My new Rotobox RBX2 Carbon Fiber Wheels

Just got these from Bellissimoto last week and had them mounted up today.






Before with the S-Model wheels mounted


It was raining when I rode home so not much impressions other than to say at highway speeds the bike feels quite "flightly" if you wiggle the bar ends quickly back and forth. With the base wheels I couldn't get that feeling over 50 mph, and the with the S wheels mounted I couldn't get that over 80 mph.

I asked my shop to weigh them and on a non-commerce digital scale with no rotors but bearings, and it showed 1 pound 2 ounces lighter on the front compared to the forged Marchesini S-Model front wheel, and a whopping 3 pounds 2 ounces lighter on the rear compared to the S-Model rear wheel. My understanding about the Panigale S wheels is that they already are the lightest forged aluminum wheels you can buy for the Panigale.

Bellissimoto's photo comparing the Panigale Rotobox wheels to the Panigale BST wheels sums it up for me:



So, in terms of weight savings over the OEM Panigale Base and S wheels, these Rotobox RBX2 wheels are 8.5 pounds lighter than the Base Enkei-manufactured wheels, and 4.2 pounds lighter than the S-Model Marchesini Forged Aluminum wheels. Speaking of S-Model Marchesini wheels, mine are now for sale

Hope to get a ride in the twisties tomorrow and will post impressions.

Big thanks to Gunny Fitz for turning me on to Bellissimoto. I'd actually bought stuff from them years ago, but didn't know how special they treat us 1199 Forum members until I saw his posts and got to know him on here. in the pictures above you can just see the trick adjusters atop my fork tubes from my also-new Bitubo ECH-29 Nitrogen-charged fork cartridges. Those, and my Bitubo XXF61 race shock and Nitrogen-charged Bitubo steering damper will be the subject of another thread. More great stuff from Gunny, Randy and Lyle at Bellissimoto.com

I may be alone on this thought but here it goes. These may be carbon fiber wheels and lightweight but these are NOT easy on the eyes. Bst wheels look wayyyyy better in design. The spokes are just way too thick and have a weird look to it but it's still a baller mod.

I concur with the above. Great weight savings, but damn they're not a looker....

I like the look at the S and R stock wheels. I also briefly considered the RX2's but decided to stay with the stock ones....

Still if you like them - enjoy!

JeffD said:

Just got these from Bellissimoto last week and had them mounted up today.






Before with the S-Model wheels mounted


It was raining when I rode home so not much impressions other than to say at highway speeds the bike feels quite "flightly" if you wiggle the bar ends quickly back and forth. With the base wheels I couldn't get that feeling over 50 mph, and the with the S wheels mounted I couldn't get that over 80 mph.

I asked my shop to weigh them and on a non-commerce digital scale with no rotors but bearings, and it showed 1 pound 2 ounces lighter on the front compared to the forged Marchesini S-Model front wheel, and a whopping 3 pounds 2 ounces lighter on the rear compared to the S-Model rear wheel. My understanding about the Panigale S wheels is that they already are the lightest forged aluminum wheels you can buy for the Panigale.

Bellissimoto's photo comparing the Panigale Rotobox wheels to the Panigale BST wheels sums it up for me:

So, in terms of weight savings over the OEM Panigale Base and S wheels, these Rotobox RBX2 wheels are 8.5 pounds lighter than the Base Enkei-manufactured wheels, and 4.2 pounds lighter than the S-Model Marchesini Forged Aluminum wheels. Speaking of S-Model Marchesini wheels, mine are now for sale

Hope to get a ride in the twisties tomorrow and will post impressions.

Big thanks to Gunny Fitz for turning me on to Bellissimoto. I'd actually bought stuff from them years ago, but didn't know how special they treat us 1199 Forum members until I saw his posts and got to know him on here. in the pictures above you can just see the trick adjusters atop my fork tubes from my also-new Bitubo ECH-29 Nitrogen-charged fork cartridges. Those, and my Bitubo XXF61 race shock and Nitrogen-charged Bitubo steering damper will be the subject of another thread. More great stuff from Gunny, Randy and Lyle at Bellissimoto.com

Click to expand...

Not Sure if Bellissimoto advertisement on the weight is correct because BST website calls out the below spec. When I weighed my BST it was pretty much spot on with BST Spec (tad lighter due to the ceramic bearings) this includes all the hardware as BST specifies.

BlackStone Tek? BST ? Technical Specifications

Black Mamba front 7 straight spokes 2.49 kg 5.48 lbs
Black Mamba rear 7 straight spokes 2.71 kg 5.97 lbs
All weights include wheel complete with hub, bearings, spacers and all fittings

ROTOBOX:*Truly the lightest and strongest carbon fiber wheels

Complete set of wheels, without brake rotors and sprocket, weights 6800g (15 lbs) to 7100g (15.5 lbs), depending on model of motorcycle.

umm

Who cares what they weigh when they look that ugly. Congratulations on the new wheels

Congrats on the mod. Have to say I am in the BST camp though, as those spokes are just a wee bit too thick for my liking. Whilst they may be lighter than stock, they don't give that impression on the eye.

Well JeffD they certainly look different. enjoy your new purchase and thank you for showing us how they look.

Rotobox for me.

The idea with carbon is that the more you see of it, the better.

If carbon and weight savings is what you're looking for you made the right choice
If carbon, a little less weight savings and beauty is what you're looking for the BST's all day

Glad you enjoy the look, as it's your bike and truly that's all that matters. But as previously said, those 2" thick spokes make me want to vomit.
Either way, enjoy the bike.

Function over form...

Whew, rough crowd!

Steve nailed it, I'll take the max performance for that amount of money. At least they look much better than the Gen1 versions. I'm into aesthetics too, but the bike is so gorgeous I think it can handle the "mag rim" look. It kind of reminds me of my childhood Big Wheel trike. Damn, I loved that bike. I've come full circle I guess.

I think they look great!

Hard to call out Bellissimoto when all four wheels are on frikkin' scales. No other data required in that scenario. Why rely on BST's advertising data when you have a scale?

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I think they look neat, congrats Jeff. How much for the S wheels? PM if you would like. Thx

Nice!

Congrats on the wheels Jeff, and MANY thanks for the kind comments and appreciation my friend. Very small world that the #1 competition shooter in the world remembers you well and semds you his best regards!!

Cloner said:

I think they look great!

Hard to call out Bellissimoto when all four wheels are on frikkin' scales. No other data required in that scenario. Why rely on BST's advertising data when you have a scale?

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Do you really think your bike will handle any different between the two ?

Nice wheels Jeff. Um, I see they completed the suspension setup (Bitubo). Jealous.... Still waiting for mine to come in.

Gunny Fitz said:

Congrats on the wheels Jeff, and MANY thanks for the kind comments and appreciation my friend. Very small world that the #1 competition shooter in the world remembers you well and semds you his best regards!!

Click to expand...

Haha. Dave and I were squadded together a few times and I had a great time shooting with him. For someone with his accomplishments, you would never know it due to how humble a guy he is.