Paint, powdercoat, or chrome rims.

[big papa]

I'm back in love w/ my Rockster, just not the lime green. So I can remove the stickers, paint or buy CF green replacement parts, but what about the wheels? Seems like I used to see chrome 1150r wheels somewhere. Or painting or powdercoating the wheels. It seems we had this (and all) discussions before about paint being tough enough, or needing to PC the wheels. Any first hand experience? I probably won't start making changes til I can be sure I can remove all the green.



Bob's says they painted these wheels...

[DJ Downunder]

Good for you BP...powdercoat them matt black...I have a pic of some chrome wheels but black would look much better IMHO.

I love the look of that all black Rockster in your pic.

DJ

[FiremanLI]

Your bike looks great all flat black.. I agree with DJ... Powder coat them flat black. Also the one thing I would also do is that neo black telelever and forks. That funky color that BMW uses is crazy!

Looks awesome though!

[darthrider]

I would diverge slightly.

Matte black wheels will not show grime as much as gloss but will be a little harder to clean. Consider gloss...might be a good "counterpoint" to the matte body paint. To me, too much of any major color, or finish, or too much of a contrasting trim color looks like someone is "trying too hard" to be custom.
If you could match the blue on the suspension that might be cool too.

And, I'd paint the wheels rather than powdercoat. It should be much cheaper as the bearings don't have to be removed, bearing races protected and the whole works sandblasted prior to coating. And paint is easily touched up or repaired, PC is not. Ask your painter about a flex additive to make the paint a little more resiliant and resistant to rock chips.

My wheels were painted red (all but 3/4" inch of the rim) with a black pinstripe on the painted edge for appearance & to protect the raw paint edge. That was 4 years ago and I have maybe 6-8 minor stone chips total in both wheels. I will have those touched up in another year or so.

I left that unpainted edge on the rims 'cause I thought it looked better and to keep the high quality factory powder coat edge to resist tire change scratches.

It's great to see you stepping out with some custom stuff..."stock" is a highly over-rated state!

[beekstersocal]

thats a bitchen ass bike

[redr1150r]

Hereis what the wheels will look if you chrome them.

http://r1150r.smugmug.com/gallery/442419

[darthrider]

Cool, Red!

[beekstersocal]

WOW thats bitchen also

[CycleRob]

big papa,

On the choices of paint, PC or chrome . . . I can give you my work experience of changing M/C tires for 10 years.

Paint can be durable if you are careful cleaning it and working on it. It's also your best choice if you may want to change colors every few years. It's your only choice if you're on a budget or a limited downtime, only vehicle constraint.

Powder coat is very durable even if you're not careful, but, because of the transport/crating/shippingexpense, cost of the PC process itself and the fact the bearings and seals must be removed for the powdercoating oven, it's many times the expense of paint. The powdercoater must also be reminded to mask the bearing ID surfaces, threaded holes and brake rotor surfaces -or- you will go thru HELLL trying to remove it.

Chrome looks like a million bucks but can be scratched during frequent cleaning if the bike is not a fair weather only vehicle. Chrome is more expensive than PC and also requires a bearing/seal removal. After all the pitted, peeled, and large air blister chrome I've seen on just plated wheels -or- seeing the very same defects appear 2 to 4 years after a flawless, expensive chrome job . . . . I have a NO vote for chrome. Blame the heat and oxidation attacking the imperfect Aluminum/Copper/Nickel/Chrome interface needed to get chrome to adhere to Aluminum.

PC is the best for your money and I'd choose the color of the Kawasaki ZX-6R's brake caliper (exotic metal gold) for your wheel color.

BTW, the front bearings should be replaced if you pound them out with the usual hammer and drift, but can be re-used if you use a threaded bearing puller to remove them.

Can this "paint job" wait till Winter??

[big papa]

I'm in Arizona so our winter is our riding time. I also have a Roadstar in the garage, so whenever I take on this project, I won't be bikeless. I love the look of the chrome wheels. That red bike is way cool. I have a semi-highend painter down the block from me. Maybe I'll ride down and show him what I want and see what the cost will be. I saw another bike where all the green bits were painted a dark blue. Are the tire changer guys going to ding up the painted wheels? Do they paint the wheels with the tires on?? Painting sounds the best because of the bearings and such.

Vanharten's custom Rock...

[PhillyScott]

I'm actually in the process of blackening out my Rockster now. I pulled all the decals off and the oil cooler covers and instrument cover are at the painters getting painted matte black. I will get my wheels powder coated gloss black when the winter comes, but for now, I'll have to live with the green.

Good luck!

[jrock]

You might want to talk to CH Racing M900. He blackened out his rockster and PD coated the wheels. Some pics here
http://r1150r.org/board/viewtopic.php?p ... ght=#31652
He even blackened the exhaust.

[big papa]

I saw that one. It is very black. Looks good!