Snowflake Wheels By Kimtab
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Northwest Harley Blog 
I love these for having 6 spokes
Pretty choice rims but what size? I’d love to have a pair, but I’d stipulate the 16″ size which are probably a lot less popular anyhow – I’d get the one weld-widened for a rear wheel, which I suppose could be either a 16″ OR an 18″ for 3,00×16″ & 5.00×16″ as a pair or 3.00×16″ & 4.50×18″, and run ’em on a mid-late ’80s Superbike, Endurance Racer style, (and if you’re a die-hard Harley freak then picture that as an early Buell Battle-Twin like “Lucifer’s Hammer) Just like Dymag rims on a works Honda that Freddie Spencer might have ridden whether that means a CB750F/CB900F or a VF750F either/or. Kimtabs in those sizes would ideally be for a BEEMER for their close resemblance to the later Beemer OEM “snowflake” rims. Whether that means a Boxer-twin Beemer OR a Retro-Fried K1, K100, K75 etc. Same deal with some Morris 16″ mags on a Kawasaki or Lester mags on a Yamaha. ‘Cause in each instance they’d look so much like a factory original wheel, but the odd-ball size & Harley-spec rear hub would lend itself so well to a front wheel conversion but the different proportions would really screw with people’s sense of perspective while at the same time providing a much improved steering response and better tire selection – sport touring radials specifically 130/70-16 up front & 160/60-18 or 180/55-16 on a Kosman style weld-widened rear wheel … It’s entirely within the realms of possibility yet it brings classic chop parts like these to a whole new realm of high performance. Right now I’m doing the same thing with Akront wire-spokes, where my FRONT wheel is actually an NOS “Super-Akront” 3.50×16″ with the triangular-domed drop-center section. Gorgeous rims and super light-weight at that. Got a 3.50×18″ too but instead have paired that with 2.50×18″ off an XLH Sporty rear wheel for my “skinny wheel-set”, and a 4.25×18″ regular old Akront rim paired with the 3.50×16″ for the fatter pair for the sport-touring radials. It’s not the first time it’s ever been done, as I’ve seen the 16 & 18 Super-Akront in matching 3.5″, on an “Armstrong” two-stroke racer. Makes for a beautiful rear wheel on a chop, yeah I’ve got to admit. But it’s pretty tight on a front wheel too. Meanwhile I’m building a set of 3.00×16″ Borrani rims on a “KZ440LOL” project for my Kid, using the Suzuki 4LS drum squeezed in really tight inside the Borrani up front, and a 3rd rim on hand with matching 200mm 2LS drum for a future side-car development so she can haul the dawg around. Using Maxi-Scooter low-profile radial tires. The rear tire is still a 16″ as is the classic purpose for such rims, but it’s repurposed in a sense all the same what with the odd-ball tires. ANYWAY – enough about MY bike projects! I just wanted to suggest another use for these awesome rims! Weld-widening could bring ’em up to DYMAG specs (like the 3.5×16″ & 4.5×16″ Dymags on those earliest private Buell Battle-Twins) and they’d be killer material for a vintage re-take on the Buell theme. I dunno whether that means an actual tube style Buell frame or some earlier interpretation of which, such as a Manx Featherbed, perhaps some type of DIY creation – But the core of it all is an Ironhead motor or better yet a Shovel or Pan – using all other parts from the pre-’75 Harley junk-pile, nothing at all from the Evo’ era Buell is normally associated with. A springer fork maybe, as leading-link forks were used by Tony Foale straight into the late ’80s Endurance & Superbike racing – So perhaps a tricked out stiffened and lightened Springer fork could run with the best of ’em? It’s a stretch, but would be fun to try. The pivots at the bottom would need to be connected with a loop at the rear, one integral part. And the springs changed out for little hydraulic shock units, effectively turning it into the equivalent of a Vincent “Girdraulic” fork. Even better to build it with these here Borrani shouldered rims, and screw some perimeter discs to the rim’s shoulders – at least that much has been done before. Of course the calipers would be standard Harley banana types. Stem to stern, a full-on retro revision of the Buell theme. Then race it in a mid-’70s Superbike class! At least, this is what I’m trying to convince my pal to do with his ’75 XLH…..