| Author | Message | ||
     Ronlv |
who powdercoats buells oem wheels? | ||
| Joele |
Are they powder coated? I thought they were painted. | ||
| Buellshyter |
If you look at the Cycle magazine article on the new Ulysses, it says the wheels are made in China. | ||
| Branebanger |
I didnt want to hear that - the front wheel already makes me nervous, now I'm really nervous. | ||
| Stou |
Those wheels are made by Enkei, a well know wheels manufacturer in the car domain. http://www.enkei.com/enkei.html | ||
| Branebanger |
thanks for the link and info - i see they make wheels for wrc rally cars. | ||
| Ronlv |
so are the wheels painted or powder coated and who does it if its painted what color (name and number) is the black wheels | ||
| Stou |
I'm almost sure they are powder coated. It really look like powder coat. | ||
| Steve_a |
The wheels for the Ulysses are made at the mainland China factory of a Enkei, a Japanese supplier, a company that makes wheels for Honda. A lot of Japanese motorcycle component manufacture has been moved out of Japan, to Taiwan, China, Thailand, etc. Enkei's Chinese venture is Enkei Aluminum Products (China) Co.,Ltd in Kunsan City, a place where many multinationals have located. The Japanese companies that are doing this bring their quality control and knowledge with them. I understand Enkei were chosen by Buell because they were one of the best wheel suppliers in the world, and had the casting technology to make the XB wheel as light as it is, and the statistical process control and other quality measures to ensure that they could do this repeatedly. The point of the chart in Cycle World was not that Buell is doing a Walmart and shopping for the cheapest suppliers regardless of quality, but they're scouring the world looking for the best suppliers of components period. I know that would prefer to source parts domestically when possible, but for speciality parts such as motorcycle wheels in quantities of tens of thousands, that's often not possible without sacrificing quality. US automotive suppliers could often do the work, but the quantities hold no interest for them. | ||
| Trac95ker |
I think they are painted. Rub some brake cleaner on them and you'll know. The paint is flaking off my front wheel and I don't think powder comes off like that. Its much harder to remove. | ||
| Patrickh |
Sourcing from China is not a bad thing...they have access to all the same resources that we do. Labor there is much cheaper, that's all. | ||
| Bubabuell |
I suppose if your dream as a 12 year old is to work a 16 hour day for $2.50 then I'd agree with you. (Message edited by bubabuell on August 06, 2005) | ||
| Reducati |
$2.50....who gave them a raise? Mr. Burns | ||
| U4euh |
It is Powder! Pwder will flake after it has been baked on, if given a direct blow or when a proper solvent finds its way in,straight from the local powder coater Don't care where mine are made, as long as they hold up. Does suck a little, being an American bike, but that is minute. | ||
| Ronlv |
i want to match the same paint or powder which ever it is does anyone know the black wheels color name and number | ||
| Court |
>>>>Sourcing from China Just like the $180,000,000 worth of generators we're currently installing at the Astoria 500MW powerplant. It's a global economy folks. Court | ||
| Outrider |
Court...With all due respect, it might be a Global Economy, but that example hurts. I wonder whose technology they copied this time? Westinghouse, GE's? Read another excellent article the other day about how both are getting squeezed out Globally by the Chinese knock off traditional and nuclear power plants/equipment and how to alter your portfolio to accommodate the loss. Quite simply, the recommendation was to invest in Canadian Uranium stocks and other sources of fuel and forget the equipment manufacturers. In the event this occur's I sincerely wonder who is going to do the R&D for the next technology wave with strong emphasis on the safety issue. Won't be long and we will all have more Global than US holdings in our portfolio's unless you are a day trader. Makes you wonder who we are all going to work for down the road. Not to mention, how many American's are going to end up unemployable in their 40's and 50's like me and my contemporaries when virtually our entire industry disappeared thanks to the lack of Chinese business ethic. Oh well, shouldn't bother you any, you are getting paid regardless where the machinery comes from. For now. Oh well, Two sides to every coin, er...opinion. In my case, my Grandfather was recruited from Germany in 1906 as an engineering consultant to work with Sargent & York as well as GE and Westinghouse to redesign New York's power plants for both output and efficiency. On the humorous side, you just might say that that was German technology being knocked off by the US. LOL Final note to anyone reading this. Make darned sure you start saving and investing asap with the intention of retiring early, very early. Above all, do this independent of your employer's retirement program. There is no such thing as job security anymore. Additionally, back up your college education with a trade to fall back on in the event disaster strikes. I did the investing part and regret not doing the trade part. If I hadn't at least done the investing, I would have been greeting you all at Walmart or serving your lunch at McDonald's around age 50. Who'd a thunk that when I started out with a marketing degree in the early 1970's and was setting the world on fire. | ||
| Court |
>>>>I wonder whose technology they copied this time? Westinghouse, GE's? Probably Alstom. That'll teach the French to be loose lipped. By the way, if they DID copy someones technology they are doing it very well and cheap enough to spend like close to $100M in freight and still be competitive. Guess where the software they are using came from? Redmond, Washington, USA from the folks who's meteoric rise to world dominance payed my kids way through college.  | ||
| Outrider |
Court...Excellent point. Not going to belabor the issue. Just want to apologize for my little "John Birch" Rant. A Global economy with a balance of trade is a great thing as it leads to World Peace, which wouldn't be all that bad, eh? | ||
| Jcbikes |
I have an XB12s with the amber wheels and the dealer tried to get touch-up paint for them and could not because he said they where powder coated. Has anyone found any kind of close color match for these wheels. I had no luck at the hobby stores. | ||
| Gowindward |
There is Buell touch up paint for the amber wheels. I have a bottle! I'll get you a P/N tonight. | ||
| Jcbikes |
Thanks so much. I do not know why the dealer parts Dept. said (after looking in their parts book)that it was not to be had. They said you can't touch up powder coated wheels. Looking forward to hearing from you Gowindward | ||
| Gowindward |
Give them a call after looking at this. www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/17143/131279.html | ||
| Buellerx |
I'm going to try that touch-up paint. I have a couple of small chips in my wheels. | ||
| Jcbikes |
Thanks - I will call them tomorrow when they are open and see what they have to say!! | ||
| Diablobrian |
Don't worry about enkei wheels, I had them on an old Kawasaki kz650 some years back that I severely abused. The wheels handled everything from jumping curbs, a couple of crashes, wheelies, all without a single hiccup. They have been in the motorcycle wheel business for decades. | ||
| Buellshyter |
Many experts believe we've reached peak oil output. All 6 billion of us on this planet can't drive cars and live like Americans. The global economy is a pipe dream. | ||
| Gowindward |
JC, that's the right P/N. MO300.1AAYBR Translucent Amber |
