I did some research on motorcycle crash safety, and found that there is practically no such thing. Do a youtube search for bike crash test, and you'll see what i mean. Basically, everybody has given up on it, because there's just no way to contain the rider above 30 mph. All the safety measures are geared towards fall-safety, such as crash helmets, shin guards, armoured suits etc. The only bike with a tank airbag is the Honda Goldwing, and that's almost a car, it's so heavy.

I'm sorry bro, but there is no such thing as a crumple zone on any bike. The wheels broke because they couldn't withstand the impact. Yamaha alloys are the worst in the market. Alloy spokes are thicker because they need to be. From an engineering perspective, Yamaha design is particularly bad. It has five spokes, not six and the spokes are the thinnest. Maybe those would be adequate for good roads, but road conditions have to be taken into account in design.

If you doubt my analysis, just take a look at any MotoGP bike's wheels. Here's a link to a high-res picture of the Honda RC212V. The alloys they use have six spokes, thick ones. One would think that a race bike would want to go light and thin, but there you have it. You just can't afford to compromise on that which connects the bike to Mother Earth, and it's frankly unforgivable that Yamaha would do such a thing.

Binoy, you are one hell of a lucky dude to have walked away from a crash like that. And I don't think that your bike had anything to do with it. What a bike can do is to handle and brake well enough to help you avoid a crash. But once the crash has occured, the bike has little role IMHO. Unless of course, you're riding a Bullet. In that case, you're likely to crush anything this side of a truck. You're only in trouble if it falls on you!

@ abhijeet080808: I was referring to the Pulsar 200 front fork debacle, where the forks of a number of bikes broke while doing stunts. It was only on the first batch, and they were replaced free, I think.

@ jd666 : I think that Indian manufacturers might pick wheels that bend rather than break, because there's too big a chance that you might hit a pothole unexpectedly.

As for the weight factor, there is simply no way that a mass produced, high volume alloy wheel can match a spoke/wire wheel in lightness, with similar strength. Car alloys are comparatively lighter, because the high gauge steel used in standard wheels is so much heavier, and not necessarily because of better metallurgy. And most bikes in India use alloys made by Enkei, a reputed International brand. Perhaps magnesium-aluminium alloys maybe lighter, but they are beyond reach for most of us.

Wire wheels are better at absorbing impact because the wires can flex. But I find that the steel disc's lip bends a lot easier than an alloy's. I've had to replace the wheel on my old KB more than once after bending it on potholes or walls . But it has never occurred on my Pulsar.

Hey i was planning to go for the FZ16.All this alloy talk is giving me second thoughts.Alloys on my unicorn are from ENKEI as mentioned above.May i ask which company makes alloys for yamaha?

I admit I have not read through all the posts on this thread.

Good that you've escaped relatively unscathed, Binoy.

The front alloy wheel has all of its 'spokes' broken and seems to have retained its shape for the most part, which is sort of nice. Almost as if they were so called crumple zones. The plastics look like they're bent, not broken. Overall, seems like solid Yamaha quality is shining right through.

i did ask this question on the FZ ownership thread and im asking once more

why don't we all YAMAHAians take initiative a write to or speak to or whatever to YAMAHA India?i mean this is really bad,they should replace or at least improve the quality from the next batch!

@vivekGK - good post, but i am still not convinced. ill get back to you on this one.

As regards to number of spokes etc, all that is part of the design, the HH has 5 spokes, the pulsar has 6. But its the cross sectional design of the spoke and metallurgy that gives it the strength.

That was one point I forgot to mention. Thanks for reminding me. Every other manufacturer uses wheels with V section or C section spokes on their wheels.

Yamaha wheels have an angled narrow tapered rectangular section (Libero) or oval section (FZ, R15). As for the metallurgy, I don't think that there's that much difference, considering all of them come from the same manufacturer.

Actually, I am not sure who Yamaha sources their wheels from. Bajaj, HH and Honda use Enkei.

Got some pics from orkut showing the rim bents in FZ.Maybe you guys have seen this,but i will post here anyway

@Vivek... ya you are correct yamaha alloys are really poor quality...


@Ranjith i thought this when the accident happened... ya one should take the initiative to speak to Yamaha... or else can we???

im ready,but i have not experienced this issue yet,so i dont have a voice!
ive made it a pt. to make a scene at the SVC if my rims ever get bent!!
there are many xbhpians who have faced this prob,you should all make and issue abt this.

btw has anyone asked for a free replacement?

Today i went to the SVC for clean and lube my chain and i said to the person about the bad quality of alloys... he is really nice guy whom i really talk with, he knows its really bad quality, but as an employee he cannot fully agree with it, he said the alloys get bent anly while riding without adequate air in the tyre... i said it's not like that... etc... anyways we need to report it to yamaha...

^^^ tubeless tyre side walls are strong and they don't show up the loss of air pressure so easily. Add to this, the softer compound tubeless tyres on the R15 & the FZ16 have many tiny pores that allow air leakage more than our regular tubed tyres. But, for ages we are used to checking tyre pressure by seeing how much the side wall is bent upon loading the bike. Add to this they are tubed tyres and air pressure generally lasts longer in them.

When we look for benefits from newer technology that can be life saving at times, we have to understand some basic maintenance methods also. Everyday when I get onto the road I see so many people running under inflated and some very under inflated tyres. If they are tubeless tyres it is difficult to identify that. Under inflated tyres pass on more impact to the alloy and causing them to bend or crack at times. They alloys on the R15 & the FZ are technically good but our lack of information or maintenance makes them practically bad.

that's what exactly happened to me,i did speak abt the inferior quality of the alloys and handle bars to the spares guys at the SVC,a good guy,and his response was the same,he accepted they are many cases on bend rims and bar but he tries to justify it with some reason,that's the reason i said,since i haven't faced this issue its hard for me to argue abt it,but i guess we xbhpians should write to YAMAHA.

Folks,the alloys would get bent only on hard impact right?Or does it go kaput while riding on our roads at normal speeds?I was thinking about buying the FZ and this alloy thing is giving me a few chills

well ive gone over pot holes in good speeds but haven't had this issue...but basically YAMAHA's rims a weaker than the rest.