Alternative / Lighter wheels

[mark400]

Just lifted the front wheel of my 600rr and it weights almost nothing compared to my zxr front & probably lighter than my dymags !

I am sure that it would fit in a cbr400rr too....

So just wondering if there is a modern alternative to the zxr wheels ? How about ER - 6 Wheels for example ? Would a ZX6 B1 front fit ? Any other 160 rear wheels ?

Any comments appreciated - I love saving unsprung weight

[mick41zxr]

Using ZX6 front & rears, a bit of machining & replacing bearings but easily done.
Regards,
MB

[zxr500man]

i put an er6 rear on mine and a 05 zx10r on the front,the er6 weighs 4 kg lighter than my zxr h including hub and all that,the front is just half a kilo lighter but i read the zx10 wheel has been desinged so that as muuch weight as possible has been brought to the center of the wheel,
in 04 kawasaki came up with those wheels with the intention of lighter wheels,i think they went to far and some front wheels started to crack so they had to recall some and refit new front wheels,
this is what iv read,
i think their cast magneasium,
i have bee told one of the best upgrades you can do with your bike is with the wheels.
i havent finished mine yet so i cant say how it rides,
i think their nice wheels

[zxr500man]

i got captive alloy spacers also

[mark400]

@mick41zxr - Do you feel they are lighter, which model are they from. Also wondering if you have the larger rear tyre now ?

[mick41zxr]

Didn't weigh them by they are significantly lighter more so with the rear, running a 180 on the rear now which feels to have a lot more edge grip. Running the 160 on the 4.5" pulled the tyre around the rim & reduces the contact patch. Also rear tyres last a fair bit longer. The 400 sprocket carrier is a straight fit, need to change wheel bearings over to 20mm axle & machine new centre spacer & a spacer to offset the disc as ZX6 runs inside the rim line. Fronts are the same however I converted my forks to a 25mm axle.
Regards,
MB

[mark400]

Thanks for the detailed info Mick, much appreciated. 2 final questions - Is the rear a 5 inch and whioch zx6 are they form, do you mean the B1 model from circa 2004 ?

[mick41zxr]

Yeah, from around that time, anything with the y pattern spokes. The rear is a 5 1/2" & the tyre has no clearance problems to swingarm or chain. Just did an R6 rear wheel into a FZR400 3TJ & it was a bit of a shitfight. Anyway the zx6 front rims run a flat disc carrier so I used early ZX9 discs on ZX6 carrier with floating buttons or you can use ZX12 wave discs as they will bolt straight on. Remember the 400 is 310mm disc whereas the ZX6 is 300mm. A couple of snaps so you can see.
Regards,
MB

front.JPG

rear.JPG

[noelb]

Hi - which model ZX6 centres did you use - I've got myself a pair of ER6 fronts for my H (with B1H forks) and need the bigger PCD mounting bolts and 10mm less offset on the carriers......

[osullivaneoi]

@mick41zxr - Do you feel they are lighter, which model are they from. Also wondering if you have the larger rear tyre now ?

The difference between the ZXr400 rear wheel and the ZX6r rear is about .7Kg, the zxr one was 6.3 kg and the zx6r was 5.6 kg, weighed them with a digital bathroom scales so the results wont be perfect, this weight is for the rim only (no tyre, no break disk, no sprocket carrier). Considering the 180 section tyre will weigh more you will at best save .5kg

Is it really worth the expense and hassle of fitting the larger wheel, is there much of an advantage in having the larger tyre (grip wise)?

[mick41zxr]

It does feel a lot better, also the latest spec supersport rubber are available. I have also found that I am getting better tire wear out them as well.
Regards,
MB

[zxr500man]

i weighed my rear wheels ,zxr h1,er6,with sprocket carrier,axels ,everything,it was a litle over 4kg in the difference,the h wheel might be much heavier than the l,or else my scales are way off!!
il do it again with a different scales!

[noelb]

The H setup, with the sprocket carrier in particular are very heavy - the bare wheel is over a kg heavier than the ER6 one I got lately to try and shed those new year lbs.... The front ER6 is only a wee bit lighter than a ZXR h or ZZR6 wheel but I'm gonna make up for it a bit with ZX6B1H discs, thicker but smaller with less rotating inertia. The ER6 rear is probably the best simple loss to the rear of the ZXRs - same size as the original so less penatly for the larger wheel and tyre combo of a ZX6 or 10. I know I haven't sufficent danglies to need bigger than a 160 rear yet.

Hopefully anyway, intending to skim the hell out of my rear discs as well. no shortage of plans or enthusiasm at the moment as you can see.

Noel B.

[zxr500man]

just remove it altogether with the brake clynder,sell it or something!!

[gavinfdavies]

if i was going down the loosing grams routine, i'd chuck the disc, caliper and mount, and get hold of a tiny sprocket caliper. Might not give the best braking ever, but few of us really use the rear to the limit of its capacity.

The er6 wheels sound like a good idea. what is required to swap them? I mean, are we talking easy-peasy straight swap, or tricky - new bearings, new spacers, new rear disc size and position, different carrier offsets? I'd really like to try this...