I recently purchased a new 2008 in Atomic Silver. I am going to have the Rims powdercoated black. I have a found a shop that has a great reputation and the price is right. The question is this...Will I need to replace the bearings, seals, and valve stems when I have this done? It is the recommendation of Kawasaki but the bike being brand new makes me pose this question. Thanks.

Well...that answers that. Thanks for the answer.

Is there anything wrong with only painting the surface of the rims that is visible and masking the bearings and valve stems? I was thinking about rattle canning mine white but no way would i do that if I had to tear the guts out of the wheels.

Hub...I will post pics when I have it completed...probably will be in a month or so.

Rook...I asked my powdercoater about just painting them and he stated it wouldn't hold up. He said it would start chipping etc. fairly quickly. Besides, he quoted me $80 for both rims so it's not worth my effort and the likelihood of me screwing it up for me to save that much money.

HM,yeah. 80 bucks is a steal. I've heard of people spraypainting car wheels without problems. I imagine there is a lot more likelihood that rocks are going to bang around inside the spokes on a motorcycle wheel though. I guess I would be better off to look for a deal like you got. I forgot what powdercoat is now. Is that some kind of heat treated coating that requires a special kiln to cure? If it's just spray on, I would pick up a spraygun for $30 and do it myself.

Yeah...they bake it on there and then it goes through some curing process. That's all I know.

I case you want to have an idea how it will look, I did it to mine:

Bullet...your bike inspired me to do this. I love the black wheels. I just think it breaks up the color so well. Also, I am going to have the fins on the foremans painted black as well. I initially thought about painting the entire foreman black but I think just the fins will set it off.

Also...Bullet...your grips look custom and a little fatter than stock. I have huge hands and will probably need thicker grips. What kind are they or am I mistaken?

* Last updated by: admiralman on 1/9/2010 @ 7:35 AM *

Sorry for the delay getting back Admiral. Yes, you are right about the grips. They are just Grip Puppies, which are black rubbery-foam grip covers. You can get them here:

http://www.casporttouring.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=CST&Product_Code=GPSMALL&Category_Code=GRIPPUP

I got them because I too have very large hands, and I do some touring on my 14. My hands would get very cramped without these. I'm not all that crazy about the feel of the foam (just like firm rubber grips I guess), but the fact that they increase the diameter of the grip makes them so much more comfortable than stock for me. Good luck with the powdercoating. I always thought this bike should have had black wheels to begin with. Mine were not silver for long. BTW- I replaced my wheel bearings and valve stems when I had the powdercoating done, but I did re-use my seals. I was careful pulling them out and I think they were fine. Mine $.02.

* Last updated by: SilverBullet on 1/11/2010 @ 1:35 PM *