BST Rapid TEK 17 x 5.5 Rear Wheel - Kawasaki ZX-6R and 636R (05-22)

Performance

Weighing between 40 and 60 percent less than OEM wheels, BST wheels bestow sportbikes with sharper corner-carving abilities, faster acceleration, and quicker braking by weighing less than their production-bike counterparts. Lighter wheels are also easier for suspension systems to control over bumps and irregular surfaces, yielding more traction and unimpeded acceleration. Less rotating mass also equals less rider fatigue.

A lighter rear wheel is easier for the shock to control properly, which leads to superior power application and much higher trap speeds in competition and track days.

Design

Using high-tech processes pioneered in the aerospace industry, BST wheels are manufactured in a single molding operation. This technique produces a wheel that is far superior in strength and much lighter than any aluminum or magnesium wheel, and one that is light and strong enough for racing and street use.

BST wheels are a unique monococque (single unit) design with hollow spokes. The end result is wheels with unsprung weight reduced 40-60 percent compared to stock wheels. This delivers the lowest possible moment of inertia, a critical factor that affects all aspects of motorcycle performance.

Maximizing the molecular and structural properties of carbon fiber, BST has reduced spoke and rim weight without compromising their strength. Mass is therefore concentrated in the hub, reducing rotational inertia. This results in quicker acceleration and braking, allowing faster corner entry and exit speeds.

Manufacturing

BST designs the tooling, molds, wheel and hubs, then manufactures them in its state-of-the-art factory. Precision cutting machines, like those used in the aeronautical industry, ensure that the process is repeatable and meets the highest certification standards. BST uses only the finest “prepreg” carbon fiber, which is embedded in a top-secret resin matrix epoxy. Carbon-fiber layup is done in a dust-free and temperature-controlled “clean room.” The wheels are cured in a superheated steam oven, or autoclave, at 260 degrees and 85 psi. This produces the best material compaction and smoothest surface finish. Every step of this process is logged, the entire history of each wheel is stored and stamped with a unique serial number. To ensure the highest quality manufacturing processes and components, BST’s entire operation is managed under strict, new ISO 9002 standards.

About BST

Established in 1992, BST is based near Johannesburg, South Africa. BST engineers and manufactures the world's finest carbon fiber motorcycle components from wheels and frames to fuel tanks and fenders, to the highest international standards. The standard equipment wheels on Confederate and Norton motorcycles, BST was also chosen to provide wheels and produce the carbon-fiber frame on the radical MotoCyz project. On the world stage, BST wheels have been proven at every level of FIM Grand Prix roadracing competition and have won multiple national championships. BST has sold more than 50,000 carbon fiber wheels around the world.

Worldwide Bearings

All BST wheels come standard with steel bearings from Worldwide Bearings. For optimum performance, we recommend upgrading to WWB ceramic bearings.