Weight reduction

Voodooo

VIP MEMBER
Joined
Aug 10, 2016
Messages
2,725
Country flag
Has anyone here owed or ridden a 961 Commando or Dominator with BST carbon fiber wheels?
How much difference was / is the riding experience?

On my Shelby GT350R it came from the factory with Carbon Fiber wheels and they are a 62 pound weight savings over aluminum wheels and the difference is astonishing.

I’ve been considering BST carbon fiber wheels for my Dominator Naked only if available in a matte finish.

I also been looking into carbon ceramic rotors. Less rotational mass like the wheels, less wear, better heat control. But not much better at reducing stopping distance.
Unless you’ve really pushed the limits.

I know it’s not worth it for a street application but for a handling point of view I’m courious.
From what I see, the BST wheels are
6.38 pounds lighter in the front
10.06 pounds lighter in the rear.
That’s a pretty substantial savings, especially in rotational mass.

Has anyone seen a Dominator with the carbon wheels?
I love the look of the spoke wheels, so it’s a toss up.
 
Weight reduction
 
Weight reduction
Weight reduction
I just found this Dominator with the BST carbon wheels.
I never been a fan of this custom Dominator, but it gives an idea of the look of the bike with the carbon wheels.
 
I love carbon wheels.

But IMHO, the Dommie... especially the naked... really looks better with spoked wheels.
 
Fast Eddie said:
I love carbon wheels.

But IMHO, the Dommie... especially the naked... really looks better with spoked wheels.
Click to expand...
I agree. I like the performance benefits of the carbon wheels, but I feel putting carbon 5 spoke wheels on the Dominator in place of the spokes takes away from the beauty of the bike.
 
It’s a balance Scott.

If you were only in pursuit of performance, you’d have a different bike!

It’s a balance that YOU have to be happy with.
 
If you just really enjoy riding that bike, and want to explore incremental performance improvements, I say go for it. If mitigating rotational mass enables more enjoyment while riding, that could outweigh a less traditional appearance. As Eddie said, it's a balance of riding enjoyment and visual look.
 
The BST wheels will definitely improve turn-in on Dominators/Commandos or any bike with laced wire wheels.
They also eliminate inner tubes and the risk of blow-outs.

I would just like forged alloy mags that have a classic style, like Morris mags, or even Campbray styled mags, designed for modern tire widths.
They are strong, durable, and basically maintenance free.
 
I recall a magazine article some years ago where stock rims on a couple of new litre sportbikes were replaced with BST Carbon.
The initial " seat of pants" observation was that the handling was much improved.
Before fitting the wheels the riders had done timed laps at a racetrack on these bikes .
With the BST wheels fitted their times were slightly slower. ( Twitchy handling?)
This result did not gel with their initial observation, but the stopwatch overules the placebo effect every time.

Glen
 
Voodooo said:
Has anyone here owed or ridden a 961 Commando or Dominator with BST carbon fiber wheels?
How much difference was / is the riding experience?

On my Shelby GT350R it came from the factory with Carbon Fiber wheels and they are a 62 pound weight savings over aluminum wheels and the difference is astonishing.

I’ve been considering BST carbon fiber wheels for my Dominator Naked only if available in a matte finish.

I also been looking into carbon ceramic rotors. Less rotational mass like the wheels, less wear, better heat control. But not much better at reducing stopping distance.
Unless you’ve really pushed the limits.

I know it’s not worth it for a street application but for a handling point of view I’m courious.
From what I see, the BST wheels are
6.38 pounds lighter in the front
10.06 pounds lighter in the rear.
That’s a pretty substantial savings, especially in rotational mass.

Has anyone seen a Dominator with the carbon wheels?
I love the look of the spoke wheels, so it’s a toss up.
Click to expand...
961
 
Carbon fibre wheels do make a big difference,but remember Commado is not a sports bike.
Also no tubes so it is easier to repair a puncture,
 
I have ridden both Commando and Dominator with carbon wheels. My personal opinion as it makes it sit down in corners much easier and it turns in more sharply.

Unfortunately it is only possible to fit carbon wheels to euro 3 variants, as the carbon wheels are not compatible with our ABS system at present.
 
Fast Eddie said:
It’s a balance Scott.

If you were only in pursuit of performance, you’d have a different bike!

It’s a balance that YOU have to be happy with.
Click to expand...
That’s a good point.
My car is a performance track / street car.
The bike on the other hand, never sees track time.
 
Rob Jameson - Norton UK said:
I have ridden both Commando and Dominator with carbon wheels. My personal opinion as it makes it sit down in corners much easier and it turns in more sharply.

Unfortunately it is only possible to fit carbon wheels to euro 3 variants, as the carbon wheels are not compatible with our ABS system at present.
Click to expand...
My commando sf is a 2016 no ABS.
My Naked is non ABS also. So is my Naked a 2016 or 2017? The vin says 2017. Perhaps it’s one of the first sold before the ABS was mandatory.
 
I think the CF wheels look great on the Dommie. And if you could sandblast the sheen off of them to match a flat tank, even better.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top