Svartpilen Weight Reduction Project

toast449 said:
I did this on a cafe project. Not difficult at all and worked great. I didn't get the kit someone posted but used basically the same thing. These rims should be even easier to do than what I did because of the nice wide area where the spoke nipples sit. All you need is a roll of the thick silicone tape (forget what it is called), clean the rim surface very well and as you roll the tape down put a tiny bit of vaseline on the spoke nipple itself so that it doesn't stick to the tape in case you have to tune up the spokes later. Like most things, it is all in the prep work. A roll of tape was probably less than 10% of the weight of the tube and I didn't use a whole roll.
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Based on all my findings, the stock 401 rims have the additional retaining lip to support a tubeless tire. Provided the wheels are installed properly, there should be no leaking issue around the sidewall, so it’s just the spokes and valve stem that need to be addressed. I’ve seen all the tape solutions, but a lot of people have used the 3M marine adhesive to create a lasting seal around each spoke. I’ve used this stuff on a my boat before, it dries very strong but also never becomes brittle. After 6-years on my boat it’s still holding up perfect. The adhesive is rated for wood, fibreglass, painted surfaces, and metal, so it’s well suited for the application.


I imagine a thin coat of that adhesive, and then maybe the tape over top for good measure, this seems like a good permanent solution. But as Vintage Volace said, maybe it just makes sense to buy new rims at some point….
 
I ride tubeless on my mountain bike and the weight difference is negligible. The big advantage is you can’t get pinch punctures without tubes. That’s a non issue on a motorcycle though since you never run that low tire pressure.
 
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I have been looking at going tubeless just recently.
The only advantage would be being able to fix in the wild with a tubeless repair kit. Obviously you can with the right tools on board remove the wheel, tyre, tube and repair it the replace it all roadside, but I am using my Svart for fun. I have joined the AA for roadside breakdown-assistance. In the event of a flat tyre they will come and get me and my bike and return me home from anywhere in the UK. I am unlikely to travel more than 75 miles from home in reality though.

As a footnote I had a puncture in the rear (tubeless) tyre of my Honda Hornet years back. I used the tubeless repair kit and successfully fixed it roadside. I used Co2 cartridges to re-inflate the tyre and limped home. I never trusted the repair and bought a new tyre shortly after.
The motorcycling world has survived with tubes for a long time. Due to the relatively low speed of our little 400, I have no worries keeping mine on tubes.
 
yonsson said:
I ride tubeless on my mountain bike and the weight difference is negligible. The big advantage is you can’t get pinch punctures without tubes. That’s a non issue on a motorcycle though since you never run that low tire pressure.
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Mountain bike tubes weigh nearly the same as the extra rim strip plus sealant. Motorcycle tubes are heavy, a light one is 2.5 lbs. The sealing tape is a couple ounces. It should make a noticeable difference if people are saying they feel the change when going from stock to wave rotors, it is the same or more weight even farther away from the axis of rotation.
 
toast449 said:
Mountain bike tubes weigh nearly the same as the extra rim strip plus sealant. Motorcycle tubes are heavy, a light one is 2.5 lbs. The sealing tape is a couple ounces. It should make a noticeable difference if people are saying they feel the change when going from stock to wave rotors, it is the same or more weight even farther away from the axis of rotation.
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Wow over 1kg for a tube, I did not know that. Might have a re-think on the conversion.
 
I just cut a bunch of shit off of the bike that wasn't needed/ still have oem parts to put back to stock
 

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