As soon as it was announced, the industry went into an uproar, and even developed into a bit of a festival. The legendary "Seven Star Cast Wheel" was announced to be reissued to commemorate Daytona's 50th anniversary.
The only thing is that it's only compatible with the Kawasaki Z1 and Z2. If you are not interested in Z, you may wonder what I am talking about.
However, this wheel is a historical wheel that condenses the history of customization in Japan.
It may be an exaggeration to say that this wheel is the reason why the Japanese motorcycle industry is what it is today, but there is no doubt that it is a historical wheel.
The wheels will be reprinted, but the order period is only one week! I'd like to explain a little bit about these wheels!
Only a glimpse as it hasn't gone into production yet.
This is the only image that is currently officially available. Not a single reprint wheel has been produced yet, so there are no actual wheels!
So the crusty looking wheels you can see are probably the "real thing" from that time, and there must be very few of them left, so they must be very valuable. The front and rear sets may not be available, and there may be nothing under the cloth on the left.
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50th Anniversary
What's the 50th anniversary?
It's the 50th anniversary of Daytona, a motorcycle parts manufacturer that 100% of riders should have been familiar with.
Fifty years ago was the time of Japan's rapid economic growth, when the country's motorization exploded due to the rapidly developing road network. It also coincided with the emergence of ultra-high performance motorcycles that surpassed the conventional wisdom (CB750 Fore, 750RS, etc.) and the opening of the Tomei Expressway. It was during this time that the super-established after-parts brand, the well-known Daytona, was born.
This is a picture of an advertisement at that time
According to Daytona, it's part of a 1975 ad. Since the wheels were released only four years after the launch of the manufacturer, it can be seen that the company was very ambitious and active from the time of its birth.
In those days, there was no such concept as "customization", and changing any part was considered "modification". Furthermore, "modification = is a band thing", and even the slightest modification was subject to a crackdown. The separate handlebars of the Katana were not approved, and even such a small screen that could not be called a screen was not allowed. In those days, it was a terrible thing to release an external casting wheel.
Casting wheels are common now, but at that time, there were no cast wheels on the market (all spoke wheels!). It is hard to imagine how difficult it was to release cast wheels before the vehicle manufacturers.
After a lot of hard work (and some recklessness), this wheel was launched, and as a result, it won the honor of being the first casting wheel in Japan. We can call it a great accomplishment.
This is the reason why I wrote that this wheel is a historical wheel.
What's Henry Abe, anyway?
"Henry Abe" was written in the best position of the advertisement at that time. You're wondering what it is, aren't you? Apparently, it's a person's name.
In fact, this is the old company name (brand name) of Daytona.
The "Abe" part is the name of the representative.
The other one, Henry, is ....... Actually, I think I've heard of Henry before. I think I've heard of Henry before, but I'm sorry! I lost track! I've heard of it.
However, since it is clear that Daytona had its sights set on overseas expansion from the beginning, I suspect that the company took on a common name that was easy to read and familiar to foreigners, and used that name as the company name (brand name).
I can only say that I am impressed that they had thought of such a thing 50 years ago.
Were the wheels made of magnesium back then?
It boldly says "MAG" on it.
The wheels we're reprinting are aluminum, so the ones from back then are magnesium! This is probably not the case.
This reflects the generous background of the time, and was probably an exaggerated advertisement for what was technically an aluminum wheel containing magnesium.
At the time, cases like this were common. Honda's Magtek wheels are actually aluminum wheels containing magnesium, and I think it's (probably) correct to think of them as a similar naming method for expressing lightness.
If the wheels were really made of magnesium, they would have weathered over the past 50 years, but the fact that they still exist means that they were not made of magnesium.
Even so, it must have been exceptionally light for a time when only spoke wheels were available.
In those days, casts were made using sand molds, so I'm sure they were created by hand, one at a time, like this.
Extra info!
No. 1
At that time, the casting method was "sand mold" casting, but this time the reprint is "metal mold" casting. However, they have been working very hard to reproduce the unique surface of the sand mold (called the casting surface). The production is handled by the world-famous Enkei (if you are interested in 4-wheeled vehicles, you must know them), so I'm sure the finish is excellent.
No. 2
There is no difference in size from the wheels of the time. They don't have any arrangements like this if they were to be used today, so they really "get it"! That's what's so important about these parts!
No. 3
This reprinted wheel is a tubeless version, but was it tubular or tubeless back then? You must be wondering, right? There is no accurate information on this, so they can't say for sure. Looking at the shape of the valve mounting holes, it seems to be tube-type, but now, ......
Limited Production! The order period is very limited!
The original plan was to produce a limited number of 150 sets, but the response was so great that we had to make a sudden change to a limited-time order production system.
However, it is true that the order period is very short, and we only have until June 18, 2021 to worry about it.
Webike will be accepting orders until 10:00 am on the 18th. This is your first and last chance to get your hands on one, as Daytona has clearly stated that they will not be re-producing after the order period.
If you don't buy it after all your troubles, you might regret it, you know?
If you're a Z owner, or if you're thinking of buying a Z in the future, you should buy one!
Click on the banner below to purchase!
See Accessories of DAYTONA
See KAWASAKI Moto Index Page
See Accessories for KAWASAKI Z1 (900 Super Four)
See Accessories for KAWASAKI Z2 (750RS, Z750 Four)
