Ducati Monster Forum

My new OZ Motorbike wheels came in via brown truck.  2:00 in the afternoon, I shut off the computer (work can wait) and went out to the garage to put the M1100 on the stands.  First thing, weigh the OZ wheels.   Front: no brake rotors but bearings and spacer installed ~ 3.3485 Kg;  Rear ~ 3.793 KG.  Removed the OEM wheels (Enkei on my bike) and set up my tire changer.  I use No-Mar brand tire tools and a stand from Harbor Freight on which I use a special rubber to protect the rim where it is clamped in the stand.  No metal ever touches the wheel with this method.  Swapped the tires, balanced using my static wheel balancer.  Neither wheel needed much weight to balance (.25 oz each).  Put the new wheels on the bike and I'm loving it.  Couldn't test ride because just as I was finishing up a thunder storm rumbled in.

Weigh the OEM wheels.  Front: no brake rotors but bearings and spacer installed ~ 4.4107 KG (approximation because I didn't remove the 1 oz of wheel weights but adjusted the shown weight accordingly); Rear: 4.446 KG (exact weight because I did remove the wheel weights).

So, according to my scale, I lost 1.0622 KG (2.34175 LBS) on the front and 0.653 (1.43961 LBS) on the rear.  For the final installed weight, I actually lost a little more because I went from 1 oz of wheel weight on the OEM to 0.25 oz weight on the front and from 0.5 oz to 0.25 oz on the rear.

How about dome pics... [thumbsup]

I wondered how long it would take for someone to post about pics.  I'll hopefully get some taken of the entire progress of the bike in the next couple of days.

 [popcorn]

Ungeheuer:  If I remember correctly, you have or had a billet rear wheel nut.  Where did you find that?

ebay  :)   

I checked ebay just before I posted the question to you.  Searched for "Ducati Monster 1100" and didn't find any.  Searched for "1100 axle nuts" and found some listed for the HM from China.  Are those the ones you have?

After that I checked on Moto Wheels site and they have some for $59 US.  I might try those.

ungeheuer rattles the memory banks.....

They're listed for 848, but they fit M1100 too.  Mine came from this seller in California, $60 the set  >> http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BILLET-BLACK-DUCATI-FRONT-REAR-WHEEL-AXLE-NUT-848-EVO-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem43a19c2953QQitemZ290474174803QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BILLET-BLACK-DUCATI-FRONT-REAR-WHEEL-AXLE-NUT-848-EVO-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem43a19c2953QQitemZ290474174803QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories)

Thanks for going through the trouble of activating some of the old brain tissue  [laugh]

(No really, thanks a lot man)

OK, I have pics up here:

http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=42641.0 (http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=42641.0)

Now I have to decide what color axle nuts I want to use.  As you will see in the pics I painted my sprocket carrier Duc red so black would work if I did all three nuts.  But I was also thinking about only changing the curb side rear and going with red to match the clutch pressure plate.  Would that be too much?  Probably.

The more I think about it the more I think I'll go black unless I just stay with the OEM.  I"m starting to like the mechanical/industrial look of the OEM more & more.

I like the stock silver on your bike.... although black would work too  [thumbsup]

Yep, the more I think about it the more I come to the conclusion it would be best to stay with the stock axle nuts.  Not only do they look OK with everything else by giving it the "machinery look" but they are less susceptible to finish damage from using a socket on them.

Yup. My black nuts are bruised from the socket  :o ... even though I've tried to be careful. 

Holly shit that's some funny stuff  [laugh] [laugh]

Yea, I just let that one slide.  I've already been accused by ungeheuer about being a "tactless Texan"

OK, you want a ride report, I give you a ride report.

OH HELL YEAH!!!

Acceleration is improved, braking is improved but the flick-ability is greatly improved.  Feels like I lost about 50 pounds off the bike.  Amazing how loosing roughly 3.7 pounds of unsprung rotational weight can improve the performance.

If you've been on the fence about changing to a lighter wheel; DO IT!! (Legal disclaimer:  YMMV)

X2

BK

Your test is a good one because (if I intrepret your initial post correctly) you actually transferred your previous tires to the new wheels, so the only change is the lighter wheels.  New tires almost always feel better and it can be hard to uncouple the new tire feeling from the new wheel feeling.

BK

I had the same experience on my 748 trackbike with the OZ wheels. Everything was improved. The bike took a lot of effort to turn in before. With the new wheels it was MUCH easier to ride.  [thumbsup] [thumbsup] [thumbsup]

Pics are here:
http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=42641.0 (http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=42641.0)


Yes, that is correct, I dismounted the tires from the Enkei wheels and mounted them on the OZ wheels.