Carbon Fiber Wheel Update

Couldn't resist any longer. Ordered a pair of BST carbon fiber wheels a couple of months ago through AF1, and they arrived a couple of days ago. Put the rear on with a new tire last night, and swapped the front tire from the old rim this morning. Definitely looks better in black. One of the few ways to lose a significant amount of weight, and particularly from unsprung weight.

The only issue I had was the cush drive rubbers. The ones that came with the wheel had a metal insert to reduce the inside diameter. I assume they expected it to be used with a different size bolt than stock on my 2014/2015 model. I ended up just re-using the original rubbers. They were actually in very good shape, so it was really no problem. I'm wondering if earlier or later models used a different drive bolt than in mine. I could probably also have pressed the insert out of the rubbers and used them, but I thought I might as well save them for next time.




Ken

What kind of XXX Porno is this? I’m not sure but I believe this is against forum rules.

More pics please.
Did you by chance weigh each wheel and compare to the stock spoke wheels?

Nice look.
Lighter weight
Better handling......
What's not to like?

Bottom line, how much?

Voodooo said:

What kind of XXX Porno is this? I’m not sure but I believe this is against forum rules.

More pics please.
Did you by chance weigh each wheel and compare to the stock spoke wheels?

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New wheels are 4.62 lbs. front and 5.94 lbs. rear. AF1 estimates the stock wheels at 11 lbs. and 17 lbs. I'll measure the stock ones tomorrow to get exact amounts. Counting the inner tubes, total weight saving should be pretty close to 17 lbs.

Ken

lcrken said:

New wheels are 4.62 lbs. front and 5.94 lbs. rear. AF1 estimates the stock wheels at 11 lbs. and 17 lbs. I'll measure the stock ones tomorrow to get exact amounts. Counting the inner tubes, total weight saving should be pretty close to 17 lbs.

Ken

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I consider the carbon wheels for my Dominator Naked but not sure how’d they look on a Dominator. I’m wondering if BST has them in matte finish.

By the way, what do you have here? What gauges and what is the aluminum piece?

It's an air fuel ratio (AFR) display and data logger, connected to a couple of wideband O2 sensors in the exhaust. I'm trying to use the data to tailor the fuel map in the ECU. The aluminum piece is just a sun shield so I can read the display. The data I actually use comes from the data logger download after a ride, but being able to read the display gives me a guide to what throttle setting and rpm points I need to be aiming for to collect data.

Ken

lcrken said:

It's an air fuel ratio (AFR) display and data logger, connected to a couple of wideband O2 sensors in the exhaust. I'm trying to use the data to tailor the fuel map in the ECU. The aluminum piece is just a sun shield so I can read the display. The data I actually use comes from the data logger download after a ride, but being able to read the display gives me a guide to what throttle setting and rpm points I need to be aiming for to collect data.

Ken

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The reason I fitted carbon rims to my 961 were three fold..
Not in any order,
Easier to clean,much easier to repair a puncture(no tubes)..and finally the way the bike handles with the reduced weight is exceptional, Now I know it is not a Fireblade but the weight saving makes a big difference.
Also if you buy muc off push bike cleaner from Aldi it is carbon fibre friendly .

MAK said:

The reason I fitted carbon rims to my 961 were three fold..
Not in any order,
Easier to clean,much easier to repair a puncture(no tubes)..and finally the way the bike handles with the reduced weight is exceptional, Now I know it is not a Fireblade but the weight saving makes a big difference.
Also if you buy muc off push bike cleaner from Aldi it is carbon fibre friendly .

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With the weight saving I am sure we could argue that an improved mpg will result thus helping to save the planet and after a few short months will have paid for the wheels threefold!!!

Lincolnshire Poacher said:

With the weight saving I am sure we could argue that an improved mpg will result thus helping to save the planet and after a few short months will have paid for the wheels threefold!!!

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Hope I die before I get...
An electric bike!

It turned out good ! If you email Norton you will find that the parts used for the carbon wheel cush drive and sprocket carrier are different.

