are light, broken spokes will cause them to fall off.
- Broken spokes on the front wheel are hazardous because they can cause the bike to flip over.
- Broken spokes on the back wheel cause the motorcycle to skid or come to a stop.
- If broken spokes get caught in the outer wheel of the motorcycle, it causes punctures.
- Broken spokes can also get stuck between the other spokes and the frame, causing you to fall off.
- Imbalanced spokes are detrimental to the wheels’ alignment and affect the brake pads.
Recognizing a Broken Spoke
You’ll need to be able to recognize a broken spoke to prevent accidents. These are a few ways to pinpoint a broken spoke:
- By sight: It’s pretty difficult to see that a spoke has broken while riding your motorcycle. However, you should inspect your vehicle regularly, and you’ll be able to see loose or broken spokes. This task is crucial for your safety.
- Through sound: If you hear a cracking sound from your wheel, it’s most likely a loose or broken spoke.
- By feel: Spokes are responsible for distributing weight and load evenly. So when a spoke becomes loose or breaks, your ride will start feeling wobbly. If you notice that your ride is less smooth than usual or you’re losing balance, the cause is probably a loose or broken spoke.
Causes of a Broken Spoke
There are quite a few things that might cause a spoke to break. Knowing them may help you prevent the damage.
Damaged Rim
If you’ve noticed that your spokes break quite often, there may be an underlying problem. You should check the rim for damage or shape disfiguration because it causes the wheel to become imbalanced. Hence, to maintain the correct level of tension, there’s increased pressure on the spokes, leading to them breaking frequently.
Accidents
Accidents commonly cause the spoke to break. If you ride a very bumpy road or hit a deep pothole or curb, it can easily lead to broken or loosened spokes. Make sure you do wheel inspections after such an occurrence, and try to avoid going too fast over bumpy terrain.
Wear and Tear
Wear and tear is unavoidable if you ride the same motorcycle for many years. Spokes are pretty thin metallic structures. They absorb weight by flexing. Over time, the bending and friction between the rim and the spokes might cause them to break. This is a more common problem with older motorcycles.
Cracked Hub Flange
The spokes are attached to the center of the wheel through the hub flange. A cracked hub flange can easily lead to spokes loosening. If the hub flange cracks it might be due to weakened metal parts, which may need to be replaced. Check your motorcycle regularly to avoid this problem
Fatigue
If the rider is heavy, carries a lot of gear on the motorcycle, or rides roughly, it puts a lot of strain on the wheel. The rim can become damaged, or the spokes can loosen with time. Older models might be more prone to this, but if you consistently ride roughly on a new motorcycle, you may experience the same problem.
Manufacturing Fault
If you’ve recently bought a new bike and notice loose or broken spokes, it could be due to poor manufacturing. Low-quality wheels put a lot of strain and pressure on spokes and cause them to break.
Fortunately, you can sort out all the causes of a broken spoke through regular maintenance. Mechanics check for loose or broken spokes, damaged rims, and spoke tension. It would be best if you also cleaned the motorcycle’s rim frequently because the accumulation of dirt affects the wheel’s balance, which, in turn, causes spokes to break. Also, make sure you perform weekly wheel inspections to pinpoint broken or loose spokes.
Repairing a Broken Spoke
Now that you know the hazards of riding with a broken spoke, you should be aware of how to fix the problem. You should take one of the following routes when a spoke breaks:
- Make sure you always carry a rim or duct tape with you. If one or two spokes break, you can tape them to the neighboring spokes so they don’t damage the other motorcycle parts.
- Alternatively, keep a motorcycle repair kit and replacement spokes if you’re on the road and afraid to risk traveling further. The TL Tooluxe 50003L (available on Amazon.com) is an all-in-one toolkit to help you repair anything in your motorcycle.
- If you see multiple broken spokes, it’s best not to fix it yourself and go to a professional mechanic instead. If there’s a more serious problem, you might do more harm than good.
Conclusion
If you weren’t able to decide before, now you’ll definitely know whether you should ride with a broken spoke or not. Make sure you keep up with your motorcycle’s maintenance and don’t take a higher risk than you have to. After all, safety comes first!