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  1. #1
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    First Look! Durrani's New One-Piece Wheels

    First Look! Durrani’s New One Piece Wheel

    ©Dave Solo 2008, MCADX Magazine Feel free to link this article, but please – no cutting and pasting.


    It’s not yet time to settle bets on this issue, but the ultimate outcome is getting closer.


    Sheryar Durrani’s work in progress (full details here) made a significant step forward when the first test batch of his new one-piece, magnesium wheels were successfully thixomolded on Friday, April 4th, 2008.

    These are pictures of the pre-production front wheel, which will undergo rigorous testing in the next two weeks. It is not a prototype: it was produced in the exact manner that Durrani expects the final production wheels to be made after all testing, evaluation, and any necessary adjustments in design or process are completed. Only after wheels from multiple batches have passed all tests - conclusively and consistently - will they be made available for purchase.
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    No hubs attached, but still very light
    Durrani has been working ceaselessly on these one-piece, thixomolded wheels since abandoning his original multi-piece design, which proved too costly and difficult to produce. The new wheel is shown next to the original “Thixocore,” which was intended to serve as the structural basis for his original design. A rolled ring of extruded magnesium was to be welded and bonded to its narrow rim.
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    The new one-piece rim is on the left. The Thixocore was part of a multi-piece solution that wasn't...
    Interestingly, the new wheel weighs only four ounces more than the Thixocore. You can see that material has been removed from the hub area and some of the spoke structures, which were seen after testing to have been overbuilt. Model-specific hubs and cush drives made of magnesium will thread into the wheel centers.


    The rear wheels are scheduled to be produced next week.
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    I asked Durrani what the procedure would be to test the wheels:[BREAK=The testing procedures]

    Motorcycle Addicts Magazine (MCADX): What is the protocol for testing these wheels? What will have to happen before they’re good to go?

    Sheryar Durrani (SD): "There are, I think, 34 pages of test specification environments for global analysis.

    Let me give you some highlights:

    5 million cycles of up to 240 miles per hour with up to 5000 lb peak loads, randomly distributed over 5 million revolutions of the wheel, basically. It’s very severe – not like 100,000 miles at 50 miles per hour with the wheel just turning; it’s going through constant abuse."

    MCADX: So there’s a rolling road of some kind that applies the loads?

    SD: "Yeah, the test lab has a 2 million dollar machine that has a massive arm that mounts and runs it: it will spin it up to 280 miles per hour or so. It will do all the testing at the speed we need with all the exact specific bearing mounts.

    Then they do torsional tests for the number of cycles it needs. I think the minimum is 230 miles per hour for 5,000 miles with 1,000 pound load on the axle of one wheel. That’s a lot to have as a constant load, as if it were 2000 pounds on the bike.

    Then there’s 45 degree load testing, as if you are cornering and hitting bumps a lot, through hundreds of thousands of cycles. That’s one arena.
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    Then there are drop tests for dentability and fracture. All of these are standardized to get global certification from Germany, which is called TUV (pronounced ‘toof’). Additionally, there’s JWL, which is the Japanese standard. A lot of the Japanese and Chinese wheel companies send their wheels to this test lab in Michigan to be tested, because it’s world renowned."
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    a molding line, not a crack or weld.
    MCADX: Are wheels being tested there right now?

    SD: "These wheels are being prepped to go there at 8:00 tomorrow morning." (April 9)

    MCADX: How long does the process of going through these 34 pages of protocol take?


    SD: "A minimum of two weeks. If there are no failures, we’re good. But if there are any issues; fractures, or other conditions, we will have to study and assess them. Remember, these are the same tests that apply to a Gold Wing which weighs 1000 pounds as well as a 450 pound Ducati. We have to assess the results, and in the end, there are governmental standards and our own sensibilities; which are due care and caution for our product.

    I’ll be blunt: the (motivating) issue is not someone coming after me to sue me. The amount of pain I would feel if something didn’t work would be much greater than any amount of money that could be taken from me. It’s not about fear of losing money, or lawyers or lawsuits.
    If you’re doing something worthwhile that people are enjoying the use of, it’s worth getting it right."
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    MCADX: Are these made with your proprietary alloy?

    SD: "These are made with AM60, (the original alloy used in the thixocore) and they’re designed to pass all tests using that alloy. There is another proprietary alloy, which if it tests out, would be both stronger and more ductile than any other moldable alloy. We intend to go to production with it if it proves out and is available, but the tests will go ahead with the AM60, and we’ll know in two weeks how it performs. If it fails, we’ll make adjustments, which shouldn’t take very long, and then we test again until it passes consistently – not from a single sample, but from multiple batches. We don’t want to ‘accidentally succeed’ and not be able to replicate it."

    MCADX: What happens after it passes?

    SD: "We make a bunch of wheels; up to a hundred a day. We’ll bring them back here to be machined and send them out to be conversion coated and powder coated. After that we’ll bring them back again to be inspected, assembled, have the bearings installed, inspected again, boxed, and shipped out."
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    MCADX: I can tell from the difference in your demeanor from our previous conversations that you are much more comfortable with this wheel from a quality control standpoint than the old one.

