Cast magnesium wheels

  • mtbspeedfreak
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Cast magnesium wheels

22 Nov 2011 03:52
#489653
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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  • steell
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Re: Cast magnesium wheels

22 Nov 2011 06:38
#489666
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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Re: Cast magnesium wheels

22 Nov 2011 07:47
#489667
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
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1975 Z2A

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Re: Cast magnesium wheels

22 Nov 2011 15:01
#489711
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
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1980 LTD 550- Dalton Highway survivor!

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Re: Cast magnesium wheels

22 Nov 2011 15:11
#489713
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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  • mtbspeedfreak
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Re: Cast magnesium wheels

22 Nov 2011 15:18
#489714
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!

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Re: Cast magnesium wheels

22 Nov 2011 18:08 - 22 Nov 2011 18:58
#489727
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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Re: Cast magnesium wheels

23 Nov 2011 01:55
#489793
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!

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Re: Cast magnesium wheels

26 Nov 2011 03:28
#490176
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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Re: Cast magnesium wheels

26 Nov 2011 03:30
#490177
no
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Re: Cast magnesium wheels

29 Nov 2011 22:05
#490735
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.
1978 KZ650B2 w 1197cc Z1 engine
1977 KZ650B1 w 750cc Spectre engine
1979 KZ650C3 w 831cc Hot Rod engine
1978 KZ650C2 w 762cc DFI project
1977 KZ650C1 stock restoration project
1978 KZ650B2 modified project
1978 KZ650B2 Injected Drag 831cc
1980 Z1 Custom Frame Drag 1327cc
1981 Z50R Honda tow bike

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