Anyone racing on Marchesini wheels?

kostean

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I wonder if there is anyone who has been having any experience with Marchesini wheels at 390 at race track use and considers to comment if the lighter wheels improve the handling characteristics of the bike enough to justify the cost of the wheels?

In comparison with R3 and Kawa 400, the 390 Is way harder to turn into corners at high speeds- a lot of that lot of that I would put to rotational mass of the wheels. Not that R3/kx400 would have any lighter ones, but looks to be the frame design compensates the wheel weight.
 

Formula390

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A bunch of guys are. It's not so much for better handling as for faster acceleration. Yeah it helps handling also, but it's unsprung reciprocating mass. Less mass the motor has to spin up to accelerate. If you are trying to take time off your laps, unsprung reciprocating mass is huge!
 

KTMasean

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A bunch of guys are. It's not so much for better handling as for faster acceleration. Yeah it helps handling also, but it's unsprung reciprocating mass. Less mass the motor has to spin up to accelerate. If you are trying to take time off your laps, unsprung reciprocating mass is huge!
Matt, you're absolutely correct but do not underestimate the handling with lighter rims as the centrifugal forces wanting the front wheel to continue in a straight line are reduced tremendously as well.
 

TVann

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I don't have Marchesinis on my RC390 but I do have them on my Ninja 250. They make a huge difference in turn-in, braking, general handling. The suspension is much more able to do its job not having to fight so much inertial and centrifugal force through the wheels.

Note that the stock 250 wheels are relatively light, so the Marchesinis 'only' save 8 lbs from stock. Apparently, the 390 wheels are quite heavy - Marchesinis save 14 lbs off the OEM wheels.

Side note: get ceramic bearings with the Marchesinis. Another noticable difference.
 
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R4D4G4ST

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I wonder if there is anyone who has been having any experience with Marchesini wheels at 390 at race track use and considers to comment if the lighter wheels improve the handling characteristics of the bike enough to justify the cost of the wheels?

In comparison with R3 and Kawa 400, the 390 Is way harder to turn into corners at high speeds- a lot of that lot of that I would put to rotational mass of the wheels. Not that R3/kx400 would have any lighter ones, but looks to be the frame design compensates the wheel weight.

This guys impression on light wheels impressed me:
 

TVann

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This guys impression on light wheels impressed me:

The interesting thing about this is that the switch to forged wheels on his 848 only saved +/- 5 lbs and yet, even while being initially skeptical, he raved at the differences it made in handling, turn-in, acceleration, braking.

Apparently the RC390's wheels are quite heavy, and replacing them with Marchesini forged wheels saves 14 lbs. Add to that that, in my experience, the smaller the displacement of the bike, the more noticable the improvement when you reduce wheel weight, and that speaks well for replacing the oem RC390 wheels with forged.

IMO, apparently now shared by this guy, the single best performance mod you can do to you bike is lighten the wheels.
 

TVann

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A bunch of guys are. It's not so much for better handling as for faster acceleration. Yeah it helps handling also, but it's unsprung reciprocating mass. Less mass the motor has to spin up to accelerate. If you are trying to take time off your laps, unsprung reciprocating mass is huge!

I agree and disagree: IMO, having ridden forged wheels on everything from an Aprilia RS125 to a ZX10R, the main improvement is handling. Much easier turn-in, more supple suspension. The fact that it's 'unsprung' mass reduction argues for this. Yes, it also improves acceleration and braking, but what gives you the lap time improvement is the ability to run turns quicker.
 
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