Driven by the philosophy that the wheel is no less than the mother of all inventions, Woody’s Wheel Works understands the wheel on a profound level. The company ethos is founded on a strong belief that perfecting wheels, which are capable of spinning straight and perfectly round, is an art. Recognizing the harmony between man and machine—as much as the importance played by the wheel in the locomotive process—every craftsman at Woody’s Wheel Works is dedicated to providing the customer with a comprehensive wheel service, irrespective of the vehicle’s brand or model.

• Humble Beginnings

Having left Germany at five years old, Trautman Gregory Witte, “Woody” for short, soon became Americanized on U.S. soil. In search of being useful to society, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1960. Eight fruitful years were spent in aviation electronics and teaching survival Vietnamese to the pilots heading to Vietnam. Hungry for a new path, he returned to college and pursued his interest in early childhood development. This took him to Colorado in 1973 seeking employment in that field. Not finding work with adequate pay, Woody turned to his passion for motorcycles and landed a position in the service department at a Yamaha dealership. As damaged wheels started to stockpile, Woody dutifully took them to the local Harley-Davidson shop for repairs, but the staff refused to work on the “rice-grinder” garbage.

Woody diligently set his mind to servicing the customers’ wheels himself. It didn’t take long for him to realize that the spokes of the Yamaha AT 125 and CT 175 were constantly breaking. He problem-solved what caused the failures and created a treatment for every ineffective wheel that came his way. Woody’s love affair with wheels had already begun when he officially launched Woody’s Wheel Works and later the MRA (Mountain Road Racing Association) in Denver, Colorado.

Although two companies are in operation, the same goal unites them: to produce dynamic motion under solid fundamentals.

Practicing the art of the wheel for 43 years, Woody’s Wheel Works has emerged as the pre-eminent, worldwide-recognized “go-to” wheel shop. Services run the gamut from design and manufacture to the customization and repair/re-finish of dependable wheel solutions. The ratio of custom builds to restoration is 50/50 and the customer base has become global for each. A once-small team has grown into a workforce of 20 craftsmen and staff.

• Enabling Technologies

Enabling Technologies is Woody’s other compelling corporate interest. Starting in earnest in 1985, he identified the need to produce bespoke ski equipment for disabled athletes. Woody’s first mono-ski, the Unique-1, transformed skiing for the disabled community. It featured state-of-the-art suspension, a self-loading feature allowing complete independence on the slopes. The Superlite outriggers and crutches raised the bar for lighter and stronger accessories, whereas the bi-ski is used in adaptive ski programs throughout the world.

Today the company boasts over 100 years of combined experience in manufacturing the modified products, enabling a wider spectrum of skiers to fulfill their snowy adventures. Enabling Technologies remains a proactive force in the ongoing amelioration of standards, and champions best practice of adaptive sports worldwide.

• In-House Services

For virtually any automotive vehicle, the following services are available within the factory: lacing and true, Superlacing wheels, custom conversions, rim straightening and the sale of new or used rims. Also, sealing the rims in converting tube tires to tubeless. Alongside the machine shop, there is a welding facility and finishing department to paint, powder coat or anodize the rim/hub in any color.

Regardless of the machine, whether four wheels or two, the refurbishment of its rusting components entails the handy work of the bead blaster. Almost microscopic glass beads are fired from a nozzle at high pressure, removing surface deposits and brightening the component to a dazzling gleam.

• What Makes Woody’s Wheels Work?

After studying the puzzle behind broken spokes, Woody discovered the notion of changing the lace pattern to eliminate breakage, so that each spoke allows an optimal transfer of energy from the hub to the rim. A new concept was born, and Woody coined the term “Superlacing.” Since the method requires the rim holes to point in a new direction, the mechanics at Woody’s Wheel Works fortify the “strength factor” by drilling and countersinking the rim to allow for oversized spokes and nipples. Called “Supersizing,” the process spreads the workload over a larger surface area. The net result is the ability to torque the spokes tighter than the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) standard, making sturdier, more durable wheels.

Combine the oversized spokes and nipples with the re-angled lace pattern, and you are left with a wheel that not only won’t leave you on the straight and narrow but is also guaranteed for five years for street bikes and one year on any off-road or competition machine against spoke breakage or loosening.

• Creating Synergy when Superlacing Meets Superlite

Superlacing
Superlacing is a custom wheel solution for the recurring problem of loosening and breaking spokes. The solution can be modified depending upon the type of application, size of the motorcycle or engine, and the customer’s skill level and needs. Superlaced wheels are thus available in all sizes and styles for dirt, street, competition or show. The process involves analyzing how you ride and on what terrain.

