BST carbon rim owners. What have your impressions been

desmodromic system said:

I used to own a bst in my 848 and I have to say it is an excellent track and street rim. I have hit many pot holes with it and the rim is still solid.

Now you should go to a reputable tire installer who has experience with BST's. My rear tire got cracked due to the tire installer's fault. he did replace it though but hearing the loud popping side is not something I want to happen again. I have seen bst's getting destroyed because of wrong tire installation but I have only seen a bst got broken once in a bad crash.

Now that I have a new Panigale in order. I am also getting another pair of bst. I am not getting it because of looks , I honestly think it looks dated . I am getting it because I think it is still the best value carbon fiber wheel out there and it cost less than OEM rims. Crashing or breaking the SL wheels will definitely cost more than the BST's

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Yup...so you were the customer that had the rear wheel replaced by the "B" tire dealer at BGC. Owner of that tire dealer is a friend of mine. He told me about an 848 with BST carbon wheels that they chipped off and cracked the edge of the rim. I normally have Ducati Manila install the tires onto my rims while I watch and wait...then I just install the wheels onto my bike myself to make sure everything is installed the way "I" want.

By the way your damaged BST rear wheel was turned into a nice revolving coffee table with a round glass panel on top... : ) You should have kept it. : )

No issues with my BST's...used it in the last Ducati Cup race held at Clark International Speedway and now been using it on the road.

Had to readjust my suspension though a bit after installing the BST's. Though the stock OEM Forged Aluminum wheels of the Panigale are already extremely light...the BST's just takes it a step further in the lightweight category.

For us "S" model owners switching to BST's, you wont feel much of the difference... But for "Base" Model owners...they will feel a dramatic improvement in handling and the way the bike accelerates!

AntiHero said:

"Stock" wheels = Base model, correct?

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Yes.

I've had the BSTs (exact same model as those for the 1199, other than the hub) on my Speed Triple since 2009/10. I have over 15,000 miles on them and they have been fabulous. I am not sure how much of a difference they make on the 1199; but they transformed the handling of the Speed Triple as a result of dropping 14 lbs in total rotating mass.
The only caution I have is to make sure that you can find a dealer near you that is willing to change tires for you. Most dealers will not touch them.

Styler said:

I've had the BSTs (exact same model as those for the 1199, other than the hub) on my Speed Triple since 2009/10. I have over 15,000 miles on them and they have been fabulous. I am not sure how much of a difference they make on the 1199; but they transformed the handling of the Speed Triple as a result of dropping 14 lbs in total rotating mass.
The only caution I have is to make sure that you can find a dealer near you that is willing to change tires for you. Most dealers will not touch them.

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learn to change them yourself - you'll be happy you did

RD16RR said:

learn to change them yourself - you'll be happy you did

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I do not have the room for a tire changer; but, I'd love to have one.

Styler said:

I do not have the room for a tire changer; but, I'd love to have one.

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have you seen the No-Mar ?

I love the BST. biggest improvement you can make to a bike. I can honestly say they hold up pretty well. Last weekend I hit a pot hole really hard that tore a chunk out of my front tire and sliced the rear tire. No damage to the rims at all. I know if I was riding my bike with the Aluminum rims they would have bent. I have bent a few aluminum rim on lesser impacts.

As for tire installation, Just about every dealer has touchless tire machines now days. I wouldnt take any rims to them if they didnt have one.

I had light wheels put on every bike. Mags and then BST's. I don't work for BST (even tho I endorse them on their website) and have been responsible for friends buying multple sets.
The difference BST's made on my '01 and '05 Gixxer1000's was dramatic. I had dozens of tire changes, ruts, and potholes. I once hit a 2 in. steel construction plate and stopped at the toll booth to file a complaint only to discover "no damage". They are more durable than mags, having bent many.
BST's combined w/CMC rotors and Ti bolts require relearning to ride the bike.

Doug916SP said:

BST's combined w/CMC rotors and Ti bolts require relearning to ride the bike.

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I thing this is one often overlooked aspect of ultra-light CF wheels. They definitely require a setup change and also relearning the bike's steering characteristics. The difference is quite dramatic and only gets more significant the faster you go.

JeffD said:

I thing this is one often overlooked aspect of ultra-light CF wheels. They definitely require a setup change and also relearning the bike's steering characteristics. The difference is quite dramatic and only gets more significant the faster you go.

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Do you have to increase or decrease compression and rebound dampening?

Sloopy said:

Do you have to increase or decrease compression and rebound dampening?

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That is an interesting question. Some manufacturers like Dymag suggest that compression damping needs to be increased. Rotobox told me that their customer race setups are typically made softer with the installation of their wheels.

The factors are significant decreases in unsprung weight, rotational inertia and resulting stability. I haven't had my 1199 to the track yet since I've mounted the wheels so I won't know until my suspension tuner (Steve Breckenridge at Fluidology/GMD Computrack Jacksonville) gets a look at my new setup (the CF wheels and Bitubo fork/gas cartridges).

I'll report back in March. Hopefully I'll be 5 seconds faster a lap than with my last bike but we'll see.

mig1199 said:

Yup...so you were the customer that had the rear wheel replaced by the "B" tire dealer at BGC. Owner of that tire dealer is a friend of mine. He told me about an 848 with BST carbon wheels that they chipped off and cracked the edge of the rim. I normally have Ducati Manila install the tires onto my rims while I watch and wait...then I just install the wheels onto my bike myself to make sure everything is installed the way "I" want.

By the way your damaged BST rear wheel was turned into a nice revolving coffee table with a round glass panel on top... : ) You should have kept it. : )

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hahaha that was my rim. the owner is nice enough to replace it though and did not give me a hard time. I am still a customer of his shop to date.

