H: Hubs, Wheels and Tyres Which rims & spokes?

[LoneStar]

...horrible fake leather covers on British bike tanks - for protecting paint under them. Why have paint at all when never shown in public ?

That does seem pretty logical. Maybe for occasional use, on a trip through Mongolia over gravel roads beneath hailstorms?

Crash bars, though, don't just protect the tank (which, if damaged, is not cheap to repair and repaint despite its boring black color). A number of other components might be saved by them in a tip-over. I agree they aren't particularly attractive, but tastes vary in these matters.

 

[bmetcalf]

I've fallen off my Vin twice and been very happy that I had the Britax style crashbar. It has minimized the damage to the rest of the bike.

 

[Shane998]

That does seem pretty logical. Maybe for occasional use, on a trip through Mongolia over gravel roads beneath hailstorms?

Crash bars, though, don't just protect the tank (which, if damaged, is not cheap to repair and repaint despite its boring black color). A number of other components might be saved by them in a tip-over. I agree they aren't particularly attractive, but tastes vary in these matters.

My rapide went over while on the centre stand I have the straight type bar going through the sidecar mount only damage to bike was the dome nut on end of bar is now a flat nut

 

[oexing]

Funny, I don´t remember having ever seen crash bars like here on other bikes . Must be a Vincent thing. Wonder, what´s wrong with them - or the riders ?

Vic

 

[Vincent Brake]

Vic, i love my single rod alu crashbars.
As when riding drunk, and the bike fell over, i could easily pick it up again, tank in one piece, no chrome off course.
What this has to do with rims, i don't know.
Building 3 bikes now, and will paint the rim. WM 3 and WM 4 both 19.

Cheers, on a rainy sunday morning.

Next week I will wear the junion jack here.

 

[Generic Beardy]

Having recently repainted a beeza tank I can say the the painted portion of the chrome is definitely duller than the exposed bits. If I was to make a guess I'd say the the copper coat had not been polished before the chrome plating.....

 

[oexing]

A chromed tank is not polished all over, common practice everywhere. This is not for having paint stick better to the duller chrome, only for reducing time on all that polishing labour when not required for painted areas. The 1954 Horex Regina below in my photo was never before restored when I got her from Italy 35 years ago . Nobody before me had a look into the engine yet after the company assembled it. So I can definitely say the chromed tank had no specifically sandblasted lines or areas done just for the paint and lining jobs. I would have found the dull lines before I did all these weeks of preparations for rechroming it, copper first coat, then nickel and finally chrome . I bet no company anywhere did extra sandblasting for paints on chrome and I´ll hand over 100 pounds to somebody who can show otherwise. There is just no NEED for an extra dull base when a paint is to follow, not worth the effort. Would not hurt though . . .
Vincent, the subject was about painting chromed or polished ss rims, same goes for chromed tanks. I can see same questions in other forums coming up regularly, so same answers - just simply paint them as did all companies in olden times. So when my mind wanders and looking at the chromed tanks it came to me why on earth Vincenteers came upon these crash bars when these bikes only got simple black tanks ? I cannot remember seeing that junk on any other brand of bikes , even when many of them got chromed tanks An accident on a chromed tank is an absolute nightmare as I can tell, did two Horex tanks years ago as you can see. On these no question about filler , only copper plating can do for filler , plus all these hours grinding and polishing for mirror finish , otherwise no way to hope for a brilliant chrome. So a black tank is a ridiculously simple quick job.
Even so, our Guzzi and the two Horexes got chromed tanks but no way would I accept crash bars on them - allright, myself no drunk driver, never been, but I can see the point . . .

Vic
Horex Regina 460 , 1954:

Horex 600 4 valve, 1935:

 

[oexing]

Another detail about likely masking before sandblasting and lining in the factories: What was available in 20ies and 30ies for masking tapes - if at all?? I only remember from youth these horrible texile black sticky tapes electricians had in 50ies . Not very suitable for masking in paint shops I think. So how did they apply lines or paint fields on tanks, chromed or painted ? Even today lines are painted by orientation on chalk lines or some such, no masking tapes anywhere, see YT clip at the Enfield factory in India - pure art !!

Vic
tank lining India:
tank lining

Enfield hand lining

 

[Alyson]

Funny, I don´t remember having ever seen crash bars like here on other bikes . Must be a Vincent thing. Wonder, what´s wrong with them - or the riders ?

Vic

in the Britax cataloug the crash/safety bar is listed for various models. Maybe not popular ? Anyone bragging about riding a ton might not think the crash bar looked cool

 

[oexing]

Well, you can hang a lot of things onto a motorbike as you like it. There were crash bars of lots of designs, even in classic times. But that length of round bar on the Vincents does not look cool to me, just simply primitive, could be done by any blacksmith in no time. Certainly one purpose may be useful, hang some daylight LEDs on them.

Vic