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Hey gang, i've stripped down my 75 strada rear wheel to rebuild. Its a steel rim and aluminum hub model. Strangely painted black... In the process i've gained new respect for the tire fitters of the world(Wasnt that a Budgie song?). Now i'm wondering a few things...Did the stradas come with painted black hubs and rims? I originally thought the paint was from some previous owner with a spray can. But upon removing that paint and finding multiple coats and primer I believe it was a factory option. Any idea if it was? I'm also wondering what to do with the rims. The paint protected them on the outside. But on the inside of the rim channel where the tire trapped water there is some surface rust. I thought a powder coat would clean them up but i'm a bit worried about the structure. And I love aluminum rims. I was leaning towards some new Morads or maybe just the Taiwan sourced shouldered rims that have served the xs650 owners so well.

Like to hear your thoughts on wheel builds,

1. Was there a black painted rim and hub(drum brake, front is TLS) model strada?
2. Are the stock steel rims worth saving?(Radaelli or Borrani? paint is covering it)
3. Spoke and rim size? (These i'll measure but its nice to have a cross reference)
4. Polished or scotchbrite hubs?

Edit:I'm in the states and this bike came from Ohio.

Hi Toby, I'm sure of one thing-the Morini factory did'nt go overboard with primer anywhere and I've never heard of these rims/hubs being painted either! So that's two or more things then.
How you go from here is really up to you and what you fancy. As long as you don't go the 'bobber' route or the modern version of 'cafe racer' most people here will still speak to you.
If it were my bike it would be either stainless or alloy rims with the hubs vapour blasted and left natural. Rims were both 1.85 I think and get the wheel builder to drill the rims and supply spokes to suit.

tobydmv wrote:1. Was there a black painted rim and hub(drum brake, front is TLS) model strada?

nope

tobydmv wrote:2. Are the stock steel rims worth saving?(Radaelli or Borrani? paint is covering it)

well... depends how they are underneath the paint (probably not good, usually they are pretty rusty)

tobydmv wrote:3. Spoke and rim size? (These i'll measure but its nice to have a cross reference)

spokes I'm not sure, rim 18"- WM2 in the front, 18" - WM3 for the rear (I'll check tonight to make sure)

tobydmv wrote:4. Polished or scotchbrite hubs?

scotch, polished is only for over-restored bikes

When I had my '75 Strada's wheels rebuilt I got the original steel rims rechromed - they were Beretta manufacture (the same firm who made the pistols?), new stainless spokes fitted and the hub aqua-blasted to clean it without losing the cast finish. Black hubs and rims didn't feature on the early bikes.

Lightly (ie with fairly low air pressure) grit blast the hub, backplate, etc. to restore a factory cast look. If you can get the paint off with a chemical stripper and the original hub finish beneath hasn't been messed with, then glass bead blasting might be better. Some sliver alloy wheel paint can then continue to give the factory look whilst offering some protection from corrosion.

If you'd like to keep the original rim, then the first thing would be to chemically strip the paint and see what the main chrome is like. Re-plating is possible but you'd lose the definition in the original markings.
If the rim is OK to re-use, the some Lanoguard will protect the inside of the rim and is compatible with the rubber spoke band.

If you need to replace the rim, but still want the original look, then stainless steel rims are the way to go. Unpolished stainless spokes are available which look more like the original galvanised.

Pics

I'm really digging those reflective tyres, with them I think powder coating the original rims and hubs black might actually be the way to go. What is more original, the actual rims it came with or some replacements from a different manufacturer? Its not original now so go with the flow and upset all the rivet counters, just make sure you don't take off the fenders! Remember you can change the entire stance of a motorbike by just very careful choice of handlebars. One of my favourite ever Morinis that I saw at an MRC AGM years ago was a repainted series 1 Strada with a black tank and side panels with red flashes, lower than standard bars and an RMS 2-1. HRC 875N where are you now?

David

Thought i'd post a follow up with progress. I laced up the rear hub the other night and its really looking good. IDK what it is about polished aluminum rims and fresh spokes. Really seems to get me moving. I need to finish truing it tonight. The wheel is a bit too wide to fit on my bike truing stand so I had to remove the brake plate.

Lovely job, a aluminium rim is a thing of beauty

Those rims look great. I really want to do this to my pwn rims at some stage but that will come later.

Its actually really easy if you do the heads out spokes first. I've never had much luck doing them all at once. If I do heads in first there isnt room to drop in the heads out and pull them through. Its also a tremendous help if your polisher or hub finisher leaves the old spoke indentions in place so you know where the spokes go. Kind of a road map. Lube you rnipples and spoke threads.