Billet Motorcycle Wheels

Tyler Powers
March 6, 2007

Billet motorcycle wheels let you finish that custom look for your ride. No longer do you customize your frame, tank, saddle � well, everything � and then have to stick those stock wheels back on your bike. The billet wheels for your motorcycle as an investment, but with the variety of looks and styles available, these are the final frontier in full customization to let you design the custom chopper of your dreams.

Most billet motorcycle wheels will bolt onto your bike without having to make any annoying modifications to the frame or fender. However, you should consider how much you are changing from the wheels you had in the past. For example, if you had a 16-inch wheel, and you want to go with a 21-inch billet wheel set, you can expect to have adjustments to make.

When you shop for billet motorcycle wheels, you'll want to determine if the models you find attractive require special brake set-ups or special pulleys. The motorcycle wheel manufacturer or sales location, whether online or local, can help you with this aspect of the selection.

You'll find billet motorcycle wheels available for every make and model of motorcycle and you can mount a wide range of tires on them. Avon's popular Venom X tires and their AM-23 are popular choices for mounting on billet wheels.

Created from blocks of aluminum, billet motorcycle wheels are available in a variety of finishes. You'll find them brushed, chromed, powder-coated and finished in colors. Billet wheels are one of the fastest growing markets in the motorcycle parts arena.

You can expect to pay more for your rear billet motorcycle wheel than for the matching front wheel. Billet wheels for your motorcycle are not cheap but there are some that are not as expensive. Shop around first to determine the style you like the most and then shop extensively to find the best deal on that style. You should plan to spend at least $1,500 for polished wheels and $2,000 or more for chromed. Customized colors require additional cost.

It doesn't matter if you motorcycle is chain-driven, belt-driven or a shaft-drive system. There are billet motorcycle wheels available that will work for you. Because each shaft-drive system is different, manufacturers were a bit slow about developing billet wheels for all of the drives because of the research and development cost. But Jardine proved it can be accomplished. With their line of rims surrounding bolt-in hubs for each cruiser model, their competition has been forced to follow.

Performance Machine was probably the most popular manufacturer of billet motorcycle wheels for a long time. Performance Machine, with its strong commitment to providing aftermarket wheels, along with the rotors and pulleys to match, they provide selections for the belt-drive motorcycles, mainly focusing on the Harley-Davidson aftermarket crowd.

Back in the early 1990s, RC Components came on-board with a single set of billet motorcycle wheels. Today, this company provides a wide range of selections from which you can choose.

If you want a set of four-spoke billet motorcycle wheels, you can turn to Diamond Distributing for their Cutter design. They were first on the market with the four-spoker. Of course, other manufacturers have now come onboard with this design because of its popularity.

There are many other manufacturers you'll find that produce billet motorcycle wheels. The designs cover everything from simple to really radical. So, whatever you want in billet motorcycle wheels, you'll find it out there. Go ahead and enter that final frontier of customization and get the wheels that add the finishing touch.

Tyler Powers is a contributing author and webmaster for Custom Choppers Guide. You can get an excellent free mini course on motorcycle building mistakes called, 'Costly Mistakes Custom Motorcycle Builders Make And How To Avoid Them!'