Voodooo said:

I consider the carbon wheels for my Dominator Naked but not sure how’d they look on a Dominator. I’m wondering if BST has them in matte finish.

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Don't they sacrifice folks who paint over carbon fiber finish?

If not, then I would like to order a set in gold corrosion coat finish, like real mag wheels.

BritTwit said:

Don't they sacrifice folks who paint over carbon fiber finish?

If not, then I would like to order a set in gold corrosion coat finish, like real mag wheels.

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Who said paint over them?
I said matte finish as in not gloss clear coat but instead matte finish clear coat. Like this on my Naked....

The last two pics are of my cars wheels. I have a 2018 Shelby GT350R. These limited production track ready race cars come from ford with carbon fiber wheels and only in a gloss black painted finish with a ceramic heat coating on the inner barrel to protect from the massive 16.5” rotor heat.

MAK said:

Hope I die before I get...
An electric bike!

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Well forget buying MCN this week , it’s full of those things

TonyA said:

It turned out good ! If you email Norton you will find that the parts used for the carbon wheel cush drive and sprocket carrier are different.

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Yes, I did notice some differences in the cush drive. The new rubbers, with the metal inserts to reduce the internal diameter, were clearly intended for a different set of fasteners with smaller head diameter, but those were not included with the wheels. Later perusal of the service manuals leads me to believe that there are two different sets of cush drive fasteners, M10x1.25 thread for the carbon wheel and M10x1.50 for the spoked wheel. Using the original rubbers and fasteners in the new wheel seems to work just fine, at least until the rubbers wear out. I did notice that the new rubbers seem considerably stiffer than the originals. I will eventually replace the fasteners with titanium items (just one of my compulsive disorders) with the smaller head diameter, and will switch to the new rubbers at that time.

Interestingly, I did notice that in the service manuals the pictures in the sprocket and cush drive removal section show both types of rubbers, with the rubbers with the metal inserts in the carbon wheel, and the ones without in the spoked wheel.

Just to make it clear, this is a picture from the service manual showing the carrier with the spoked wheel cush drive



And this is for the carbon wheel



Ken

Ken.

I’m envious...

They look fabulous!

Ride reports ASAP please...


(Edited for you John )

Ken, did you compare the weight of your wallet before and after purchase? I'm guessing that is another considerable weight saving

Look great though !!

cliffa said:

Ken, did you compare the weight of your wallet before and after purchase? I'm guessing that is another considerable weight saving

Look great though !!

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Definitely. That's why it took me two years of dithering before I finally made the decision. At first, I was also waiting to see if the bike was a keeper before getting too carried away. After that it was just a matter of getting over that guilty feeling of knowing I was buying them mostly for the bling (but also because of the weight saving and eliminating the inner tubes). Anyway, now that it's done I have absolutely no remorse about the decision. If I could figure out how to drop a significant amount of weight for some more expenditures, I'd probably do so.

Ken

lcrken said:

Definitely. That's why it took me two years of dithering before I finally made the decision. At first, I was also waiting to see if the bike was a keeper before getting too carried away. After that it was just a matter of getting over that guilty feeling of knowing I was buying them mostly for the bling (but also because of the weight saving and eliminating the inner tubes). Anyway, now that it's done I have absolutely no remorse about the decision. If I could figure out how to drop a significant amount of weight for some more expenditures, I'd probably do so.

Ken

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To be honest from a safety perspective alone they are worth the investment. Inner tubes deflate very quickly when punctured, as I'm sure plenty of folks on here have experienced in the past.

An alloy tank must be quite a bit lighter than the plastic version

So, a final number for the weight question. The bare front spoked wheel, with tube, weighs 11 lbs. 4.6 oz. The bare rear, with sprocket mount, weighs 20 lbs. 5.6 oz.

The final weight saving for swapping to the CF wheels is 21 lbs. 10.4 oz. That's a significant amount off the unsprung weight. That takes my bike from 507 lbs. with full tank, down to just under 486 lbs.