    SD: "It’s so much better: I can’t begin to tell you. It’s the 'difference between the earth and the sky' as my ancestors would say.

    There’s no sense of arrogance about this for me now. I have a deep sense of gratitude that it’s coming out this way. But we’re not done yet.

    There may be a lot of issues: maybe a lot of pain to come and blood to be let, but that (points to the new wheel) is a substantial enough achievement to give me some peace that has been long coming."

    MCADX: So you’re confident?

    SD: Quietly confident.
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    *Full details of the original design, the controversy over the premature acceptance of orders, the production problems that led to abandonment of that concept and subsequent challenges can be found in the first three parts of Wheels within Wheels – Parts Four and Five are from an interview in January of 2008. Pictures and details of the rear wheels and Durrani’s new magnesium clip-ons (adjustable from 3 to 12 degrees wrist angle) will be forthcoming in the following weeks.
    Last edited by CBRVFR; 04-10-2008 at 12:39 PM.

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    Repeater's Avatar
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    Great article!

    What price are the new wheels going to go for and is he going to offer the believers that got refunds the opertunity of getting the old price they ponied up in the begining?

    So what these rings gonna cost?

  4. #4
    Age of bike + rider = 78 !! CBRVFR's Avatar
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    For prospective buyers, I think that if there is anything to be learned from the last year, it can be summed up in three words: Wait and see.

    This is progress, but not completion. Durrani has to get the front and both rear wheels (5 1/2" and 6") to pass all if those tests, which will take several weeks if everything goes well. As we have seen, sometimes it takes longer...

    Once that happens, then I think that issues of pricing and delivery will be widely disseminated.
    Eigo ga Mothafucku - Anatawa Hanashimasuka?

    Godspeed, # 20 - Rich Herald, the Gentle Giant

  5. #5
    Blending SheepOfBlue's Avatar
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    Good luck to him. Yep I will certainly wait and see. Though it would be good to see hard work and risk taking pay off even in the new age of socialism.
    If everything tastes like chicken..... what does chicken taste like

  6. #6
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    Threaded hub info?

    Interesting follow on article. I'm really looking forward to seeing how well the mold-fill analysis worked for the longer flow path of the rear. It looks like there might be some blush issues with the front, so it would follow that the rear might have more issues with both blushing and flow lines. Any info on what the new secondary finishing process will be?

    Also would like to hear more detail about the threaded hub design, how it is preloaded and retained. And more interestingly, what are the testing parameters for this aspect of the wheel? Does the testing procedure realistically load this joint with the braking/drive torques that the wheels will see?

    Kudos for the article series, and kudos to S.D. for sharing the information.
    Keep it coming!


  7. #7
    Age of bike + rider = 78 !! CBRVFR's Avatar
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    Any info on what the new secondary finishing process will be?
    I'll see what I can find out.

    Also would like to hear more detail about the threaded hub design, how it is preloaded and retained. And more interestingly, what are the testing parameters for this aspect of the wheel? Does the testing procedure realistically load this joint with the braking/drive torques that the wheels will see?
    The threads are reversed on one side of each wheel. For the front, this means the braking force will always be tightening the hubs into the wheel, and on the rear, the right side will tighten in the direction of the braking force, while the left will tighten in the direction of acceleration - IF you put the wheel on in the right direction! Durrani intends to have those who purchase the wheel sign off electronically on this issue. I don't know how subsequent owners will be informed.

    When the wheels are assembled, the hubs are tightened with 2000 foot-pounds of torque. His testing shows it takes more than 1600 foot pounds of torque to break them free. (I saw them test this. It didn't break free with any degree of abruptness, if that's a word.) They may also use a chemical thread lock. (this is a correction from my earlier statement.)

    The TUV testing regimen refers to torsional tests, which I now understand to mean are repetitive starting and stopping from high speeds over those many, many cycles.
    Last edited by CBRVFR; 04-10-2008 at 12:27 PM.
    Eigo ga Mothafucku - Anatawa Hanashimasuka?

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  8. #8
    ND4SPD's Avatar
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    Can the hub potentially overtighten and strip like a normal nut/bolt can?
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  9. #9
    Age of bike + rider = 78 !! CBRVFR's Avatar
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    My understanding is that the braking and accelerating forces of the bike will come nowhere near developing the torque levels used to tighten the "mother of all bolts" to 2000 ft-pounds in the first place. The example I was given was an engine rated at 100 ft-lbs of torque at full throttle in first gear would develop perhaps 5 times that torque, due to the force multiplication of the gearing. The idea is that 500 is just a quarter of 2000, a safety factor of 400 percent.

    I'm not an engineer, so if others want to challenge that, it would be interesting to see what the response would be.
    Eigo ga Mothafucku - Anatawa Hanashimasuka?

