Biggles08
4th December 2009, 16:45
So, I'm absolutely stoked to have a new sponsor in the form of CARROZZERIA Forged alloy wheels and wanted to raise awareness of this seemingly under appreciated handling performance enhancer. For under $4k (+GST) you can get a set CARROZZERIA wheels ready to install on your machine. That includes all the spacers, wheel bearings and a sprocket! I don't know about every brand of bike but KAWASAKI OEM rims are very similar in price to this...hell, try and find a second hand set of rims for under $2k! Not easy.
Now, being totally honest I have yet to ride my bike with my new 'Gold' bling wheels installed but I have been reading and talking to a few people about what to expect when I do. It seems most people forget about what lighter wheels actually do for a bikes performance. Whenever I mention 'after market wheels' to anyone the first thing they say is "Oh yeah, if you can afford them!?!" but I struggle with this excuse. We all seem happy to pay for the state of the art suspension from Ohlins (Well worth it too I might add) or the likes but don't want to spend any money on other handling enhancers. $ for $ its actually arguably equally as important to reduce your unsprung weight as getting improved performance from your suspension.
Essentially it appears that by reducing your wheel/sprocket weight, you will increase the performance of your standard suspension considerably. If you have after market suspension you will further enhance the handling making it easier to 'Dial in' your suspension.
Like I said, I am yet to ride on these new wheels but I have had people who have much more experience than me tell me to expect in the vicinity of 1-2 seconds improvement per lap at Taupo Full track!!!! IF this is the case, I can't understand why there is not more importance placed on this when it comes to making your bike handle better!
Your Thoughts....:cool:
<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">
Now, being totally honest I have yet to ride my bike with my new 'Gold' bling wheels installed but I have been reading and talking to a few people about what to expect when I do. It seems most people forget about what lighter wheels actually do for a bikes performance. Whenever I mention 'after market wheels' to anyone the first thing they say is "Oh yeah, if you can afford them!?!" but I struggle with this excuse. We all seem happy to pay for the state of the art suspension from Ohlins (Well worth it too I might add) or the likes but don't want to spend any money on other handling enhancers. $ for $ its actually arguably equally as important to reduce your unsprung weight as getting improved performance from your suspension.
Essentially it appears that by reducing your wheel/sprocket weight, you will increase the performance of your standard suspension considerably. If you have after market suspension you will further enhance the handling making it easier to 'Dial in' your suspension.
Like I said, I am yet to ride on these new wheels but I have had people who have much more experience than me tell me to expect in the vicinity of 1-2 seconds improvement per lap at Taupo Full track!!!! IF this is the case, I can't understand why there is not more importance placed on this when it comes to making your bike handle better!
Your Thoughts....:cool:
<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">