[Engine_Roars]

He lived to see another day because he was destined too. Change the scene to a regular highway or a road with heavy vehicles and this was a goner. I strongly feel that there should be no customization allowed when it comes to messing up with structure of a vehicle, or at least there should be some standard like ISI which should be adhered to.

[Skyline_GT]

One of the primary reasons to switch to alloys for RE's is to switch to tubeless tyres.
There's no way one can do that keeping the stock spoked rims.
The rider is lucky enough that he got away with it at low speeds. As a Bullet 350 owner myself watching this video makes me unsure about switching to tubeless tyres now.

[GTO]

Wow, if he was on the highway, dude was a goner. Am glad that he lived to tell the tale.

A good reminder of why we must always choose top quality parts from reputable brands for our cars & bikes. However, and equally, let's not diss the entire "aftermarket" scene. There are many manufacturers offering products that meet or beat OEM standards (e.g. K&N air filters).

To help others, can anyone share good brands for Royal Enfield alloy wheels?

[ku69rd]

RE themselves have been selling Alloys as official accessories. Not sure on the other private players but a lot of these alloys come in from Delhi area. Quality has always been a suspect with these aftermarket alloys.

[boniver]

Originally Posted by Engine_Roars

I strongly feel that there should be no customization allowed when it comes to messing up with structure of a vehicle, or at least there should be some standard like ISI which should be adhered to.

+1 to that! Lack of authorised certification is an issue that plagues the aftermarket scene in this country, and like in the video, it is us, consumers who suffer. I believe the reputation of a big market player should not be the only thing to be taken into account as they themselves may sometimes indulge in cost-cutting techniques. It is high time that a proper certification/standard for aftermarket accessories (like ISI for helmets etc.) is introduced to ensure not only the safety of the consumer, but also others on the road.

[navin_v8]

This guy is really lucky to walk away from what could have been a fatal disaster. The alloy wheels in question is an aftermarket accessory sold by shady and some reputed dealers alike. These so called alloy wheels are available dime a dozen and comes in various shapes and designs. Some even are a blatant rip off of Harley Davidson motorcycles like street rod/iron, etc.

The most hilarious part are the names of these alloy wheels, I have seen them closely and they have names like PARADO, PAJARO, etc. Definitely sounds like run of the mill Delhi establishments trying to attract gullible customers by wrongly using legendary names like Prado and Pajero. Anyone having an iota of knowledge about safety precaution will never touch these shady alloy wheels even with a barge pole. In my numerous years of riding I have never seen OEM spoke wheels shattering. All my RE's are on their original factory fitted spoke wheels as I was never confident of these shady alloy wheels option.

I haven't seen them shady alloy wheels displayed in RE official showrooms till date so don't know how they find their way in.

Also as someone mentioned RE does have an OEM option for alloy wheels offered on the Thunderbird X models. For those wanting to fit their RE's with alloy wheels can look at this option, although sizing might be an issue for RE's not running on Thunderbird X Spec wheels.

[NiInJa]

One of the reasons why I and my brother gave up the idea of installing aftermarket alloy wheels on our car. Wheels are the most critical part of any vehicle so even if it costs a bomb, one should go for OEM alloys or stick to the ones that came with the car as far as possible.

Another problem is in India, we get a lot of counterfeit branded wheels in the name of original so its really difficult to trust any of them.

[captain.torque]

I don't know about other parts of the country but here in Delhi, authorised Royal Enfield dealers literally force you to buy these generic alloy wheels from them in return for a shorter waiting period.

In the last one year, three of my friends purchased the Classic 350 and all of them succumbed to the pressure tactics of the dealers.

Usually they offer an accessories package which includes alloy wheels, swept up exhaust and leg guard apart from petty items like number plate frame and horns etc.

After this video surfaced, I cautioned all of them and even advocated that they replace the alloys with wire spokes wheels.

Surprisingly, the alloy wheels that all of them had gotten from the dealership was from a brand called 'PARADO'.

A quick Google search threw up nothing substantial and I am assuming that either the alloys are imported from China and re-branded as 'Parado' or probably manufactured in some nondescript factory in some corner of National Capital Region (NCR).

[superbad]

Chap belongs to the "all tashan, no caution" breed. Wanted to be a yanko but spend as little as possible, hence got cheap alloys, cheap gloves & maybe couldn't find cheap riding shoes. Hoped the fall knocked some sense into him (& maybe into the alloy wheel dealer, if he was contacted).

[balderash_12]

Absolutely. That’s why I always insist on genuine parts for the Forester only. Yes they are on the higher side but it is a small premium to pay for your safety. Quality, not quantity.

[TaurusAl]

Only if this was some developed country, the guy who manufactured this and the guy who sold it, both would have been behind bars or else would be sued for millions.

Such is the state of affairs in our country. The over the top ignorance and looking for cheap and discounted parts brings one closer to playing with his own life, like this chap.

[azm@bpl]

Originally Posted by GTO

To help others, can anyone share good brands for Royal Enfield alloy wheels?

I enquired about the OEM alloys at RE dealership, they cost 15000; both front and rear (19" & 18").
Aftermarket cheap alloys are priced roughly around 10000/-
A premium of 5000 should not come between safety and style.

[Nitish.arnold]

It has been discussed many a time in our riding groups, where I have been a stern advocate for spokes rather than fancy alloys,

The spoke wheels are more sturdy and therefore used in all extreme sports bikes including dirt bikes. On the other hand, the Alloy wheels are invented for shedding the extra weight from the bike, which is more important for sportbikes. This is the reason you will find almost all superbikes with alloy wheels only.

Coming to the reliability of both types of wheels, spoke wheels are definitely more reliable and sturdy than alloy wheels. But that doesn't mean the alloy wheels are weak or inferior, actually, it depends upon the riding habits and the riding conditions.
If your daily commute is on regular turf and you are not into stunting or off-roading then the alloy wheels are just perfect and won't give you any trouble.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by GTO

To help others, can anyone share good brands for Royal Enfield alloy wheels?

Originally Posted by azm@bpl

I enquired about the OEM alloys at RE dealership, they cost 15000; both front and rear (19" & 18").

Don't know who supplies the OEM RE Alloys, but as a FYI;

Alloys from Enkei and Endurance that come OEM on Hero's(Enkei) and Bajaj's(Endurance) cost about 5k per alloy or less depending on brake type and design.

The ones that come on the Karizma are 18 inchers on both ends.

[ron_9191]

I really dont know why someone would want to put an alloy rim on a motorcycle that represents an era when they were not even invented. An alloy rim on a classic 350/500 looks totally out of place. I have never seen that happen on a Royal Enfield ever!

Atleast now he knows spoke rims are better and safer. Feel sorry for the guy who is in absolute pain, pity the fool who sold unreliable aftermarket parts to him.