Hey guys...name is Sal. I have actually been on here for a while and I have been more of a reader more than anything. Just recently I came across something that has me bothered. I seem to not be able to find a straight answer. Are all OEM and aftermarket sportbike wheels forged? I know some are aluminum and some are magnesium. If the OEM wheels are not forged are they cast aluminum? I also had a friend argue that high quality cast aluminum wheels are lighter than forged aluminum wheels. Is that true? Thanks, Sal
Forged are stronger so you can use less material making them lighter. Thats my guess but I don't make wheels.
Stock wheels are cast aluminum and the aftermarket wheels I've worked with were also cast (magnesium). Mitchell's were/are milled from billet but one hardly sees them outside of drag/showbikes.
Okay if OEM wheel are cast aluminum then that means that they are more likely to break then bend (thats just the property of a cast wheel). Well I have seen bent and broken OEM wheels and thats why it leaves me confused as to which it is. I know forged wheels will break, they aren't indestructible. -Sal
Cast OEM wheels bend fine thank you, just look in the trash bin behind any shop that does collision repairs! Like any other metal they bend so far as the elastic limit of the metal allows and THEN they crack when the plastic limit is exceded. There are shops that specialize in straightening bent wheels, both cast and billet/milled.
