F14Scott Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 I just replaced my tires (Pilot Road 2s) and, while the wheels were off the bike, sent them to Kevin Sluder at Powder Perfect, Inc. http://www.powderperfect.com/ Kevin turned them around in one day(!), communicated flawlessly, and did a really nice job. $125 total for both wheels, plus shipping. I think the silver color ("Bengal Silver") makes the VFR look much "lighter" than the stock black rims did. I'm very pleased. Just thought I'd share. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileyrock Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 Looks great and I'm sure you'll love the Road 2's! :biggrin: btw the USA is one of the few or only country that put black rims on the VFR! :blink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Lobster Posted June 27, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted June 27, 2009 Looks good and it seems like a reasonable price. I'd do it too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vfrcapn Posted June 28, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted June 28, 2009 Looks great, $125 is what my local shops want per wheel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F14Scott Posted June 28, 2009 Author Share Posted June 28, 2009 Looks great, $125 is what my local shops want per wheel! Shipping via UPS Ground, both ways, with $500 insurance both ways, was $65 dollars, total. I just had UPS make a pre-paid return label and put it in the box with the rims when I shipped them out. I even remembered to have them shipped back not to me, but to my local bike shop, so I wouldn't have to make an extra trip (although I did, anyway, to see them before installation, but it was still nice to not have to lug them around). I UPSed them on a Friday, and they arrived back at the shop on Wednesday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Hi F14SCOTT; I really like you wheels, two question, did you have to remove the orig. wheel bearings and install new ones after the powdercoating? if so what kind of bearings did you use? eddie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer VFR Capt.Bob Posted June 28, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted June 28, 2009 Hi F14SCOTT; I really like you wheels, two question, did you have to remove the orig. wheel bearings and install new ones after the powdercoating? if so what kind of bearings did you use? eddie I'm going to guess there are ways to mask the bearings from the bead blasting. The powder coat is very thick and you wouldn't want it in on any machined surfaces as it will have to be removed for the bearings to fit. Had my fork lowers done and had to clean out the axel slots to fit the axel back in. Wheels look great! I'm tired of my black rims but they do hide brake dust well. :fing02: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wera803 Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 When I had my wheels powdercoated, the bearings had to come out. With the heat of the oven, the wheel bearing grease can drip out and ruin the powedercoating job. New bearings were ordered from All Balls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 I just replaced my tires (Pilot Road 2s) and, while the wheels were off the bike, sent them to Kevin Sluder at Powder Perfect, Inc.http://www.powderperfect.com/ Kevin turned them around in one day(!), communicated flawlessly, and did a really nice job. $125 total for both wheels, plus shipping. I think the silver color ("Bengal Silver") makes the VFR look much "lighter" than the stock black rims did. I'm very pleased. Just thought I'd share. Looks great, What did you do to prep the wheel? Merlin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F14Scott Posted June 28, 2009 Author Share Posted June 28, 2009 Hi F14SCOTT; I really like you wheels, two question, did you have to remove the orig. wheel bearings and install new ones after the powder coating? if so what kind of bearings did you use? eddie I'm going to guess there are ways to mask the bearings from the bead blasting. The powder coat is very thick and you wouldn't want it in on any machined surfaces as it will have to be removed for the bearings to fit. Had my fork lowers done and had to clean out the axel slots to fit the axel back in. Wheels look great! I'm tired of my black rims but they do hide brake dust well. :fing02: Actually, the bearings had to come out, because powder coating involves baking at 400 degrees. If one leaves the bearings in, the grease runs out of them when heated and mucks up the powder coat. I also imagine some of the sand blasting media would find its way into the bearings, no matter how well one taped them off, and that would kill them in short order. My shop replaced the pair of wheel bearings and the pair of dust seals with OEM Honda ones for $20 parts and .5 hours labor. The original spacer was fine. The dust seals came right out with a screwdriver, but when I tried to pull the bearings out, my car bearing puller was too big and I couldn't get it to hook the edge. So, when I got to the bike shop, my guy showed me his method. He had an old electric stove in the corner. He put my wheel on it, suspended by a couple of 2x4 blocks, with the center right above a burner, which he turned on. About five minutes later, we heard a "clunk;" the bearing had fallen right out, along with the spacer. We flipped it over, and the other one fell out in one minute. Slick! I also needed to remove the valve stems, but they were easy; just run a razor blade around the stem on the inboard side of the rim, then use a pair of pliers to rip the stem in half, then push the remaining part out the outboard side of the rim. So, basically, I sent Kevin two solid circles of aluminum, and nothing more. He cleaned them, taped off the machined surfaces, sand blasted them, and powder coated them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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