Comstar wheels

Comstar wheel

First generation Comstar front wheel fitted to a 1978 Honda Hawk CB400A
Type	Part
Inventor	Honda
Inception	1977
Manufacturer	Honda (DID for rims)

The Comstar wheel, sometimes referred to as Com-stars or stylised as ComStar, was a composite motorcycle wheel that Honda fitted to many of its motorcycles from 1977 to the mid 1980s. Its design allowed it the option of being fitted with tubeless tyres and its use on the Honda CX500 was the first time tubeless tyres had been designed for a production motorcycle.

The Comstar was Honda's replacement for the tension spoked wheel. Whilst spoked wheels offered a degree of flexibility to help absorb road imperfections, they also required periodic maintenance to ensure correct spoke tension and required the fitment of an inner tube. Honda claimed the Comstar design combined the strength of a cast wheel but allowed a predetermined level of radial flex like spoked wheels. Comstar wheels also allowed the fitment of tubeless tyres which, like other alloy wheels, helped to reduce unsprung mass, although not all models fitted with Comstars had tubeless tyres.

Honda debuted Comstars on their FIM European Motorcycle Endurance Championship winning RCB-941 production endurance race bikes for the 1976 season. Honda first fitted Comstars to its road going motorcycles in 1977 on models such as the CB400T Dream, CB750F2 and the later flagship CBX1000. A special lightweight version was also used on HRC's failed oval-piston four stroke GP motorcycle, the NR500, and the later NS500 two-stroke ridden by Freddie Spencer.

Some later models came fitted with what were known as reverse Comstars. These had the spoke sections that looked they were assembled the other way round, hence the term "reversed". This style of Comstar was often given an anodized colour finish such as gold or black with silver detailing.