New Wheel

Don · Post by **Don** » Mon Oct 26, 2009 9:14 pm

I bought something you don't see everyday

It's a black anodized rear wheel for a chain drive motorcycle - Fits a CBX . . . . especially one with a 1100F swingarm installed ;)

Looks just like the gold boomerangs that came on the Canadian CB1100F's . . . . except they were gold anodized and 3 inches wide. This wheel is 3.5 inches wide!!!

My understanding is that they were used on some overseas model of the 1100F (or maybe 1100R) and only in 1983 . . . . none were sold in North America. This one came from Australia . . . . has 'Preston Honda' written on the side of the box. Honda part number 42650-MB6-610. It is brand new in the Honda OEM box . . . . never had a tire or even a valve stem installed on it - Manufactured in November of 1983 . . . . probabaly as a factory spare. It's been sitting somewhere in the Honda box for a very long time

It's going on the back of the Katrina bike with a 140/80-17 tire on it. I managed to snag a matching 2.5 X 18 front wheel for $49 except that it's used and gold (from an '82 CX500TC) and I'm going to have it powdercoated satin black to match this one. Add a pair of CB900F rotors and I'm in business

The back wheel weighs just 14 pounds (less rotor and cush drive) and the front one is 12 pounds, again minus the rotors

I like my current 1100F wheels . . . . but I'm going to like these even better :)

Don

SteveG · Post by **SteveG** » Mon Oct 26, 2009 9:29 pm

Nice catch! Can't wait to see it.

Steve

EMS · Post by **EMS** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 7:40 am

Don, the black Boomerangs were used on European CBX750 and the VF1000Fs. MB6 is the Honda product code for VF1000F. And the 1984 U.S. "Interceptor" may have had these very same wheels. Which was a 17" rear. CBX750 had an 18" rear. The problem with these is, that the matching (black) front wheel is smaller in diameter than the rear. They were 16" on both bikes. That will make a REALLY awkward handling characteristic, which was typical for all VF1000s, btw. I truly almost hated it on my VF1000R.
The ideal "Boomerang" for a CBX is the gold CB1100R version, which is a 3.5x18 rear and a 2.50x19 front.

Here is the matching 2.75x16 front for your rear:

Don · Post by **Don** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 12:07 pm

Thanks Mike - Always good to learn more about the Honda product codes

I guess it must have just been a European wheel because the wheels on the US version for '84 appear to be cast ones

I have stock 1100F wheels on the bike now and they are very good so far as handling goes - 17 X 3 rear and 18 X 2.5 front. These new ones will be the same except that the back one is half an inch wider and both are lighter than the cast versions I have now

I sure wouldn't mind of they were both an inch larger . . . . but I wouldn't want gold wheels on my bike so it would be a crying shame to powder coat something as rare as a pair of 1100R wheels . . . . this works out much better ;)

Don

Mike Barone #123 · Post by **Mike Barone #123** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 12:46 pm

Don wrote:I sure wouldn't mind of they were both an inch larger . . . . but I wouldn't want gold wheels on my bike so it would be a crying shame to powder coat something as rare as a pair of 1100R wheels . . . . this works out much better ;)

Nice catch indeed!!!!!!

If you really want them both wider, Kosman can probably do it with their weldup process. Call them on if they can and pricing. 110 on the front and 160 on the back is a nice combination. http://www.kosman.net/weldup.htm

I like the black better than the gold also....that makes is two of us on that count and you might be the only one with that color on a CBX...if you do the deal with Kosman you certainly will be the "one"

Did you note something above in your post area? Thx for the tip...nice and clean

Don · Post by **Don** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 12:56 pm

Mike,

An inch larger - Not an inch wider . . . . 18 inch instead of 17 (althought Kosman can do THAT too)

I bought this wheel for considerably less than what a Kosman weld up wheel would have cost me. I can fit a 150 on it if I like (Bridgestone says either a 140 or a 150 on a 3.5 inch wheel) but my current 140 is a bit pinched on my 3 inch wheel and I think it will perform even better on the wider wheel. I don't think a 140 is too narrow for a CBX

I also ordered a set of the bright red wheel stripes similar to the orange ones you've got, so that will dress them up a bit

Don

Don · Post by **Don** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 1:39 pm

EMS wrote:The ideal "Boomerang" for a CBX is the gold CB1100R version, which is a 3.5x18 rear and a 2.50x19 front.