JeffD said:

Any reason (other than looks) why you would not consider the Dymag Carbon or the Rotobox RBX2 carbon fiber wheels?

I happened to get a great deal from Bellissimoto.com on the RBX2 CF wheels and I love them. They are purported to be 1.4 pounds lighter per set than the BST's. And isn't weight savings the point when you spend this much on wheels?

Here are pictures of them on my bike. Looks much better in person, pics just don't do them justice (especially crappy cell phone pictures like those below).

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Thanks for the info. Congratulations on your purchase of Rotobox . I do not want to flame or any thing but There is a review of rotobox that states that they experience some chatter in it during high cornering speeds. The reviewer did not state the speed though. I will try to find the review and post the link here.

Thanks for posting the weight savings of the Rotobox over the BST's. In my humble opinion ( I do not have a degree on physics or engineering so this is just my opinion), even if BST's are heavier, it will perform better because it is lighter in the spokes. but heavy on the center area whilst the rotobox may be lighter over all but the thick spokes looks like it carries a lot of weight in it thus having higher gyroscopic forces. but to only know for sure, you must have the same bike fitted with the other rim witht he same tires and let a good rider ride it on the track. until then we will never know.

and about the looks, the Rotobox looks like a five year old drew it on his recess. but I will do more research , I might end up with the Rotobox or an OZ forged mag

desmodromic system said:

Thanks for the info. Congratulations on your purchase of Rotobox . I do not want to flame or any thing but There is a review of rotobox that states that they experience some chatter in it during high cornering speeds. The reviewer did not state the speed though. I will try to find the review and post the link here.

Thanks for posting the weight savings of the Rotobox over the BST's. In my humble opinion ( I do not have a degree on physics or engineering so this is just my opinion), even if BST's are heavier, it will perform better because it is lighter in the spokes. but heavy on the center area whilst the rotobox may be lighter over all but the thick spokes looks like it carries a lot of weight in it thus having higher gyroscopic forces. but to only know for sure, you must have the same bike fitted with the other rim witht he same tires and let a good rider ride it on the track. until then we will never know.

and about the looks, the Rotobox looks like a five year old drew it on his recess. but I will do more research , I might end up with the Rotobox or an OZ forged mag

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Fellow forum member Leon posted a German magazine review where they did scientific analysis of aftermarket light wheels: http://ducati1199.com/reviews/16610-aftermarket-wheel-shootout-feat-bst-wheels-ps-magazine.html

IMHO, the most important measurement they did is MOI - Moment of Inertia. For motorcycle riders, this roughly translates into how much force is required to steer the motorcycle, and it is related to what you note about the weight being distributed around the wheel - with less weight further from the hub being an advantage.

In the test in the link above, they tested the first-generation Rotobox wheels, which had many more "fat" spokes than the new 5-spoke RBX2 wheel. Those RBX1 wheels actually had the least amount of measured MOI in the test, even less than the BST wheels (which are still their current design). So the actual measurement runs counter to your visual observation. They further noted that such a great decrease in MOI had a significant effect on handling, as the rotational forces play a role in the stability of a cornering motorcycle. They suggested that different setups were required to make the best use of such weight advantages, which only makes sense. They didn't attempt to adjust the setup on their test BMW S1000RR, and as such, from a "feel" point of view, their testing had the BST's on top.

I've said before I don't mind the looks of the Rotobox "Big Wheel" design. I honestly don't think the BST wheels look much better. I'm more interested in absolute performance for my dollar. In my objective analysis the Rotobox RBX2 wheels were developed after the BST wheels and have significant advantages from a purely performance viewpoint, which is what my wallet voted for in this case.

I visited the rotobox website just a minute ago and it looks impressive. and they showed a picture of the inner rim and it looks smooth compared to BST's which is a bit rugged. now I am confused. my choices are now. I will look at the Dymag website. It is so hard to decide since each manufacturer is claiming to be the best and each one has loyal legions of customers with testimonials.

OZ Mag Or Rotobox or bst's. too bad I can only afford to buy one.

desmodromic system said:

I visited the rotobox website just a minute ago and it looks impressive. and they showed a picture of the inner rim and it looks smooth compared to BST's which is a bit rugged. now I am confused. my choices are now. I will look at the Dymag website. It is so hard to decide since each manufacturer is claiming to be the best and each one has loyal legions of customers with testimonials.

OZ Mag Or Rotobox or bst's. too bad I can only afford to buy one.

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Yes, competition is a good thing! It spurs product development to the benefit of the users.

One thing about Magnesium wheels. The OZ Cattiva R wheels are what are used by most 1199 teams in SBK/STK, so I don't think you can go wrong with them. However, mag wheels are inherently more susceptible than CF to bending and in the long run having micro-fractures that can only be found by having the wheels X-Rayed by the factory. Marchesini is known for recommending their magnesium wheels to be sent back to their factory to be X-rayed at 10,000 kms, for this reason. Of course, while bends can be repaired by qualified wheel repair experts, if micro-fractures are found, the wheel becomes an ornate and exotic paperweight or glass table base.

The material properties of CF make it a better choice to resist torsional and rotational forces of a wheel in the long run. My understanding is they are outlawed in MotoGP and SBK because of sponsorship money from the established players (i.e. OZ and Marchesini), but this could just be a conspiracy theory.

Good luck in your quest!

wheels have gotten as good as bikes - it is hard to buy a bad one (amongst the top names for sure) - for street riding, anyone could be happy with any of the wheels being mentioned - track riders will always be crying about 1 thing or another