Bimota Forum

[glened]

Hi all, once again I come in search of knowledge.

I am looking to replace the wheels on my DB10, I quite fancy the BST Carbon fibre wheels, I have been communicating with Giles at HPS, who I believe are the sole importers into the UK. After doing a number of measurements it appears that the DB10 and DB6 share the same wheel dimensions. My question to you guys is:
1: Are BST wheels OK, anyone had dealings with them
2: Anyone know of a way of getting them any cheaper if I get them from abroad? I can get them in the UK for £2200

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[2bims]

There is a UK owner of a Db6 that fitted BST carbon wheels to his bike...he also has a Vdue...but thats not road registered.....owns a pub/restaurant in Yorkshire somewhere...but hes not on the Forum here.....spied his bike at J&S accesories near chester a couple of years ago....he kind of went to town on Carbon bits for his bike.........A fair few on here have fitted BST carbon wheels...mostly to Vdues...aka BimotaNige...only thing I've heard is that sometimes they dont provide all the spacers you need to fit them properly....whereas Dymag send you everything you need to directly bolt them on with your exisiting spindles, discs etc...

[sb8rs]

Hi,

May I ask the question, why do you want Carbon wheels?

Is it the look (they do look fantastic) ?
Is it improved performance (Do you actually need it) ?

The reason why I ask is that I have BST's on my SB8rs and have had them for some 8 or so years.

However what I have found is that for road use they can actually hinder riding. Let me explain.

On already "light" bikes, such as the SB8: I actually believe they make them too light for the road, over illegal speed limits the front end on my 8 goes exceptionally light and it can make for some unnerving handling if you have not experienced it before. Indeed someone I knew put carbon wheels on and within a couple of weeks removed them and reverted to the originals for this reason.

However, on "heavy" bikes like the SB6r, it turns them into very nimble machines.

On the track there is nothing better.

So really it comes down to the question of, why do you want them and where are you going to ride you bike?

Me, I have just purchase a set of Marchesini's (Mid weight between BST's and Antera's) to try this year on my SB8rs. I will let you know which I prefer later in the summer.

[mick]

Hi Glened,
I'm Mick the guy that 2bims is referring to with the DB6 with Bst wheels, they come complete and fit perfect. Huge improvement !
I own a pub in the Peak district www.old-hall-inn.co.uk I own four Bimota's and would welcome any bikers looking for a great destination in the country.
cheers.

[2bims]

hello mick...and welcome to the forum....i'm the guy at j&s on the db5r that you were chatting to.......

[glened]

First of all thanks to Steve for posting the pics of Mick's bike. I had not seen the BST's fitted to a Bimota before and they look the part, i.e. not blingy, they just look understated. Thanks for you comments Mick, that they have transformed the bike, as yours is probably the closest match to the DB10. I will have a ride out this year and come and see you, not sure how to contact you. Will probaly use the link you have put to you pub. Thanks also to sb8rs, I will try and answer some of your questions:
I to have had similar concerns about the lightness of the wheels, however after talking to Giles at HPS he has put my mind at ease. In answer to your questions, the bike may do one or two track days, but that is not it's primary use. It was designed with one thing in mind..Fun. It is without equal on tight back lanes b roads. Mountain roads are its natural domain. I want it to change direction through thought process and not having to muscle it around, it is quite light @ 168Kg and after I have removed the cat and taken a couple of other bits of it a little lighter, so I would hope the wheels will help tone it some more. As you are probably aware mountains are not that abundant in the Northwest of England so I tend to play in Scotland, North Wales and Europe. As for riding style, same as you would expect on this type of machine, it spends a good portion of it's life one the back wheel, not quite got the hang of those "stopy" things (watch this space) it shakes it's head when pushed hard (fitted GPR steering damper) when things get really bumpy, and does it best to try and get you off it when you are not expecting it. Enough of my ramblings just wanted to say thanks for all that have replied.

