mag wheels

Pardon my surprising ignorance. I'm going to go look at a 440 that has "mag wheels". What exactly does this mean in the context of a 440? I presume this means "non-original", at the very least. Is it something to be sought, avoided, or merely a matter of preference? Does it really mean anything other than "non-spoked, alloy wheel"?

Educate me.

82KZ305Belt wrote: Does it really mean anything other than "non-spoked, alloy wheel"?

No.

It still has spokes, obviously, but not the small diameter, adjustable kind.

Some guys use the terms cast alloy wheels & mag wheels interchangeably.
7-spoke cast alloy wheels were stock on most KZ440s & many other KZ models.

KZ440 w stock cast alloy wheels. not mine.

...

For some idiot reason, my whole life I have thought that mag wheels were fat wheels. Not sure how that misunderstanding came about.

As I recall, the term came about as a lazy way to refer to magnesium wheels, as they were among the earliest, light , cast wheels for race cars. As magnesium , and later, aluminum wheels began appearing on the street, gear heads referred to them all as mags, and that sometimes bleeds over into the motorcycling community, though I have never personally seen any magnesium motorcycle wheels.

TexasKZ wrote: As I recall, the term came about as a lazy way to refer to magnesium wheels, as they were among the earliest, light , cast wheels for race cars.

And race car tires are wide, hence when someone during my impressionable youth probably pointed at one and said "mag" I took it to mean wide rather than alloy. But never being into race cars and not being a gearhead I forgive my stupidity. :blush:

As Texas KZ stated, the term "mag wheel" came about from early spoked lightweight wheels made out of magnesium. Problem was magnesium was a flammable substance that was quite difficult to extinguish. As a result the manufacturers started using aluminum which was a better less flammable substance and somewhat easier to machine.
Rick H.

The wheels below are actually magnesium race wheels of a 900 in the mid 70's made by a small UK company called CMA. The story goes that the company wasn't around very long as the owner was killed when he was repairing a set with oxy and they exploded. Rick is right Magnesium burns at a phenomenal rate.

Nice looking wheels. I have also heard that magnesium wheels are more brittle than aluminum, and can have large chunks break off when encountering something like a pot hole at speed.

TexasKZ wrote: Nice looking wheels. I have also heard that magnesium wheels are more brittle than aluminum, and can have large chunks break off when encountering something like a pot hole at speed.

I've read the same thing. The article I read warned against buying used magnesium wheels since they may have damage that is not obvious to the naked eye. Ed