Bst Carbon Fiber Wheels For Gen Ii

[groran1000]

I repair carbon fiber on my radio control aircraft, helicopters, the big ones with 6 foot rotor span. Anyway, I use commercial CF and the best 2 part epoxy money can buy. The epoxy, after a year or two, gets yellow and starts chipping and getting brittle mostly due to the sun hitting it and I have to clean it up and redo the repair. Airbus had to stop making their vertical fin out of CF cause they were getting brittle and snapping, making the jet sometimes uncontrollable then ploosh in the ground. To this day, when I fly, if it's an airbus, I take a different flight on an airline that uses boeing. CF is just not good in some applications and fins and MC wheels ain't those places.

[groran1000]

I have been watching these wheels for a while now and considered getting a pair. I reasoned that if I had better flick-ability with more agility, I would put them on my busa instead of getting a liter bike or even a 750. I won't do it now as these wheels are in my opinion dangerous. Can you imagine at high speeds,[ I didn't get this thing to cruise], fall apart, I'm dead or in pieces on the road.

[turbojonny]

They won't fall apart.

[bigdev]

Maybe you need to speed up a little you know at high speeds you’ll just glide over those potholes.

Haha if I speed up anymore I will be flying Matthew, I already hit takeoff speeds haha. And that's one of the reasons she is going back on the dyno to get 500bhp out of her over winter, I'm hoping she will hover like the delorean

[bigdev]

They won't fall apart.

Err, take a look at my pic after a 30mph pothole hit Turbo

[Hayabusa Wannabe]

I reasoned that if I had better flick-ability with more agility, I would put them on my busa instead of getting a liter bike or even a 750.

Before you switch bikes, have you gotten your weight completely off of the hands and spent time thinking about counstersteering technique? These sport tourers have the aggressive geometry (rake and trail) to flick right over, although they provide a challenge with additional weight. If you are already pushing things to the limit, the wheels are a very logical step to reduce the bike's inertia. But finesse and a certain regime can take one a long way in this regard.

[turbojonny]

Pothole impact damage isnt falling apart.
Bill Warner put roughly 1000 hp to his at 311 mph, along with many near 300 mph runs.
Carbon fiber can shatter with impact, but it is incredibly tough with loading.
I wouldn't buy a carbon fiber hammer, but BST's to me are very safe, albeit horrible at taking pothole damage.
There really isn't a definative answer to the safety question, and other threads on this topic have gone on for pages and pages.

[bigdev]

Pothole impact damage isnt falling apart.
Bill Warner put roughly 1000 hp to his at 311 mph, along with many near 300 mph runs.
Carbon fiber can shatter with impact, but it is incredibly tough with loading.
I wouldn't buy a carbon fiber hammer, but BST's to me are very safe, albeit horrible at taking pothole damage.
There really isn't a definative answer to the safety question, and other threads on this topic have gone on for pages and pages.

Im pretty sure they are completely safe on a non pothole ridden drag strip Turbo, but the roads in the UK an the USA are a different matter imo. I've seen what was left of a BST Carbon Fibre front wheel from a GSXR 1000 I used to have that had a collision with a car, all that was left was the hub! I'm not trying to put people off buying BST's but people need to be aware of the possible safety implications should any kind of shunt happen, low or high speed, that they should be checked over immediately not just ride on. And this means shunts that you wouldn't give second thoughts too on a normal alloy wheel. I personally hit a pothole at over 100mph on stock alloys with no damage at all, so all I'm saying is, with any make Carbon wheel, be careful and err on the side of caution!

[turbojonny]

Yah, I would likely not be so pro BST if my local roads were pothole laden/prone. We have vey mild weather in Seattle and major potholes are rare and they are fixed quickly if reported.
I saw a pic of a Ducati that hit a cement bit while on a track and at full lean. Nothing but a hub and the outer rim with the tire still on it. It seems that when they do break they REALLY break.
I've been putting 400hp to mine for a few years now and I wipe down the rear wheel before every ride to both clean it as well as make sure there are no cracks.
I'd have a hard time ever giving mine up. The handling is night and day versus stockers. My Busa literally flicks faster than a 600rr I had, and not just sort of faster, alot faster. The Busa is still relatively heavy for a sport bike, but the BSTs make it nimble as heck on the highway at speed. Sudden direction changes are so easy to make.

[groran1000]

Pothole impact damage isnt falling apart.
Bill Warner put roughly 1000 hp to his at 311 mph, along with many near 300 mph runs.
Carbon fiber can shatter with impact, but it is incredibly tough with loading.
I wouldn't buy a carbon fiber hammer, but BST's to me are very safe, albeit horrible at taking pothole damage.
There really isn't a definative answer to the safety question, and other threads on this topic have gone on for pages and pages.