Regards Glen

[vort28]

Hi Glen.
I have carbon wheels on my DB4 and have similar issues to SB8RS , with the reduction of gyroscopic mass the bike is very lively , has it made me consider swapping wheels NO , but then the original Antera's are made of concrete so anything is better.
I weighed some wheels some time ago, all Bimota fitment.
Antera ...................................Front 6kg Rear 8.95kg
BST carbon.............................Front 2.95kg Rear 5 kg
Dymag 7 spoke forged alloy.....Front 3.45kg rear 5.9kg
Dymag carbon........................Front 2.75kg rear 4.75kg.

This is the original thread and surprising how close forged alloy wheels are
http://www.bimotaforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=3913&highlight=wheel

Now saying all the above I put forged alloys on my vdue ( as weighed above) , these made a massive difference over the original wheels. After a year or so I replaced with carbon . I have not noticed the issues I have with the DB4 on the vdue , even though it is 20kg lighter , but it has gone from very quick steering to BLOODY QUICK steering , so be warned !!!!!

[glened]

Hi Stuart,

Thanks for the heads up and the work in weighing the wheels, reading between the lines it may have more to do with steering geometry than how light the bike is, coz they come much lighter than the Vdue. I am not desperate to have them straight away, they are on 6 to 8 weeks lead time. Hopefully I will see you at the Manchester show? and I will have a chat there if you dont mind

Regards Glen

[vort28]

HI Glen.

Yes would put it down to geometry and weight distribution .
I believe the reason the SB8 has the part carbon frame is to get the weight more forward as the motor puts to much weight on the rear, so that probably does'nt help when you remove 3kg off the front of the bike.

Not sure what the DB10 balance is like but it might be light on the front going by how long your bike spends on the rear wheel On that point , carbon is strong but does not like impact ( maybe something to consider ) also I have found not many tyre places like to change tyres on them !!! I use a little garage in Ainsdale and the owner is very careful with them .

Not sure if I am going to be at Manchester this year, but if there will try to bring a bike with carbon wheels.

[bimotanige]

Hi Glen
I've the BSTs on my Vdue from HPS. very skittish and lively on the road initially. I got one of the suspension guys to sort it out while at the TT on in. This made a huge improvement. If your spending that much of the wheels it worth a trip and the cost of sorting the suspension- Maxton not far from you 😄😄☃
_________________
KB1x2, SB3 SB4 BB1 DB2 Vdue Evo YB11 RB1 Ducati MHR Suzi GS650

[glened]

Hi Nige and Stuart, I have a friend who owns a tyre business in Wigan, he has said that he would do the tyres for me, however he does not want to, but is making an exception for me owing to fact that he is my mate, maybe not for long if I ask him? I will probably do them the old method with tyre irons, I will take my time or I may look into getting a manual machine, I will keep you appraised as I am not that far from Stuart. With regards to Nige's comments on the suspension, I took my Honda SP1 into them and they transformed the bike, I have spoken to Richard at Maxton and he was less than willing to tackle the DB10. I think the reason there is only mine registered in the UK therefore they have little in the way of user information, I also think that there may be a problem with the forks being 50mm Marzocchi's and the springs not being readily available. The bike in stock trim is over sprung and potentially under damped, I will try them again later this year.

Thanks again for the dialog and information, I will keep you all appraised as it goes. If I can get my head around posting pictures and I bet the BST's I will try and upload some pictures. Just planning our Europe run at moment, hoping to spend a week in the Alps, then down into Croatia

[mick]

Hi Glenn, you don't need to worry about fitting tyres to Bst rims any decent motorcycle tyre fitter will have no problem, I wouldn't use tyre irons. If you want your suspension setting up then contact www.Twsuspensiontech.co.uk. he is called Tuet and he is based nr Preston tel 07743735346.
Ian Carson from www.speedycom.co.uk supplies and fits my tyres he is approx 50 miles from you and 1 mile from me, he also sells pazzo levers and air filters that improve the performance of your bike....

[welshlamb]

[2bims]

Closer to the Dymag Forged Alloy then they are to the Anchor Anteras...as they're often referenced.....Not awar of anyone directly weighing them though.....You could weigh your rear wheel...I have loose tyres, sprockets, discs etc so could make a deduction for the Oscom to get a close enough comparison...same with the front

[sb8rs]

Just to keep this going

What about disc weights?

I put American Braketeck discs on my SB8RS as they were half the weight of the OEM brembos

Any thoughts?