Development with seven-spoke alloy wheels manufactured by Morris High-performance motorcycles began to use cast alloy wheels (usually aluminum but sometimes magnesium) as early as the
Münch Mammoth, with its single
cast-elektron rear wheel which was shown at the
Intermot motorcycle show at Cologne in late 1966. Elliott Morris began producing seven-spoke cast magnesium racing wheels in 1973. In November 1974 the
Van Veen was exhibited at the
Cologne motorcycle show with front and rear cast wheels and triple
Brembo disc brakes for their 1975 Model Year
rotary-engined OCR1000 machines. Aftermarket cast wheels for Japanese makes having drum rear and front disc brakes were available in UK from late 1974. A patent for a cast alloy motorcycle wheel was filed in 1974 and assigned to
Carroll Shelby's Shelby-Dowd Industries; and in early 1975 Thomas J. Lester of then-named Lester Tire Company had applied for a patent on composite cast motorcycle wheel construction (with a press-fit hub). By mid 1975, Shelby-Dowd aftermarket cast alloy wheels were advertised for sale. In November 1975, Harley-Davidson, Moto Guzzi and Ducati all showed factory models fitted with alloy wheels at the
EICMA show in Milan. By 1976, two more manufacturers were offering aftermarket cast aluminum wheels: Henry Abe of Osaka, Japan (now Daytona Global); and Lester Industries of Ohio (now a division of
ITT). Italian manufacturer
Fantic produce a
step-through moped named 'Roma' with cast wheels as standard specification in 1975. The
Yamaha RD400C sold in 1976 was the first motorcycle by a major manufacturer to be fitted with cast wheels. The cast wheels weighed more than the spoked wheels fitted to its RD350 predecessor. Honda began offering their
Comstar composite wheels in 1977, marking the first time a manufacturer had included tubeless tires on a production motorcycle. At the same time as Honda's Comstar, Dawson Harmsworth firm in
Sheffield, England produced a similar composite wheel from 1977 with generally comparable appearance, materials and construction. Initially intended for
road racing applications, the wheel was specified for some models in the early 1980s
Hesketh low-volume production road motorcycle range. Twenty years after the original business closed, the wheel is again being manufactured by a new business established by a former employee of Dawson Harmsworth.
Advantages The advantages of the cast wheels versus spoked are several, and include better
runout tolerance and the elimination of spoke maintenance; better rigidity and thus better handling; weight reduction due to smaller hub size; and better handling of side loads for motorcycles with sidecar rigs. ==Brakes==