Reconfiguring the original rims, hub, spokes and nipples results in selecting the most favorable lace pattern. Incorporating a rim made from a tough 7000-series alloy allows for maximum performance and strength. Blueprinting the wheels also involves ensuring a precision fit of the spokes and nipples. The spokes and nipples are made from a heavy-duty stainless steel, manufactured to a Woody’s Wheel Works’ specification and produced by Buchanan’s Spoke & Rim, Inc.

Superlite Hubs
Complementing the Superlacing technique, Woody’s proprietary custom-built hubs and other related components (e.g. brakes), are constructed from 6061-T6, an aircraft aluminum alloy, which optimizes the balance of weight, strength and aesthetics.

X-laced Tubeless Wheel Repair and Modification
When a large automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company offered X-laced tubeless wheels and informed their customers that the answer to damaged/un-true wheels was to replace them at about $1,500 apiece, Woody saw another opportunity. He fathomed how to true the wheels and also made them more robust. Designing every conceivable variation, he raised the bar to meet and exceed his customers’ expectations.

• Highlights of the Factory Tour

Critical to what makes the wheel go round, the four main aspects of wheel truing came to my attention during the factory tour. These are: Lateral true (the side-to-side “wobble” of the rim as the wheel spins); radial true (the amount of up and down “hop” with each revolution, also known as “out-of-round”); rim centering over the hub (or “dish” that refers to the rim being correctly situated on the hub); and spoke tension (the tightness of the spokes, which are tensioned just like other fasteners). There is practically zero tolerance of hop and wobble run-out in a Woody’s Wheel Works’ rim; both are kept to within +/- 0.01-0.015.

As an orchestral symphony on the radio builds to a climactic high, master wheelsmith Jerod assembles the spokes that enjoy a beefy, over-brittle appearance in an artfully seamless process. The classical music aids a well-oiled process that works with the spokes when lacing, rather than fights against it. Jerod stays tightly focused on the task at hand as he sound tests the tension in the spokes. His skill and practice combine to achieve an equally balanced tension by the time final checks toward rim movement are undertaken by eye, spoke tensiometers, the wheel-truing stand and steady pointer. Optimally adjusting spoke tension, setting the spokes and tightening up the nipples makes for a stiffer wheel with improved handling.

• Testimonials

Lyndon Poskitt, former Dakar race finisher and Baja 1000 racer is currently undertaking “Races to Places,” around the world, off-road adventure. Having undertaken 75,000 miles on his original set of Superlaced wheels and thrown every kind of abuse imaginable at them, he is testament to the endurance of the wheels. His current Superlaced wheels have logged 35,000 miles and endured three of the toughest rally races in Greece, Mongolia and the Finke Desert race in Australia. Other happy customers include Lukas Matzinger (round-the-world motorcyclist), Issac Feliu (Barcelona’s prominent BMW R1200GS/HP rally racer and test rider), Daniel Rintz (long distance moto-traveler and producer of the documentary Somewhere Else Tomorrow), Bettina Nedel (GS Trophy U.S. final qualifier), and among others, Jason and me (full-time motorcycle travelers).

• What’s Next?

In addition to operating the two core businesses, Woody plays an advisory role on online forums (e.g. “Ask Woody about your wheels” on ADVRider.com), and attends motorcycle and car rallies and club meetings. His vision is to create an oasis for long-distance customers at his Denver shop, adventure riders, overlanders and competitors, providing a comfortable campground while having their wheels serviced.

• Conclusion

The company-wide approach to the wheel was forged by Woody’s experience in the U.S. Marine Corps, where excellence is the standard, and a lifetime of road racing knowledge, which feeds into the continued innovation of his wheels for a product that is “stronger, better, safer.” Woody’s Wheel Works claims that their wheels will flawlessly go the distance, well beyond that of the OEM standard.

Having been treated to the full factory tour, I can vouch that the spectrum of wheels with which we came into contact—whether undergoing restoration or being custom-built from scratch—were reconditioned, if not assembled, with acute attention to detail. Centering stays critical throughout the process. Due to the comprehensive pre-seating process, the customer will not need to tighten the spokes again. Herculean strength and longevity in each wheel come as standard, and because absolute trueness is achieved on top, precise handling of the motorcycle alongside minimal wear to the tires and brakes, naturally follow suit.

Incredibly, Woody’s Wheel Works manages to reconcile a stark contrast where technical brilliance meets visual pleasure: the point in the universe at which high performance and beauty intercept. Indeed, the aesthetic component comprises the added dimension of quality—the core message from Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. When the wheel is stamped, it is transformed into a beautifully rugged one that Woody asserts, “Works as good as it looks and looks as good as it works.” WoodysWheelWorks.com

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