The stock wheels are very strong, and I'd say perfect for the bike (I did 23,000 miles on mine in the US, and they stayed as true as a true thing)...

However, if you want to have a wider choice of rear tyres, lacing up an 18 rear rim might be a good idea.

Personally I'd not bother just changing the rims (for all the reason Regie points out) - the cost, unless you can do it yourself, really outweighs any discernible benefit...

Of course if you wanted to upgrade the forks to a WP front end, I so happen to have a very tasty set of [nearly new] wheels for sale - my spares from the rally bike - 18" x 2.50 rear Talon cush-drive and a 21" x 1.6 front - both with Excel rims and Breaking Wave discs. �650 the pair with discs and sprocket.

Of course shipping to Cape Town might cost more than the wheels themselves... but it's an option...

J xx

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