I hear ya. The flick rate sure turns me on. I could imagine my busa doing as good or better than a 600cc and that's what ticks me off, I want the wheels, but can't put my full trust in them. But in reality, most damage would be pot holes. I could see hitting a pot hole and calling a wrecker to haul my bike home. The problem is not all the CF thing, but mostly the price and the danger factor. Phew, I don't even want to think the wheel coming apart at say 130 or more. If I spend $4k for wheels, I want something made for my application, POT HOLES!!!

[fallenarch]

Agreed I used to ride with a guy named Earlybird (Tim) who would go down the road at 70 mph and cut in and out on the dashes in the middle of the road! Tim was a very skilled rider though. But the busa is a very controllable bike if you have good tech. On track the biggest problem is getting all that weight stopped and changing lines at max G's in the turn. This is where the weight really makes itself known. But if you are smooth and the bike is setup correctly with tires with stiff sidewalls it handles pretty well.

[ROADTOAD1340]

Personally , this whole BST failure thing , has tempered my complacency about visual wheel inspections . As with most of my modifications , I am happy to live with my choices , and for sure I expect my aftermarket components to be of sound structural integrity , but realize that a bit of buyer / user beware comes with the territory . The roads I ride , aren't always the best kept , so as you do , I ride and scan all road conditions including surface , as best I can , and accept the inherent limitations . Running BST 's , I feel the pluses outweigh the negative for my application , but again , that's my choice . I choose to believe catastrophic failure (risk) is nominal ....and of course I hope to never be proven otherwise ....
You make your nest and hopefully don't have to take a poop in it !
I am watching Bigdev's BST failure incident with a vested interest , because "if " an official UK government authority reappraises it's findings , then there surely will be ramifications for other countries where BST 's are marketed .
Cheers

[fallenarch]

Isn't Bigdev pushing serious power? Maybe that has something to do with this. Roadtoad I agree with your position on this too.

[Mathewrussell52]

It’s a front wheel what could HP to to it?

[bigdev]

Isn't Bigdev pushing serious power? Maybe that has something to do with this. Roadtoad I agree with your position on this too.

It has 325 bhp Fallenarch but the incident occurred at approx. 30mph on a motorway (highway) roundabout and it was front wheel damage only.

[RedBull]

They won't fall apart .

[bigdev]

Personally , this whole BST failure thing , has tempered my complacency about visual wheel inspections . As with most of my modifications , I am happy to live with my choices , and for sure I expect my aftermarket components to be of sound structural integrity , but realize that a bit of buyer / user beware comes with the territory . The roads I ride , aren't always the best kept , so as you do , I ride and scan all road conditions including surface , as best I can , and accept the inherent limitations . Running BST 's , I feel the pluses outweigh the negative for my application , but again , that's my choice . I choose to believe catastrophic failure (risk) is nominal ....and of course I hope to never be proven otherwise ....
You make your nest and hopefully don't have to take a poop in it !
I am watching Bigdev's BST failure incident with a vested interest , because "if " an official UK government authority reappraises it's findings , then there surely will be ramifications for other countries where BST 's are marketed .
Cheers

I feel the same about the BST's ROADTOAD, I'm still running them after all but just want you guys to be aware of the possible damage from seemingly incongruous incidents and to do a post incident check that's all. I shall be gettingin touch with the UK Ministry of transport this week and will put an update on here as soon as I receive one, probably in about 5 years the way our Government (all lol) works.

[turbojonny]

No BST has done that. Damage yes, extreme hp and traction damage yes, delamination no. I just don't want to lump BST in with other cf manufacturers. I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing bicycle rims aren't tested and held to the higher standards required to get a DOT approval.
If this post comes off as jerky sounding it isnt meant to.

[michael parris heuberger]

No BST has done that. Damage yes, extreme hp and traction damage yes, delamination no. I just don't want to lump BST in with other cf manufacturers. I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing bicycle rims aren't tested and held to the higher standards required to get a DOT approval.
If this post comes off as jerky sounding it isnt meant to.

HI all. I was told not to run carbon fiber rims with big HP. I have used many sets of magnesium 4 on a F5000 Lola T142 and 1 on a zx 11 with a 1300 kit & spray. All with 250 to 600 HP and yes they have broken too, So some brake easyier .On the car one broke at 160 on the bike the front split at 70 in a S curve in Fl. the tire was a 120/60/17 little side wall so no crash. Big crash in the F5000 Lola!

[turbojonny]