Topic: Advice on wheels

[Syscrush]

Man, I'm really stuck on this.

Nice fresh laced wheels always look good but never look distinctive.  That's not any kind of slag, I just want something that sets my bike apart and the right wheels can make or break a custom bike.

Astralites are just not available. We have a guy here with a set who refuses to sell them and in any case there are 2-3 guys in line ahead of me. 

CB1100 wheels are way, way too much money for what they are. If I could find local inexpensive used/aftermarket options for the cush drive, sprocket, and rotors then it would almost make sense, but it doesn't appear that I can.

Lesters are available at prices I can afford, but they don't really turn my crank. Plus they look a bit too much like the stock XS wheels.

XS wheels can look really great, but they're a bit common and apparently are really heavy.

New Marchesinis and other comparable wheels are only available in 17", which looks wrong on the CB IMO.

I've been looking for some nice forged wheels in Harley sizes, but the stuff made for the Harley crowd is generally really garish and/or dated looking (seems that they fired their CNC programmers in 1993), and stupid expensive.

Kimtab mags are cool, but look too busy for the build I have planned.


If you were looking for cool wheels for a CB500 custom in sizes close to stock, what would you pick on a budget of ~$2k?  I'm not intent on spending that much on wheels, but would go that high for the right look.  Nobody say comstars.

Any advice or pointers are very much appreciated.

[david 750f]

Marvic is reproducing Morris and Campagnolo rims. Going to be pricey!

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=78695.msg878248#msg878248

[Syscrush]

Wow.  I would love to rock a set of reproduction Campy's.  Looks like it exceeds by budget by $1000+shipping.

Marvic is reproducing Morris and Campagnolo rims. Going to be pricey!

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=78695.msg878248#msg878248

[754]

 The wire wheelI have noticed in the last yearis the H-D rim with the 1/2 round smooth profile.. reminds me of the road bicycle racey rims.
 Of couse that would mean 16 in rear, and maybe 19 in on the front.
 I think(guessing) there are plenty of used ones around.

 There is a lot of Motard style laced wheels that look pretty good, anodized hubs , straight pull spokes..very light weight. very now looking..
 I think you can get into 2 wheels for around a G-note, and spend a bit more getting a caliper/rotor for the rear. They are light, a member on here put them on his 400?, they looked good.

[Syscrush]

The wire wheelI have noticed in the last yearis the H-D rim with the 1/2 round smooth profile.. reminds me of the road bicycle racey rims.
 Of couse that would mean 16 in rear, and maybe 19 in on the front.
 I think(guessing) there are plenty of used ones around.

I could cope with that size.  Can you come up with some kind of a pic or pointer?

There is a lot of Motard style laced wheels that look pretty good, anodized hubs , straight pull spokes..very light weight. very now looking..
 I think you can get into 2 wheels for around a G-note, and spend a bit more getting a caliper/rotor for the rear. They are light, a member on here put them on his 400?, they looked good.

I absolutely love the looks of those style wheels - you can even get rims that have an outer layer of carbon for that super-trick look.  But anything for motards is going to be 17" only, and I don't want to run 17" wheels/tires on this bike.

Is there any chance that the straight-pull hubs/spokes could be made to work with nearly-stock rim sizes?

[Syscrush]

OK, they do MX applications, too for those Excel Pro Series hubs - so maybe something can be worked out...

[Syscrush]

Hmmm... One of the "design" spokes from Buchanan might be a good idea... It would work well with my plans of a period-appropriate crazy 70's paintjob:

[Syscrush]

I think you can get into 2 wheels for around a G-note, and spend a bit more getting a caliper/rotor for the rear. They are light, a member on here put them on his 400?, they looked good.

Does anyone know who that is?  I've been looking but keep coming up empty.

[754]

 I think they were Talon wheels, that may help If you search is only bringing up 17 inch stuff try searching flat track wheels. good luck..

[Syscrush]

Thanks 754.  That was enough to hunt it down.  I don't think that they're actually the straight-pull spokes, but they are billet hubs and nice and light:

THREAD: Dirt Bike Wheels On a 350F (15.4lbs wheel set)

Later in another thread, he added this:

I should start a build thread. I am shaving a ton of weight off the chassis, and the wheels are probably the largest weight savings I have found.  I am running Talon hubs and excel rims.  DRZ400SM front Talon hub and a XR650 Rear hub. I am almost done with the front end of the bike. The rear end is still at the machine shop. I still need to get a custom brake line made.

I wish I had researched wheel choices a bit more, it seems that the CRF250 and 450 hubs are the same weight if not lighter than the Talon hubs, they can also be sourced for a lot less. Those would have reduce my wheel costs probably by close to half. I am running an 18x1.85 in the front and a 18x2.15 in the rear.

[Syscrush]

I've got a line on some Morris 7-spoke Aluminum wheels: 19x2.15 front, 18x2.50 rear.  The fitment guide for Avon Roadrider tires says I should do something like a 90/90-19 front, 110/90-18 rear - but that I could do up to 100/90-19 front, 130/80-18 rear.

I was wanting to go with a 140 or 150 rear, but I've got to admit that the skinny tire look would suit my bike and it's starting to grow on me...

[Syscrush]

What are people's thoughts on running 19" front and 18" rear together?

Good?

