Cast magnesium wheels

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22 Nov 2011 03:52 #489653 by mtbspeedfreak
Cast magnesium wheels was created by mtbspeedfreak
Were 18" police wheels really cast magnesium?

According to Wikipedia, they were: The Kz1000P (police) sits on 18 inch wheels with Dunlop run-flat tires. The front tire is size MN90-18, and the back tire is size MR90-18. They came in either a cast magnesium or chrome-plated wire spoke rims. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kz1000

2000 ZRX 1100
1976 KZ 900- Daily Driver
1980 LTD 550- Dalton Highway survivor!

If it has tits or tires, it'll give you problems!

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22 Nov 2011 06:38 #489666 by steell
Replied by steell on topic Cast magnesium wheels
Because magnesium is brittle and prone to cracking, I am not aware of any motorcycle manufacturer using magnesium wheels on anything but pure race bikes.

I think wikipedia is wrong on this one.

KD9JUR

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22 Nov 2011 07:47 #489667 by Mcdroid
Replied by Mcdroid on topic Cast magnesium wheels
www.kzrider.com/forum/advsearch?q=magnesium+wheels

See the discussions above. The general production wheels may have been called 'mags' but they aren't composed of magnesium or even magnesium alloy...it is aluminum alloy.

Michael
Victoria, Texas

1982 GPz750
1977 KZ1000A
1978 KZ1000A
1982 GPz1100
1975 Z2A

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22 Nov 2011 15:01 #489711 by mtbspeedfreak
Replied by mtbspeedfreak on topic Cast magnesium wheels
Yep, they do make true magnesium wheels, it struck me as a little odd for cop bikes to have true magnesium wheels because they take more of a beating than race bikes.

2000 ZRX 1100
1976 KZ 900- Daily Driver
1980 LTD 550- Dalton Highway survivor!

If it has tits or tires, it'll give you problems!

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22 Nov 2011 15:11 #489713 by Mcdroid
Replied by Mcdroid on topic Cast magnesium wheels

Mcdroid wrote: www.kzrider.com/forum/advsearch?q=magnesium+wheels

See the discussions above. The general production wheels may have been called 'mags' but they aren't composed of magnesium or even magnesium alloy...it is aluminum alloy.


Michael
Victoria, Texas

1982 GPz750
1977 KZ1000A
1978 KZ1000A
1982 GPz1100
1975 Z2A

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22 Nov 2011 15:18 #489714 by mtbspeedfreak
Replied by mtbspeedfreak on topic Cast magnesium wheels
The general production wheels were called "mags" because they looked like true magnesium race wheels.

2000 ZRX 1100
1976 KZ 900- Daily Driver
1980 LTD 550- Dalton Highway survivor!

If it has tits or tires, it'll give you problems!

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22 Nov 2011 18:08 - 22 Nov 2011 18:58 #489727 by steell
Replied by steell on topic Cast magnesium wheels

mtbspeedfreak wrote: Yep, they do make true magnesium wheels, it struck me as a little odd for cop bikes to have true magnesium wheels because they take more of a beating than race bikes.


Are you saying they made magnesium wheels for street use?


Just to clarify, both Mcdroid and I know that the stock aluminum wheels are called mags because they look like the race mag wheels, that's been going on for at least 50 years.

And we both know that magnesium wheels were used on race bikes (aren't they using some kind of composite now?), and that they are a real bad idea on the street. A member here had them on his street bike and broke the front one (Kraz1 maybe?).


I remember when I was a kid someone saying that the 63 Corvette had optional real magnesium wheels, and there was such a problem with breakage the Feds banned them from street use. Don't know if any of that is actually true though.

After an hour or so of searching I still don't know much more than when I started. Found a lot of posts claiming there are no DOT approved magnesium wheels, and a bunch of ads claiming a company named OZ makes and sells the only DOT approved magnesium wheel for motorcycles.

I give up, I'm just going to stay confused :silly:

KD9JUR
Last edit: 22 Nov 2011 18:58 by steell.

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23 Nov 2011 01:55 #489793 by mtbspeedfreak
Replied by mtbspeedfreak on topic Cast magnesium wheels
Sorry for the confusion guys. :lol: I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something, if cop bikes had true magnesium wheels, I would sell my Lester's for them!

Just restating the root of the misconception of "mag" wheels, I don't believe it was said before in this thread.

You are correct, OZ Racing (a strong partner of Sanctuary I just found out) makes true magnesium wheels. Also, Marchesini makes true magnesium wheels as well. Those are the only two manufacturers that I'm aware of. They are very brittle, but hey, if they're making carbon fiber wheels... Ever see one of those magnesium fire starters? Just imagine one of those wheels failing then bursting into 4000 degree flames!!!

2000 ZRX 1100
1976 KZ 900- Daily Driver
1980 LTD 550- Dalton Highway survivor!

If it has tits or tires, it'll give you problems!

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26 Nov 2011 03:28 #490176 by Russ
Replied by Russ on topic Cast magnesium wheels
Dymag Classic CH3 as used by Eddie Lawson on his KZ1000J...

www.dymag.com/?q=products

And they claim DOT approval...

www.dymag.com/?q=technology

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26 Nov 2011 03:30 #490177 by trianglelaguna
Replied by trianglelaguna on topic Cast magnesium wheels
no

1976 KZ900
2003 ZX12R
2007 FZ1000
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29 Nov 2011 22:05 #490735 by Injected
Replied by Injected on topic Cast magnesium wheels
I worked at one of the worlds largest magnesium die casters for 9 years...
Mag is not brittle and does not start on fire readily... Thin sections when exposed to flame will catch on fire, but items such as wheel rims or other heavy wall items (greater than 2mm wall stock) can have a welders torch on them for a long time before they catch. Mag dust however is very dangerous...
The biggest problem with mag is corrosion... it corrodes way faster than aluminum when left in a bare state... it is usually anodized or painted after casting.
The Kawasaki stuff from years ago was all aluminum - cast mag has all the good properties of aluminum but is lighter in weight, that's why they use it for race rims.

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