Top Five Reasons to Change Rims and Tires

1. faster accelleration (and braking) due to less over all weight
2. better accelleration and braking due to less rotational inertia (weight increases four times in relation to speed of rotation)
3. easier to flick bike side to side due to less gyroscopic force (** see discussion below)
4. better handling in wide sweepers due to less frame flexing ( reduced gyroscopic force lowers the amount of torsional stiffness required to keep front and rear wheels aligned in same plane)
5. better ride, directional control and traction due to improved unsprung to sprung weight ratio

Steering and gyroscopic effect

**how a bike steers by countersteering and the effect of gyroscopic precession (tilting or turning a spinning wheel automatically causes the wheel to twist 90 degrees to the original movement) has been a long and heated topic of discussion amoung many motorcyclist enthusiasts.

Some authorities outline that gyroscopic precession is the primary force involving in steering of a motorcycle.

Others claim that both gyroscopic forces and steering away from the center of balance (turning left causes the bike to flop right) create the effect.

IMHO, gyroscopic forces do play a fairly large role in how a motorcycle behaves, (hands free anyone?) but very light weight wheels will enable a bike to move very quickly from side to side since the overall gyroscopic force or effect on the cycle is less. Yet this lighter weight does not obtrusively reduce the countersteering (and or precessional) effect.