Topic: Thoughts/experience on these alloy rims on eBay?

[Scott S]

 How many holes are these? The 36 spoke isn't enough for my 500....

[hondamatteo]

These are 36, stock replacements for the 350f and 400f. You can contact the ebay seller, he might have some for the 500 too.

[hondamatteo]

Ok so got my front all laced up and looking fine.


One think i did notice though is that the spokes dont sit flush in the hub.


Is this something to worry about? Other then that they look great. Did have to grind down the ends of the spokes to sit flush on the nipple but I knew I would have to do that from the get go.

[jonboycox]

When I did my 400f wheels in the fall the spokes I got from Buchanan's fit pretty much flush into the stock hub/rim combo. Where they all like that? or just a few? It might be worth while to sort the spokes into the two different bend angles and then compare each individual spoke to make sure they are the same. Maybe there are some odd balls.

[hondamatteo]

When I did my 400f wheels in the fall the spokes I got from Buchanan's fit pretty much flush into the stock hub/rim combo. Where they all like that? or just a few? It might be worth while to sort the spokes into the two different bend angles and then compare each individual spoke to make sure they are the same. Maybe there are some odd balls.

They pretty much all look like that.

[Psychonaut]

I used Thailand Ebay spokes and they sit just like yours. I've had no problems.

[Lostboy Steve]

I did as well, and they sit like that however I do have a bit of runout in my front rim and I've had it re-laced professionally twice. I used stock steel did rims powder-coated black and Thailand spokes. The rear is perfect.

[hondamatteo]

So thought I would update after having put a few miles on these rims now. I bought the thailand spokes from the same vender when I purchased the rims. The front went together fine. Spokes were long and had to be ground down and the heads did not sit completely flat like the picture above. Other then that they worked out fine and trued up nicely. The rears on the other hand did not work out what so ever. The angle of the spokes were completely off and they would not lace up at all to the rim.

It had been a few months since I had bought the rims and spokes but I contacted the seller and the best he did for me was a partial refund. Annoying but at least I got some money back. Bought a different set off a USA seller on ebay and they were WAY better quality. The heads sat flush and the length was bang on with no grinding! Same price or just a little more then the thailand ones. Wish I got the fronts from him too. The rims and spokes look great and are holding up fine. Only complaint is the black finish on the rims is kind of fading after being out in the sun all summer. Otherwise they are all good!

Fresh after install:


End of summer, slightly faded:

[754]

 They faded that fast?..sortalike that burnt brown look of them..

[camelman]

Thanks for the update.  I'm a little bummed about the fade, but it isn't necessarily a bad look.  Where'd you get your USA spoke set?

Camelman

[jneuf]

I just ran across these on ebay the other day and was going to ask if anyone had experiences with them...totally missed this thread. I've got the same question as Camelman...where'd the USA spoke set come from?

These look like a pretty good buy...

[Harsh]

So thought I would update after having put a few miles on these rims now. I bought the thailand spokes from the same vender when I purchased the rims. The rears on the other hand did not work out what so ever. The angle of the spokes were completely off and they would not lace up at all to the rim.

That looks almost identical to how my spokes from Buch's mounted up initially.  Eventially they ended up cutting new spokes and loose lacing the wheel for me to get it correct.

The amount of fade is discouraging though.

[hondamatteo]

this was the seller of the USA spokes:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Honda-CB350G-CB360-CB350F-CB400F-18-Front-Wheel-Spoke-Kit-36-PC-900-426-/380477891054?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item58963fe1ee&vxp=mtr
Well worth the extra money!

Ya I rode my bike to work every day I could in the summer and it would sit outside in the sun all day. If I knew they were gonna fade this fast I could have stripped them and had them power coated or something before I laced them. The seller offers these alloy rims in different colours too. A colour like silver I can see not fading as badly.

[RAFster122s]

They aren't anodized with a good dye if they are anodized or the paint was bad quality. Good powder coat doesn't have those problems.
Silver painted alloy rims on my '86 Volvo came off a '85 vintage 750 (12 spoke design) and they make the car look good. After 26 years in the sun of California and past 5 years in AZ they have faded, usually evenly unless chemically contaminated, and faded out to white-silver; it was good quality paint and they need refinishing but it takes decades to make them do that.  Now to find 30 year old quality paint today...