Rims

FA-Q · Post by **FA-Q** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 2:51 am

Genuine should offer a couple nice alloy rims as accessories. Chrome would be nice too!

KRUSTYburger · Post by **KRUSTYburger** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 3:00 am

I agree for you REGULAR BUDDY owners

, Italia already has the matching green rims... I think I'd prefer that to the chrome, but it still would look sweet on either of them!

(idea)

OOOH!! You know what would look best on the Italia?

>>MOON RIMS with the chrome bowl in the middle,
then red around that with the whitewalls on top... SMOKIN'!!!!

mattgordon · Post by **mattgordon** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 3:01 am

FA-Q wrote:Genuine should offer a couple nice alloy rims as accessories. Chrome would be nice too!

I would inquire at www.jettin.com regarding chrome or powdercoated colors....

polianarchy · Post by **polianarchy** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 4:01 am

I like the way you think, KRUSTYburger! I was just praising moonies the other day...sigh....

Post by **ericalm** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 4:19 am

KRUSTYburger wrote:I agree for you REGULAR BUDDY owners , Italia already has the matching green rims... I think I'd prefer that to the chrome, but it still would look sweet on either of them!

(idea)

OOOH!! You know what would look best on the Italia?

>>MOON RIMS with the chrome bowl in the middle,
then red around that with the whitewalls on top... SMOKIN'!!!!

Too bad for you people who only own BUDDYs, because they have these for my VESPA. Nyah!

Jettin will chrome or powdercoat your rims. There are probably places that will do it locally, too.

The Ninja · Post by **The Ninja** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 1:57 am

I am waiting until next winter and will have my wheels powdercoated black. One member here has black wheels on a red Buddy and it looks great.

jfrost2 · Post by **jfrost2** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 2:59 am

I'm sure you can find other scooter or 10 inch rims that would fit a buddy, no clue where to look, but I'm sure they do exist.

illnoise · Post by **illnoise** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 3:40 pm

how do you have moon rims on a wheel with forks on both sides and a disc brake?

The reason they make them for Vespas is because Vespas only have a fork on one side. I don't see how you'd do it for a Buddy.

I can see Genuine making chrome ones because they could just chrome the regular ones, and it'd be a cheap upgrade, but to make it alloy would be a pretty serious project, and the cost/benefit/potential market doesn't make sense. How many people would really buy 'em? and how much lighter could the Buddy be? Having that weight near the ground is probably a good thing.

Then again, I said the 210 kit was stupid and unrealistic, and I was (maybe) wrong about that.

Bb.

BGK · Post by **BGK** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 3:45 pm

illnoise wrote:how do you have moon rims on a wheel with forks on both sides and a disc brake?

The reason they make them for Vespas is because Vespas only have a fork on one side. I don't see how you'd do it for a Buddy.

I can see Genuine making chrome ones because they could just chrome the regular ones, and it'd be a cheap upgrade, but to make it alloy would be a pretty serious project, and the cost/benefit/potential market doesn't make sense. How many people would really buy 'em? and how much lighter could the Buddy be? Having that weight near the ground is probably a good thing.

Then again, I said the 210 kit was stupid and unrealistic, and I was (maybe) wrong about that.

Bb.

Ya, hubcaps probably wouldn't work. But I have seen centerline type wheels for the yamaha jog and Honda dio/elite. Probably custom jobs though, not bolt on. Pressed steel rims are fairly light. The material is heavier but there is a lot less of it when compared to most alloy wheels. Chroming and powder coating could be done on the wheels in just about any metropolitan area.

FA-Q · Post by **FA-Q** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 3:45 pm

The trick is matching the hubs. They make some cool 10"ers for Honda CT70 mini trails.

Kurzer · Post by **Kurzer** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 5:16 pm

When the tires get changed out, I'll be powder coating the rims black. Powder coat colors would be awesome and totally do-able using the existing rims.

Now if I could get my hands on some platinum spinners.........

gt1000 · Post by **gt1000** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 6:02 pm

I can see Genuine making chrome ones because they could just chrome the regular ones, and it'd be a cheap upgrade, but to make it alloy would be a pretty serious project, and the cost/benefit/potential market doesn't make sense. How many people would really buy 'em? and how much lighter could the Buddy be? Having that weight near the ground is probably a good thing.

I agree with everything you say here except that last sentence. I wouldn't mind paying a bit more for the Buddy if it came standard with alloy wheels. Buying aftermarket wheels for a $3000 scoot doesn't make much sense to me, especially since moto wheels tend to cost a lot more than you'd typically expect.

And as for that last sentence, you have to remember that unsprung weight is your suspension's biggest enemy. Since wheels and brakes tend to be your biggest source of unsprung weight, you want to limit their effect as much as possible. So, theoretically, a Buddy with lighter alloy wheels should have quicker turn-in and crisper handling. Realistically, you have to think the weight difference between steel and alloy on those little wheels is pretty minimal. Plus, handling and turn-in on the Buddy is already pretty damned crisp. Plus plus, bend an alloy wheel and you'll need to replace it. Bend a steel wheel and you might be able to straighten it. Even if you can't, replacing steel is much, much cheaper than replacing alloy.

