Are Talon Hubs, Excel spokes and rims worth the money?

Are Talon Hubs, Excel spokes and rims worth the money or is OEM Honda just as good?

Maybe the stock Honda hub with Excel spokes and rim is the best ticket?

Thoughts?

AURORA wrote:Are Talon Hubs, Excel spokes and rims worth the money or is OEM Honda just as good?

Maybe the stock Honda hub with Excel spokes and rim is the best ticket?

Thoughts?

It just seems that if you are getting new rims, why not spend the extra and get the hubs too which look nicer.

modette wrote:

AURORA wrote:Are Talon Hubs, Excel spokes and rims worth the money or is OEM Honda just as good?

Maybe the stock Honda hub with Excel spokes and rim is the best ticket?


Thoughts?

It just seems that if you are getting new rims, why not spend the extra and get the hubs too which look nicer.

If I lace the front myself it is $160.

A complete front wheel would be $460.

That equates to a difference of 15 lap dances.

I have wondered the exact same thing many times. My best guess is the Honda OEM hubs are fine for normal riding, if you are Johnny Campbell maybe not.

I should have been more clear in my reply above. I do think the rims and spokes are worth an upgrade but think the hub should be fine for normal riding.

Gaspipe in ADVrider explained it thusly, The [much] better Excel rims use larger heavier spokes which transmit more shock to the stock hubs than they can handle. If you go with the Excel hubs and the smaller spokes the rims will take more abuse than the spokes can handle.

If you go with better rims, spokes and hubs the shock goes to the suspension but thats another story.

If you ride hard enough to ding your rims you should think about the complete upgrade.

After all, it's only money....

Team Honda used OEM rims. And that is what PC recommends. They area great balance between stiffness and flexibility. So they can take big hits without cracking like stiffer rims.

The known weakness is the cracking at the weld. Honda perhaps grinds of too much of the weld for appearance purposes. In any case they are known for cracking there.

Great info, but what about the OEM hubs?

Bump wrote:Team Honda used OEM rims. And that is what PC recommends. They area great balance between stiffness and flexibility. So they can take big hits without cracking like stiffer rims.

The known weakness is the cracking at the weld. Honda perhaps grinds of too much of the weld for appearance purposes. In any case they are known for cracking there.

Wasn't this already covered above?

My advice is that I'd stick with OEM stuff. If not that then I'd get complete wheel sets from one manufacturer that was all engineered to work together. I wouldn't mix and match and I would "make fit" parts for other bikes.

desertfox wrote:Great info, but what about the OEM hubs?

Bump wrote:Team Honda used OEM rims. And that is what PC recommends. They area great balance between stiffness and flexibility. So they can take big hits without cracking like stiffer rims.

The known weakness is the cracking at the weld. Honda perhaps grinds of too much of the weld for appearance purposes. In any case they are known for cracking there.

You seem to have an in with PC and I have a lot of respect for them and wondered what the scoop was with the hubs as well as the rims, maybe I did not read it well enough but I thought you only mentioned the rims or wheels not the hubs.

Bump wrote:Wasn't this already covered above?

My advice is that I'd stick with OEM stuff. If not that then I'd get complete wheel sets from one manufacturer that was all engineered to work together. I wouldn't mix and match and I would "make fit" parts for other bikes.

desertfox wrote:Great info, but what about the OEM hubs?

Bump wrote:Team Honda used OEM rims. And that is what PC recommends. They area great balance between stiffness and flexibility. So they can take big hits without cracking like stiffer rims.

The known weakness is the cracking at the weld. Honda perhaps grinds of too much of the weld for appearance purposes. In any case they are known for cracking there.

I think he covered it very well.

PC recommends stock stuff. The rims bend enough not to break. And in desert racing it's those impacts that require some flexibility. There's no advantage for aftermarket hubs. It's all bling. When some of the magazines tried to lighten up the BRP one thing they left alone was hubs I think. The amount of weight you might save, if any, is not worth the money. Just like the Ti bolt kits.

If you aren't running in the Dez I think it matters even less because I think the dez is hardest on parts mainly because it combines speed with big hits. The weight and stability of the BRP contribute to this IMHO.

desertfox wrote:You seem to have an in with PC and I have a lot of respect for them and wondered what the scoop was with the hubs as well as the rims, maybe I did not read it well enough but I thought you only mentioned the rims or wheels not the hubs.

Bump wrote:Wasn't this already covered above?

My advice is that I'd stick with OEM stuff. If not that then I'd get complete wheel sets from one manufacturer that was all engineered to work together. I wouldn't mix and match and I would "make fit" parts for other bikes.

desertfox wrote:Great info, but what about the OEM hubs?

Bump wrote:Team Honda used OEM rims. And that is what PC recommends. They area great balance between stiffness and flexibility. So they can take big hits without cracking like stiffer rims.

The known weakness is the cracking at the weld. Honda perhaps grinds of too much of the weld for appearance purposes. In any case they are known for cracking there.