International Dealer News IDN 137 June/July 2017 | Page 18

news ROOM
BST celebrates 15 years as
carbon fibre wheel pioneer
Leading carbon fibre wheel
manufacturer Blackstone TEK (BST) of
Johannesburg in South Africa is
celebrating its 15th anniversary this
year.
Founded in 2002 by Gary Turner and
Terry Annecke, the company almost
single-handedly created the volume
production carbon wheels market, and
as such has had quite an influence on
the race and custom motorcycle
industries.
The company has been ISO 9001
certified since 2003, audited by the
German TUV and JWL and DOT E
certified, and BST is indeed the only
OEM certified supplier of carbon fibre
wheels in the world and the biggest
aftermarket supplier.
The winner of multiple international
awards, BST has over 25,000 wheels
in the market worldwide, offers four
different styles of wheels in sizes
ranging from 12” to 23” and offers
over 200 individual fitments for 20
different manufacturers.
BST’s latest success has been with
Ducati’s new 1299 Superleggera, said
to be the first ever factory bike to be
equipped with carbon fibre wheels,
with BST’s design and technology
saving 26% weight at the front and
44% at the rear.
“To lighten the load by 3.1 lbs and
provide a reduction in rolling
resistance, Ducati forsakes aluminium
wheels for BST carbon fibre wheels to
enhance the performance of this
superb superbike,” says Gary Turner.
“A traditional metal wheel
manufacturer uses one wheel per test
– our wheels are engineered to
withstand four tests - cornering
fatigue, radial fatigue, torsional
fatigue and impact testing - all using
the same one wheel,” Gary explained.
BST employ some 50 plus people at
their 4,800 sq m (approx. 51,500 sq ft)
facility and have exported their wheels
“to just about everywhere in the
world, including Kazakhstan…
basically everywhere that has a
motorcycle community.”
Finally, BST says: “Contact us this July
for more information on specials and
promotions for our 15th birthday.”
www.blackstonetek.com
Gary Turner and Terry Annecke started Blackstone Tec in 2002