BGK · Post by **BGK** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 7:00 pm

gt1000 wrote: And as for that last sentence, you have to remember that unsprung weight is your suspension's biggest enemy. Since wheels and brakes tend to be your biggest source of unsprung weight, you want to limit their effect as much as possible. So, theoretically, a Buddy with lighter alloy wheels should have quicker turn-in and crisper handling. Realistically, you have to think the weight difference between steel and alloy on those little wheels is pretty minimal. Plus, handling and turn-in on the Buddy is already pretty damned crisp. Plus plus, bend an alloy wheel and you'll need to replace it. Bend a steel wheel and you might be able to straighten it. Even if you can't, replacing steel is much, much cheaper than replacing alloy.

Wheels and brakes are most of the unsprung weight on a motorcycle but on a scooter it's by far the motor that is most of the unsprung weight. On a scooter, the rider plays most of the part of the sprung weight equation so it's a bit different than the theory that goes with motorcycles. The important part about lighter wheels is rotating mass. One pound of rotating mass is a drag on power equivalent to seven pounds of static mass (or something like that). So if you shaved 2 lbs off the wheels it would be like taking 14 lbs off of the weight of the scooter and rider. I'll just wear lighter boots and skip lunch to get the equivalent of custom marchesini wheels. I think someone should weight Zuma cast alu wheel and a pressed steel black cat/rough house wheel. I bet the pressed steel ones will be lighter.

jfrost2 · Post by **jfrost2** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 7:26 pm

A original buddy 50cc had a different rim than they currently do, so other rims are possible, it had a 3 fork swirling design.

BGK · Post by **BGK** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 8:34 pm

jfrost2 wrote:A original buddy 50cc had a different rim than they currently do, so other rims are possible, it had a 3 fork swirling design.

I think I liked those better. Just like the old Vino and Jog.

jfrost2 · Post by **jfrost2** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 8:44 pm

If someone knows the measurements of the buddy's rims, I might be able to find some online which would fit, I don't really care too much about rim mods, except painting them, but I care more about the bike it self's appearance.

Kurzer · Post by **Kurzer** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 4:54 pm

jfrost2 wrote:If someone knows the measurements of the buddy's rims, I might be able to find some online which would fit, I don't really care too much about rim mods, except painting them, but I care more about the bike it self's appearance.

3.50x10

BGK · Post by **BGK** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 5:25 pm

Kurzer wrote:
jfrost2 wrote:If someone knows the measurements of the buddy's rims, I might be able to find some online which would fit, I don't really care too much about rim mods, except painting them, but I care more about the bike it self's appearance.
3.50x10

That's the tire size. The most important dimensions will be brake drum diameter and drive shaft size and spline count. The rim width should be between 2 and 2.5 inches.

illnoise · Post by **illnoise** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 6:34 pm

gt1000 wrote:I agree with everything you say here except that last sentence. I wouldn't mind paying a bit more for the Buddy if it came standard with alloy wheels. Buying aftermarket wheels for a $3000 scoot doesn't make much sense to me, especially since moto wheels tend to cost a lot more than you'd typically expect.

That's sort of my point, who's going to pay the inflated cost AND labor to have alloy wheels put on a $3000 scooter? And it's not realistic to make some with and some without at the factory, it'd be too confusing for inventory and pricing, and not much of a selling point, unless they had yet another "Sport" model or something that had them standard (with other upgrades) and gave them an excuse to sell them also as an aftermarket option.

gt1000 wrote:And as for that last sentence, you have to remember that unsprung weight is your suspension's biggest enemy. (etc.)

All true and good points, but I'm still thinking just in terms of center-of-gravity, the buddy is so light that a little weight near the ground couldn't hurt. And it's fairly moot because the weight difference would be very, very minimal. The stock wheels are pretty heavy, and an alloy wheel might actually need to be a bit thicker (or contain a bit more material) just to be structurally sound, which would push them even closer in weight.

The buddy's probably the fastest 125 made, and I suspect the biggest reason for that is because it's so small and light. I don't think the weight of the wheels is really an issue at all. If you're racing or something and every ounce counts, sure, but it's just not a worthwhile investment on a practical level for most people.

KRUSTYburger · Post by **KRUSTYburger** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 7:55 pm

Okay, okay, so however impossible moonies may be on my Bud, at least I can have DREAMS, CAN'T I?!?! I know they would look RIDICULOUSLY AMAZING!!! Perhaps my only purpose, my single aspiration in life is to create elegant rims for scoots with 2 front forks! ...perhaps not.

These are a little smaller bowls than I had in mind, but you get the idea...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11175838@N08/2364797392/

illnoise · Post by **illnoise** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 7:59 pm

i guess you could somehow design them with a hole in the middle and deep enough to cover the brake. Unless that had brake overheating implications. It'd just be a pain to install them, that's the sort of thing people impulse-buy to slap on in the parking lot, they'd be reluctant to pay an hour of labor to have them put on. I guess if you're replacing tires anyway...

Or they could be two-piece, but the seam would be lame.

Bb.

KRUSTYburger · Post by **KRUSTYburger** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 8:09 pm

I was just lookin' at it, and I don't know if it would work on the front left side like in the pic, but you could have it where the bowl is fixed to the fork & there is a little space between the bowl & the rim... where the wheel is spinning, but the chrome bowl isn't. I guess it may be potentially dangerous

.

BGK · Post by **BGK** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 8:57 pm

You can get centerline rims for the yamaha jog so I bet you could fit them on a buddy (or get some specific to the buddy).

Modern Buddy

Rims

Rims

Re: Rims