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  10. #10
    Blending SheepOfBlue's Avatar
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    I would think that tire grip would be a limiter on how much can be applied.
    If everything tastes like chicken..... what does chicken taste like

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    Quote Originally Posted by CBRVFR View Post

    When the wheels are assembled, the hubs are tightened with 2000 foot-pounds of torque. His testing shows it takes more than 1600 foot pounds of torque to break them free. (I saw them test this. It didn't break free with any degree of abruptness, if that's a word.) They no longer intend to use a chemical thread lock.
    Interesting...was the FEA work done with that preload in place? The center hub section seems very wispy.

  12. #12
    Age of bike + rider = 78 !! CBRVFR's Avatar
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    I'll have to ask that question directly - check back tomorrow mid-day.. if there are any follow-on questions, add them before then, OK?


    I'll try to get some pictures of the hubs - they look pretty substantial.
    Eigo ga Mothafucku - Anatawa Hanashimasuka?

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    Quote Originally Posted by CBRVFR View Post
    I'll have to ask that question directly - check back tomorrow mid-day.. if there are any follow-on questions, add them before then, OK?

    I'll try to get some pictures of the hubs - they look pretty substantial.
    I'm talking about the center section of the wheel itself...it seems a bit wispy for all it's doing, but perhaps they really optimized things while doing the FEA...

  14. #14
    Age of bike + rider = 78 !! CBRVFR's Avatar
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    Here you go:

    "Extensive engineering analysis was done on this product, including Finite Element Analysis (FEA). Preload was absolutely considered in this engineering analysis where required."

    Durrani made two more points:
    • All engineering analysis is tempered until confirmed by real physical testing in the real world, such as is occurring right now, and
    • Optimization is the name of the game.
    Also, to correct something I wrote above, Chemical bonding of the hub threads is still under consideration.

    In answer to an earlier question regarding finishing, a ceramic chemical conversion coating and powder coating will be applied in the same way as intended in the original design. This is described in the Wheels Within Wheels articles.
    Last edited by CBRVFR; 04-10-2008 at 07:42 PM.
    Eigo ga Mothafucku - Anatawa Hanashimasuka?

    Godspeed, # 20 - Rich Herald, the Gentle Giant

  15. #15
    Jaeson
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    Challenge

    Quote Originally Posted by CBRVFR View Post
    My understanding is that the braking and accelerating forces of the bike will come nowhere near developing the torque levels used to tighten the "mother of all bolts" to 2000 ft-pounds in the first place. The example I was given was an engine rated at 100 ft-lbs of torque at full throttle in first gear would develop perhaps 5 times that torque, due to the force multiplication of the gearing. The idea is that 500 is just a quarter of 2000, a safety factor of 400 percent.

    I'm not an engineer, so if others want to challenge that, it would be interesting to see what the response would be.
    As it may seem that information is slightly incorrect. The amount of ft-lbs measured at the out surface of a tire is less than that measured near the core. I would only assume that a 400% safety factor is a bit generous.

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    ND4SPD's Avatar
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    Is there any word on the results of the test yet?
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    Blending SheepOfBlue's Avatar
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    400% is a bit generous but not overly so. I would design at 200% for any critical part that can affect a life as a MINIMUM. 400% just sounds responsible.
    If everything tastes like chicken..... what does chicken taste like

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    ND4SPD's Avatar
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    Still no update?
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    Age of bike + rider = 78 !! CBRVFR's Avatar
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    Check back this weekend.
    Eigo ga Mothafucku - Anatawa Hanashimasuka?

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    Checked back on the weekend, no update.
    Will check again this weekend as well.

  21. #21
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    I got your update:

    Herr Durrani made a visit to MCADX Days at Grattan todayand we got to put hands on rims. As I was walking to my garage, I saw this guy walking down the paddock with a bright green rim in his hand. As we got closer, I recognized him from a picture I had seen but before I could say hello, he says "Hold this for me" and tossed the rim towards me.

    All I can say is HOLY F**K!!

    I need a set for an 04 CBR1000RR and a 98 VFR. I'll wait, it definitely looks like it's going to be worth it.
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    saw these at the track as well-I've taken heavier sh*ts than that rim-definately on my want list-hmm maybe for when I get that R-1?
    Do as I say not as I do

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    I just visited his site 1198.00 for satin black!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! if they actually ship holly shit that is cheap! Durrani Racing Components©
    NASMR - National Association for Stock Motorcycle Racing . Really doesn't roll off your tongue the same does it?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Repeater View Post
    I just visited his site 1198.00 for satin black!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! if they actually ship holly shit that is cheap! Durrani Racing Components©
    That is cheap. I paid almost that much for my sumo wheels. If Durrani ever produces rims to fit my XR650R I'll probably sell my current set and buy some.
    ...dude you ride an offroad bike with slicks, 1/2 the weight of a GS, double the suspension, with a browning 50 cal going off 32" from your skull as a daily freaking driver - I'd expect anything except a nitro dragbike to be bland by comparison - SSG

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    No applications for the liter bikes, though. Is that because of strength concerns, or is he just trying to cover the larger, more popular market segment, i.e., 600s first?

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    If you click buy now you only have the option for paypal. Wonder why?
    NASMR - National Association for Stock Motorcycle Racing . Really doesn't roll off your tongue the same does it?

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