Well my wheel is on its way to Kosman. Going with a 18x5 conversion. Though it'll be a few weeks before I get the wheel back I already went ahead and ordered a set of Michelin Pilot Road 3's (110/80r18 & 160/60r18). I'll post some pics when I get it back and mounted.
Considering Kosman 18" Rear, 19" Front
- Thread starter Glen007
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Awesome!! I think I'm going to buy a used 1985 rear rim off Ebay and have it sent directly to Kosman. I also read that madmax sells similar wheels but I'm not sure of the price.
i've heard most madmax stuff is nice, but if you have to ask how much. well you know the rest!
So Kosman received my wheel and I guess where their prices got jacked up is in the weld grind. It's $595, then another $150 to grind down the welds flush with the rest of the wheel (I assumed this would have been included in the original price). I opted not to do the weld grind because then I'm getting close to the price of a new 18" rim (add in a powdercoat and it definitely would). I wonder if I can grind the weld myself using a dremel tool and if not, I hoping the welds don't throw the balance of the wheel off too much. Oh well, if I'm not satisfied with it I'm sure I can sell it to get some of my money back and get another set.
I have a couple 85 rear wheels for sale dont know if I will be as cheap as ebay.
Hmmm, do you happen to have a 17" rear wheel to sell?
Nope sure dont.
i liked the weld look and it doesn't really throw off the balance. the whole thing will be so heavy!
Yup, especially since the stock '01 wheel I sent him is essentially a solid wheel (the largest cutout is for the valve stem). It weighed just under 20lbs when shipped out and I'll be sure to weigh it again when it comes back to compare. I got my set of Michelin Road Pilot 3's in the mail and they look pretty sweet and feel super sticky. Now I'm just a kid waiting for Christmas.
i hear ya. powdercoating covers up and blends it all in nicely too as you can see on mine so that helped. might have felt different if it wasn't coated.
So I haven't gotten my wheel back yet from Kosman but I've been looking into powder coating them once I get them back. I called one company today, NW Powder Coatings Inc, and they quoted my $50 - $75 per wheel, but said they couldn't give me a hard number until I bring them in. This seems dirt cheap to me. The company has decent online reviews and I was referred by another motorcylce shop in Seattle, SIK Werks. Does anyone know roughly the average price for powdercoating wheels?
$75-$100 would be what I would consider in the ball park. You will need to take them completely apart except for the cush drive rubbers which will survive the oven just fine. So, you'll be getting new bearings for the most part as well as any seal you don't want to reuse.
fmcandrew
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They wont quote a firm price because they don't know the condition of the part...which is completely understandable...handing them a striped/cleaned wheel should help keep the costs down. I'd want at least $75 for a clean wheel - lots of masking and oven time on a bike wheel...
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Great, thanks for the feedback - good to know that the cush drive dampers will be fine. I suppose new bearings would be a good idea anyway as my '01 has 35k and I don't believe they've been changed before.
fmcandrew
Well-Known Member
Well...ya gotta yank it all apart anyways (to PC), so now is as good as time as any to do the bearings...IMO
The more I think about the Kosman route, the more I lose interest. It just seems like a pain in the ass and not much cheaper than just spending $1000 for a new 17" rear wheel in the color I want. I don't want to take apart the wheel, shipping, waiting a month, putting back together etc to save a couple hundred.
I hear ya. I don't regret it but it has been an awful lot of waiting and it'll be another week or so to powdercoat. Overall, my price breakdown is about as follows: $40 to ship to Kosman, $625 for widening and return shipping, $150 to powdercoat f&r wheels, $60 f&r wheel bearings and seals, $305 for a set of Michelin Pilot Road 3 radials. Breaks down to $1180, which is about the same price as a new rear wheel without tires. I suppose the powdercoat is optional and bearings semi-optional so if someone just wanted an unfinished wheel to upgrade handling they could do it for a little cheaper.
Not really. You can take the back wheel of in 15-20min. My wheel was stripped and sitting in a box at FedEx two hours after I started taking the wheel off. The waiting is what's killer. It would have been a lot better if I thought about doing this in February.
I need to remove the drive assembly from the cush rubbers on my rear wheel before I bring it to the powder coaters. I've never done his before. Do you just pry them out? Thanks in advance for any advice on this.
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