Bad?

Doesn't matter?

[754]

 Worked for Honda for a few decades..
 be warned a Morris 18inch rear is quite skinny..

[Syscrush]

Worked for Honda for a few decades..
 be warned a Morris 18inch rear is quite skinny..

Is it more skinny than other brands of 2.5" wheel?

[Tintop]

Interesting thread, and timely.  Just spent a morning draining my coffee mug while I did internet seaches for rims / tires.

Given you've mentioned in other threads about using a springer front end, my .02.  Spokes vs mags, I prefer spokes for the CB's.  With a springer front you will also probably want that larger dia. rim look, so a 19+ maybe.  Rear can be just about any size you want, 16/17/18.  That will depend on how wide a tire you want.  You can get 6"+ wire rims for 240 tires.

I'm using an 09 CBR600RR front end on a build, which uses 17/3.5 F / 17/5.5 R.  You can get this as a wire Motard setup (Talon hub / Excel rim), but I want to use 18's.  Also lots of tires available in the 17 size, not so the 18.    Excel make a 3.5/18 for a 120/70/18, and a 4.5/18 for a 170/60/18.  Going to start pricing it all out, but ball park looks to be under your 2K budget for - Talon hubs (polished) / Excel or Sun rims (polished) / Buchanan SS spokes / rotors / sprocket / Dunlop tires.

[bollingball]

Tintop I have a 750 78K with a 17R stock wheel I have not found a big selection of tires for the 17 can you post a few places if it is not to much trouble?

                       Thanks Ken

[Syscrush]

Thanks TT.  I'm actually doing a girder, not a springer.  And you're right, I do want at least an 18" front, probably a 19".

I used to think that I wanted a 150 rear, but I'm becoming more and more fond of the skinny tire look on these bikes.

For this build, I'm not interested in stuff like USD forks and 17" wheels.  I'm leaning more and more to those Morris mags.  A buddy of mine who used to race vintage said that they're really heavy, but I'm really fond of the look, and I don't care about performance on this bike.

Anyhow, thanks for chiming in, I really appreciate it.  And I'm stoked to see what you do with your modern chassis components on that build!

[Syscrush]

Tintop I have a 750 78K with a 17R stock wheel I have not found a big selection of tires for the 17 can you post a few places if it is not to much trouble?

                       Thanks Ken

I think he's talking about modern rubber.  Just about every sport or touring bike made in the last 10 years has a 120/70-17 front and either a 160/60-17 or 180/50-17 rear.

[Tintop]

+1 on current rubber.  Wasn't suggesting you use USD's, just that with some mix & match research just about anything is buildable.  The Morris's would be nice, but probably won't take more than a 120 rear.

[Syscrush]

I'm really struggling with the decision about rear wheel/tire width.  For me, it breaks down like this:

Laced pros:
+ Best performance per dollar.
+ Most flexible in terms of sizing.

Laced cons:
- Hard to have something distinctive looking.
- Modern billet blingy hubs could look out of place on my build.


Morris pros:
+ The look of those ridged spokes would be an absolutely perfect match to what I want to do with the motor.
+ Period-correct, sure to look like they belong on the bike.

Morris cons:
- Kinda pricey for heavy and outdated wheels. (Really wish I could afford the magnesium repros from Marvic!).
- Not sure yet if I like the skinny 120 rear tire or not.


Thanks to all who have pitched in to this thread with advice or ideas.

[Bankerdanny]

What are people's thoughts on running 19" front and 18" rear together?

Good?

Bad?

Doesn't matter?

I'm a little confused by this question. You're building a 550, right? So the stock wheels are a 19x1.85 front and 18x1.85 rear which use 100/90-19 (or 3.25x19) and 110/90-18 tires respectively.

The sizes for the Morris rims you mentioned are both wider than stoclk, so a 130 rear should be no problem, and a 110 front also no problem.

[Syscrush]

I'm a little confused by this question. You're building a 550, right? So the stock wheels are a 19x1.85 front and 18x1.85 rear which use 100/90-19 (or 3.25x19) and 110/90-18 tires respectively.

Yes, it's a 550.  My friend the vintage racer was suggesting that I should run 18's or 19's at both ends, not mix 'em.  I had never heard such a thing, especially given that the stock sizes are an 18/19 combo.  That's why I came here and asked about that.

The sizes for the Morris rims you mentioned are both wider than stoclk, so a 130 rear should be no problem, and a 110 front also no problem.

Thanks very much.

[Bankerdanny]

Oh, well my Enfield ran 19's front and rear and it was a serious pain the ass. There is a very limited selection of 19" rear tires.

The smaller front wheel is supposed to provide quicker steering, but the limits of an older bike like ours are so low that I can't see any real benefit to going to a smaller front wheel especially since there is a wide selection of tire available in a 19" front.

Going to the WIDER rear rim, however, does provide some benefits as the stock rims are very narrow and if you look at the various charts provided by the tire companies you will see that even the 110/90-18 is supposed to have a wider rim than the 1.85" on our bikes. So the 2.5" wide rear provides a much greater rear tire selection.

[Syscrush]

Thanks very much.

[754]

 You can get a Morris wheel widened by Kosman.. I know a guy getting that done this year.. probably cost 500ish plus shipping.. and if you send it soon, would be ready for next year..