Mike,

I didn't think even the 1100R had a 3.5 inch rear wheel . . . . so I got to looking and found a 4 page article about the design of the 1100R and where Honda sourced the parts - Most of them were the same or very similar to parts of other previous Honda models - The front wheel and the forks are very similar to those used on the CX500TC

"Wheels are of the same gold-anodized aluminum Com Star design as those used on the Turbo, but are different sizes; the rear rim is a very wide 3.00-18, and the front is an equally raceable 2.50-18. Honda recommends only two specific tire choices for the high-speed CB 1100R; the bike we tested wore special A48 (front) and M48 (rear) Michelins designed exclusively for the CB1100"

Maybe Jan can chime in and tell us what size wheels are on his R? - The size and the date are stamped into all of them

Since many folks feel a CBX performs best with a larger front wheel than is used on the rear, my 17 by 3.5 and 18 by 2.5 pairing might actually be a better combination than a set of the R wheels

It appears the front wheel I have (from a CX500TC) is the same as the 1100R and my black rear wheel is wider than the 18 incher used on the R. I'm also in the market for a set of the TRAC 39mm forks like the CX and the R used. Should be a huge upgrade to a CBX, IMO

Don

Terry · Post by **Terry** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 1:46 pm

..."Since many folks feel a CBX performs best with a larger front wheel than is used on the rear, my 17 by 3.5 and 18 by 2.5 pairing might actually be a better combination than a set of the R wheels"

Many folks? Never heard of this. Smaller front tire equals quicker turn ins so how does a larger wheel perform better?

EMS · Post by **EMS** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 1:47 pm

You are referring to a different CB1100R wheel, Don.
The CB1100R went through three different incarnations, Rb, Rc and Rd. Actually four, if you count the few very first, no fairing variety.
The Rb had a gold reverse Comstar wheel, the same as the European CB900F (the same design as the 1980 CBX, just gold). These were 3.00 in the rear and are probably the ones referred to in the article you quote, as it also refers to gold fork lowers, which were only on the Rb. The Rc and Rd fork sliders were red. The boomerang Comstars on the Rc and Rd rear were 3.5 x 18.
I have a set of gold CB1100Rd wheels in the parts pile that I have left from the days when I owned an Rd.
The set of CB1100R gold boomerang wheels would have a 18" rear and a 19" front. Exactly the same as the CBX. The CX500TC front is the same size as the Euro and Canadian CB1100F, not the CB1100R

EMS · Post by **EMS** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 1:56 pm

Terry wrote:..." "

Many folks? Never heard of this. Smaller front tire equals quicker turn ins so how does a larger wheel perform better?

Well, I am part of "many folks". It was commonly accepted that the VF-F and VF-R wheel combos that Honda used in the 80s created a very quirky handling. Steering was tippy (bikes falling suddenly into turns - very dangerous at low speeds) and the reaction forces under braking were equally annoying. I can attest to exactly these complaints from my experience with the VF100R I had, and also, to an extend, from the way my BMW K1 handles (17" front, 18" rear)

EMS · Post by **EMS** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 2:10 pm

Here are pictures of both the 1981 Rb (top) and the 1983 Rd (bottom)

Don · Post by **Don** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 3:26 pm

EMS wrote:You are referring to a different CB1100R wheel, Don.
The CB1100R went through three different incarnations, Rb, Rc and Rd. Actually four, if you count the few very first, no fairing variety.
The Rb had a gold reverse Comstar wheel, the same as the European CB900F (the same design as the 1980 CBX, just gold). These were 3.00 in the rear and are probably the ones referred to in the article you quote, as it also refers to gold fork lowers, which were only on the Rb. The Rc and Rd fork sliders were red. The boomerang Comstars on the Rc and Rd rear were 3.5 x 18

The article I quoted Mike was from the October 1982 issue of Motorcyclist magazine and is a review of the 1983 1100R - Wasn't it the first to use boomerang wheels? Anyway, they said 'very wide' ;) 18 X 3 rear and 18 X 2.5 front - If you have a 3.5 gold boomerang and a 19 inch front one in your pile of goodies, I'll defer to your expertise and agree the reviewer was mistaken

Here's the entire 4 page review

http://hondacb900f.com/archive/the-1983-honda-cb1100r/

Don

EMS · Post by **EMS** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 3:33 pm

The article is about the 1982 CB1100Rc, which was the first one with Boomerang Comstars. Unless the Rc did have a 3.00 rear wheel, the author is mistaken about the wheel width. I did check the front wheel though and it is indeed an 18-incher, not 19. This makes it the same a s the Euro CB1100F front.

Don · Post by **Don** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 3:41 pm

I dunno - The title of the article is '1983 CB1100R' . . . . and who would be writing a review of a 1982 bike in October of 1982????

Don

EMS · Post by **EMS** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 3:58 pm

Don, I don't want to beat this to death. Maybe I am wrong, but if you read the article thoroughly he compares the bike he describes and its changes to the first version, the Rb, meaning he is talking about the Rc.