There are some great aftermarket parts out there.
The Webike Motorcycle Show (WMS) 2021, which has been rolling out on Webike for a while now, has introduced many new products and provided detailed descriptions and explanations about them.
However, there is no reference to how they are actually reflected in the ride. I would like to report on the Thyssenkrupp carbon wheels and Advantage direct drive brake discs, as I have personally felt their advantages during my test rides.
[Webike Motorcycle Show 2021]
This is the highest performance wheel ever made! ThyssenKrupp (TKCC) carbon wheels! [WMS2021]
Carbon wheels for a revolutionary change in driving
Carbon wheels from Germany's ThyssenKrupp (TKCC) have already been used as stock wheels in BMW's HP4 racing four years ago.
In order to dispel the unpopular reputation of the wheel's lack of strength, it is made using the blading method, in which a single carbon fiber is woven into the shape of the wheel, and the way the fiber is woven between the spoke and rim sections is changed to give the rim section more flexibility.
The flexibility of the rim is a major advantage of carbon wheels, not to mention the weight savings. With 3 spokes, the rim cannot be supported at 120 degrees, so it is necessary to increase the strength of the rim.
Carbon fiber has both high strength and flexibility. Or perhaps it would be more appropriate to say that the stiffness can be controlled by the direction of the fiber. In any case, it can be bent greatly and is not easily broken. In addition, it has excellent vibration dampening characteristics, and even when it flexes, it returns quickly and does not continue to deform like a spring.
Now, as for the actual ride, the HP4 Race has a carbon frame, so I can't mention the effects of the wheels alone. But from our experience with other models and other brands of carbon wheels, it's a different world.
First of all, it absorbs well against road surface protrusions, which greatly improves the ride comfort. Moreover, the absorbency is not only in the longitudinal direction but also in the lateral direction, absorbing nervous behavior and converging it, thus improving stability. The handling becomes high quality and full of security.
They even erase any inherent problems that the vehicle may have had. In other words, it's as if the tires are doing their job many times over.
Of course, the handling is nimble, but if the weight of aluminum or magnesium were as light as carbon, the behavior would be nervous and there would be negatives such as a loss of ground feel, but there is none of that. This is because it has unparalleled absorbency.
While still expensive, it has certainly given many people a lot of potential.
Direct-drive discs improve braking control
Advantage's direct drive brake discs are also used on KTM's Moto3 works machines, which I test rode for eight years. I've also ridden a number of custom Advantage machines fitted with the discs, so I know what I'm talking about.
In a standard floating disc, the outer and inner rotors are joined via a cylindrical pin, which absorbs the lateral distortion caused by thermal deformation and provides a stiff feeling. However, the outer and inner rotors come into contact with each other at a point, and it is easy to have a rattle in the direction of rotation.
But with this direct drive system, the T-shaped protrusions extending from the outer surface are in direct, surface contact with the inner surface, so there is no rattle in the rotational direction.
As a result, the front end has a smoother initial action and the more you hold the lever, the more it works. Because the brake torque is transmitted over a surface rather than a point, the torque transmission is smooth. From this, it seems as if there is a fine abrupt change in braking torque during braking with a standard disc.
I also have the impression that the rear of the car no longer locks up easily even if I press the pedal a little roughly. Thanks to this, I can move around on public roads without stress. This is another item that I can clearly recognize the difference.
