Honda Spree and Elite 50 Forums

I haven't started on my latest project as a whole but I thought it would be cool to share the overhaul of my ZX Dio alloys and the story of getting them to NZ.

These alloys seem rare in the USA but they are incredibly rare in NZ. Occasionally they will come up for sale but they're attached to scooters. It becomes to expensive to buy an entire scooter in another city just for the wheels!

I was looking around Facebook and found a rather disturbing picture of heaps of ZX alloys in the Philippines. I took the gamble and messaged the seller. One western union USD money transfer later and I had 2 pairs being shipped to New Zealand. Hassle free and they arrived as described. I asked for no tyres fitted. He also sent the best ones he had (or so he said). I think I paid $300USD for 2 pairs shipped to NZ.

On the whole they where pretty good. You could bolt them up and go but there was some surface corrosion and knicks and bumps from being aged alloy wheels. I decided a full overhaul was required! My mate pulled the bearings out for me. I then media blasted them over the week on night shift. If you can I highly recommend media blasting. It removed the white powdery surface corrosion and paint and left a really nicely keyed surface for the new paint. I then had them painted in an industrial 2pac orange. I love them. They are so bright in the sun.

After they had cured and hardened for a while I pressed in new bearings. It took half a day of research to find the bearing part numbers and trapes around the various suppliers to get new sealed bearings. I put new dust seals in to. Did you know that one of the bearings is different between the alloys and the steel disk braked wheels.

Some pictures for your enjoyment. I have also added the link to Mark in the Philippines where I got the wheels. Hopefully he can help you out if you need them but they do come at a cost. I bought two pairs to make the shipping worth it.

It is also worth mentioning that in the past 12months there have been NEW 'dio style' alloys pop up on aliexpress for a very reasonable price. I don't know if you guys use or can use aliexpress. I'm not sure I would trust them at the price. There's something very reassuring about riding around on Hondas finest quality wheels. I would rather spend the money on the originals or what ever Scooter Swap supplies as I'm sure they will last.

I got my alloys from here:

https://www.facebook.com/Minibike-Big-b ... intro_card

These look to be alloy wheels for front drum braked bikes?:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000535 ... b201603_53

and a copy of the honda dio zx disk brake wheels:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3300509 ... b201603_53


My wheels:

.

Media blasted and painted. Awaiting bearings pressed in.

As found on the internet.

its interesting the drum front wheels in your link are for 95mm shoes. I have (2) kitaco 6 spoke front drum wheels in my collection, and they have 110mm drums.
I wonder how well the 95mm drums do at stopping? my 110 drums are almost as good at stopping as the zx disk front I have. the disk does cool off faster resulting in less brake fade while riding hard on twisty roads. but its very minimal. and I installed a set of 110mm grooved shoes on my blue aero's 5 spoke alloys and it reduced brake fade considerably, almost eliminating it. I might feel some after a hard and fast 3-5 mile down hill run. but bits minimal.
the price of those 10 spokes makes me tempted to buy a set. the ad says front and back and front and rear wheels are pictured, so im thinking that's a set. correct? that's less than what I paid for each of the 6 spoke front drums I have...
I am also curious of their quality. has any one on here purchased a set? inquiring minds want to know.

Where did you find the 110mm hubs to fit the wheels you mentioned? Inquiring minds....

I haven't bought them so won't comment on the quality or fitment. I posted the link out of interest. Most of the stuff is usually very good from Aliexpress but I don't buy things like cylinder kits etc. I generally look for the branded type of stuff that shops sell.

I think that you are buying the wheels as a front and back pair at that price. You're right it is a good price for both. As for the drum brake size. I wouldn't have a clue. What is the size of a standard Honda drum brake? I haven't got a wheel handy to check.

bonesv wrote: ↑Fri Dec 27, 2019 6:10 pm Where did you find the 110mm hubs to fit the wheels you mentioned? Inquiring minds....

It'll cost ya.... lol.
kidding
well, none of us 2 strokers would know that elite 80's, 125's, and 150's all had 110mm front brakes... did mr honda hate the faster 2 strokes so much that he didn't care id they stopped? *!
ive personally used a 1989 & 2002 elite 80 backing plates and an 1986-1988 (cant remember exactly) elite 150 backing plate. and they all worked.

another fun fact, 4 stroke elites that have 4 bolt, bolt on hubs have a bolt pattern of 141x4 pcd and 110mm front brakes. this is of importance to anyone with alloy wheels for dio, ruckus, and others that need a matching bolt patterned front hub to go with their rear 4 bolt rear hub. I have personally verified this as well..
hope this helps others in their quest of scooter modding!!!

NZHonda wrote: ↑Fri Dec 27, 2019 6:19 pm I haven't bought them so won't comment on the quality or fitment. I posted the link out of interest. Most of the stuff is usually very good from Aliexpress but I don't buy things like cylinder kits etc. I generally look for the branded type of stuff that shops sell.

I think that you are buying the wheels as a front and back pair at that price. You're right it is a good price for both. As for the drum brake size. I wouldn't have a clue. What is the size of a standard Honda drum brake? I haven't got a wheel handy to check.

sadly as far as I know, until 93 for sure maybe until 98ish? pretty much all 2 stroke Honda's were 80mm drum front brakes.
I say pretty much because im not 100% sure on the 93-98 af16 dio's. I cant remember what my 93 was. hopefully some one else can confirm this?

I went out to my shed today and dug out an old Honda Dio AF27 front drum brake steel wheel. The internal measurement says 95.5mm It looks like the Aliexpress wheels will fit.

Who is going to be first to take the gamble and report back!?