Greetings and 1st Ousetion.

[averydad]

Hello to all,
My name is Rick and I live outside Philadelphia. I`ve been messing around with old Hondas and BMWs for a long time and just picked up my first Ducati.
It`s a 1967 250 Monza in the "Square style". Many people seem to loath this styling, but I think it`s kind of cool. The bike is some what of a literal barn find. Purchased out of a farm in eastern Ohio.
It runs good and still has all the original paint,decals and body work. It does need a good amount of refurbishing and I`m eager to get it finnished. I`m sure I`ll have dozens of questions as the project moves forward.
My first question is on the rims. I see rims for sale on Ebay from a vendor named Italian-motorbikes. They are Radaelli brand from Italy, size 1.85 x 18. I`ve purchased a muffler from the same seller and recieved good service. I`d like to get some feed back on these rims. Does anyone know about the quality of these parts ?

Thanks in advance for your help.
Rick

[JimF]

I've no experience with the rims or the seller, but I once bought Excel rims by Tagasako. The rims were of extremly high quality, but the Tagasako name was anodized into the rims and I always regretted the way they looked on the Ducati; they looked out-of-place with the Japanese name written in bright red letters and a 'less than period correct' font.

So I think you are on the right path looking at Italian rims, though with only a couple hundred members I am not sure this forum holds anyone experienced with this seller. What's his eBay feedback rating like?

Sometimes these sellers have web-based stores, and the pricing may be lower if you can find their website as they don't have to make up for the eBay commission.

Jim

[Rick]

That Ebay seller does have an online store:
http://www.italian-motorbikes.com/Pagin ... nglese.htm
But, his web prices are in Euros, and with today's currency conversion, it's cheaper to buy them through Ebay than from his store.
I haven't seen his wheels- bought a seat that was nice.
His store lists spokes- they're a little cheaper than Buchanan's prices. Buchanan's spoke nipples are a little larger diameter than most of the stock Italian parts, and usually you'll need to drill out the holes in the rims- not something I enjoy doing.
Rick

[Rick]

I didn't do a very good job of making my point- since steel rims are plated after the spoke holes are drilled, enlarging the holes wipes out the plating through the rim dimple, and sometimes the plating flakes from the drilling, plus, moisture can seep under the plating through the new hole- just not a good thing. So, it;s best to be sure that the rim holes and the spoke nipples are a match when using plated steel rims- aluminum rims aren't such a worry.
Rick

[basketcase]

Hey Rick, I live outside Philly too and am just getting started on old Ducati's. I inherited 2 250's and am trying to get 1 running. Good luck in your quest for rims, and if you need anything looked at or picked up in western Chester County, don't hesitate to ask.
Randy

[ajleone]

Just adding my 2-cents. I have had good dealings with the Italian-motorbikes ebay dealer, and I would not hesitate to but from them again.

However, when it comes to rims, the ones they sell are repro Radelli rims. If you are going the repro route, you would be better off buying repro ally rims for some of the reasons Rick states. Domi-Racer has some nice repro alloy rims for less than the ebay dealer, and you do not have the issues Rick pointed out in his posts. Here is the link to the Domi alloy repros: https://www.domiracer.com/comersus/stor ... uct=125271

I have the same situation with a recently acquired Falcon 50, basically 3 options: (1) re-chrome original rims, (2) try to find NOS or used rims in better shape than mine or (3) repro's. There is a guy on ebay that sells repro alloys 1.35x18 for Falcon's for $40 each if anyone is interested.

Tony

[averydad]

Thanks to all for the advise. I think I will try to run down a set of aluminum rims rather than the chrome.
That should eliminate the chance for problems.
Rick