Triumphrat

dkreidel · 12-20-2008

The Sun's are manufactured by Buchanan from extrusion run to their proprietary specification and alloy. They roll them, weld the seam, stretch form them in a "circumpress" to within .015" concentricity and then CNC machine 100% of the surfaces to within .003" TIR. Buchanan drills them to specification at the perfect angle, machine and hand polishes the rims and then laces them to the hub. The Excels are 6-7% heavier, and allegedly not quite as resistant to getting banged up as the Suns. Buchanan sells both, and was happy to supply either one. I originally went looking for shouldered or flanged Akronts, but apparently the quality of Akront rims has declined a lot over the years and I couldn't get exactly the sizes I wanted - hence the Suns. I've done business with Buchanan's since 1966 and trust their recommendation. Buchanan's has a lot of experience repairing broken spokes on Triumph wheels, but claim that with the larger diameter stainless wire they used to manufacture my spokes I won't ever have problems

These wheels are about 3.5/4.0# F/R lighter than the stock steel Triumph rims - not a lot but enough to feel the difference since it is unsprung weight. I used bolt cutters to cut the spokes and free the hubs without dismounting the OEM rubber from the rims - it only took 10 minutes for both wheels and was weirdly therapeutic.

I was changing the rear tire on one of my '66 Bonnevilles when i held the tire up to my 2007 an decided it would look pretty good - the older bikes are 19" front and 18" rear - and yes, the sixties bikes had black painted hubs.

Thank you all of for the compliments!

Dick