Wheel Covers & Ideas

[JRay77]

I've decided to make my own mag covers. I think mag wheels are freaking ugly. I hate them with a passion. Right up there with the devil and my ex-wife. Anyway, here's what I did....
I took two 16" pizza pans. $8.00 Measure and find center in two different angles. Center punch. It's a good idea to use a compass now to mark where you want the fastners to be. Let the compass ride in the punch hole. I went out an inch on each side making a 8" diameter. Now there's 360 degrees in a circle. I want 7 fastners. (My wheel has seven slices of pie) 360 divided by 7 is 51 degrees rounded down. So every 51 degrees in this 8" diameter center punch. I used a protractor from Wal Mart.
Bought a 6" hole saw and arbor. This was the expensive part. About $50.00 for the set-up but now I can make these for the other uglies I have. Notice I used small pieces osb to hole er down. Also you can drill small holes where the fastners will be and just run screws thru to hold it down. GO SLOW while drilling and be careful not to tighten down the screws to tight. This shit (pizza pans) bends/dents easy. Don't John Wayne this. Use some finesse. You can also go this route. Drill 6" center out and take the sprocket off and the rotor. I marked where the mag posts are and went out an inch. More eyeballing this way. I kept everything inside the rotor diameter to keep any flaws hidden, I knew using vise grips to hold the pans together would leave a mark. Drilled thru both pans to keep holes in line. Just fastners holes. Don't try both 6" holes! Notice the marks. Here's the hardware I used...measure the inside of the connector as to not oversize the holes. Almost there. Boom! I do need a 90 degree valve stem. When I get one, I'll simply drill a hole. These are steel so I'm gonna clean them with brake cleaner and clear them.These are 16" mags curved inward with the valve stem coming out in the center facing downward. You may need to grind out the 6" diameter on the sprocket side. This is tight. Go slow and be patient. Any little bit you were off finding center will be obvious here and the outside ring. Hope this makes sense and helps someone find a cure for those cast wheel blues.

 

[figure8]

Very cool! Make me a set for a 16" rear?

 

[JRay77]

I see no reason why these won't work. Let me get them on and moving to see how they hold up.

 

[mrtwowheel]

Like it very much, aircraft tail dragger wheels to cut down drag. Need more info on your fasteners and method of attachment. Some aluminum mags are even uglier than others.

Scott

 

[mrtwowheel]

http://www.webstaurantstore.com/american-metalcraft-tp18-18-wide-rim-pizza-pan/124TP18.html

16",18" and 19" heavy gauge aluminum pizza pans. Not sure if the size is right or what to do with them, would be some nice big paintable surfaces or just polished.

Scott

 

[JRay77]

I do believe a 20" pizza pan will work for the front. If you zoom in on the fastner picture, the po number is on them. Menards. The mags I made these for are curved inward. Thanks for the link! I thinking about using aluminum and engine turning.

 

[JRay77]

Once I had the center 6" hole cut out, I placed the pan over the wheel and marked the mag post. See pic. I went out an inch from 6" hole and centered the best I could between posts. Of course how far away from the center dictates how long the fasteners should be. Measure and measure again and then stop and think and measure again. Haha!

 

[mrtwowheel]

Yes, engine turning, Spirit of St Louis.

Scott

 

[fredintoon]

Well Gee, JRay,
I'd have thought a cast wheel hater would have swapped back to wire wheels for that classic look rather than make faux disc wheels and risk having his bike mistaken for a (shudder) Harley-Davidson?

 

[JRay77]

All my wire wheels are drum set-ups. Being lazy, the pizza pan was the easiest option to stay with a disc brake.

 

[zeroxs650]

That's a great idea, anxious to see how they look on the bike.

 

[scott s]

That's so darn cool!

 

[SpongeBobbed]

Looking good man! I did the same thing on my bike a couple years ago. About $30 in parts and an hour worth of labour and I had a fancy new rear wheel. People ask me about it all the time and are pretty surprised when I say it's pizza pans. I can't claim I came up with the idea as I saw a friend do it on a cb750. Pretty cool though!

 

[mrtwowheel]

Someone figure this out and show me how to do this with aluminum pans, spoke wheels, drum rear brake and both wheels. Please, take the challenge and report back.

Half kidding, but hey, maybe it's possible?

Scott

 

[JRay77]

@ mrtwowheel, I have aluminum pans coming. The front should be easy. (Smaller hole saw bit) the back drum set up is a different story. Bigger hole saw. Around 9". I'm working on it. @ SpnogeBobbed, first off, I dig that screen name. Kickass! I did read somewhere about a guy using pizza pans. Maybe it was you? I can't take the credit, this wasn't an original thought. For all they are, these little f$&kers are expensive! Upwards $225.00! What gets me, if you read the directions when buying, the holes still need to be drilled for mounting. I'll be damned if I pay that much and still hafta MacGyver my shit together. BTW, Nice ride!

 

[mrtwowheel]

9" hole saw? That would be some bucks. A good marked circle to begin with, cut out the most of it with a 3" cut-off wheel, nibble up to the line with the cut-off wheel, finish with a bastard file, fine file and sand paper. I think that would work on some heavier gauge aluminum. I've gotten pretty good at nibbling to a line with the cut-off wheel. A custom made center finder, made from wood, would be handy. Waiting to see what works for you.

Scott

 

[fredintoon]

All my wire wheels are drum set-ups. Being lazy, the pizza pan was the easiest option to stay with a disc brake.

Hi JRay,
rear disk is more a fashion statement than a necessity. All the drum brake-specific parts swap into a disk brake frame with some simple wrench work.
And why do you need to pay $225 for a pizza pan? Top of the line pizza pan at Walmart $20 tops. Baking foil ones $7 a 5-pack.

 

[figure8]

Fred

He's referring to a set of wheel covers made by the likes of mooneyes etc

 

[SpongeBobbed]

JRay, thanks man! I built mine for the exact same reason. Wasn't going to pay big prices for mooneyes that I would just have to drill anyways. I've got probably 5k miles on mine so far and they hold up amazing. No issues whatsoever. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product. Good luck!

 

[mrtwowheel]

SpongeBobbed, How did you do your hardware/fasteners? Maybe spacers between the pans and the bolts go through the spacers? Maybe some rubber or foam sealer between the pan edge and rim? What about cleaning the covered area once in a while? Tubes would need a 90* stem, tubeless would be easier. Is there such a thing as a 90* stem extension?

Scott