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Wheel Covers & Ideas
- Thread starter JRay77
- Start date
View attachment 166721 
Saw a clear wheel and decided, why not? I had a old cruddy not so “Special” wheel. Haha My stepdad runs a CNC plasma. We cut me some rings. Welded one ring to the rim. From the inside. You can see the imperfections as I burnt thru in spots. This is a prototype. Powder coated. Then on to the hubs. Spun them down on a lathe. I had to drill out one hub and bolt to the other hub. Got some Lexan and cut out the circumference. I had to edit this. The way I cut it out was sketchy. Haha. I’ll use different stainless hardware and I need thicker 3/4” Lexan for the finished product. This wheel is way more solid than it was. I’ll use expoy on the inside if necessary. Balance might be a trick.
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You're a brave dude JRay77!
I would never do this to a rear wheel! I would never try this on a big V Twin. ( which is what I saw it on. 1" thick Lexan) I'm figuring out a way to "bench" test this. I figure if it doesn't fly apart at 120mph for 20 minutes, I should be good. What scares me is these wheels stock when neglected. I see people with crusty spokes. Missing spokes....Then the thought: Cast wheels. I started cutting into the castings and there's a lot of porosity. Least in the later 80' wheel I was messing with.
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How are you testing these at 120mph? What kind of load are you putting on them? It sure looks neat, but certainly has a big pucker factor for me.
Haven’t figured the test out yet. I do have a lathe. Chuck some axle diameter stock in it. Shaft collars. I have access to vibration analysis equipment as well. Then, another spring tensioned wheel making rubber to rubber contact from the floor. I’m optimistic this will work. Take one of these stock wheels and beat it with a sledge hammer. Beat some Lexan with a sledgehammer.....just sayin. Its balancing that’s the issue. Not coming apart but balancing. I see a guy at the local tire place. He balances motorcycle tires by two chairs back to back and a long extension. Uses sticky weights. Works. Mounts all my tires. My set up is way more rugged than any spoke set up ever was. I would never sell this. Someone would find a way to put it on a Boss Hoss. Haha
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I powder coated some Model T wheels for my stepdads ratrod. These where made with brazed in spokes. We put them on a 28’ Ford with a small
Block Chevy. “Over 40 mph, it shook like a dog shitting bones” that is a direct quote. Haha Didn’t come apart tho.
Block Chevy. “Over 40 mph, it shook like a dog shitting bones” that is a direct quote. Haha Didn’t come apart tho.
did some casual Lexan fab reading ONE takeaway was dealing with thermal expansion especially at mounting holes.
IMHO there's prolly a reason nearly all wheels are dish shaped or triangulated rather than flat disks.......
and finally thinking of your health and safety
propagation of stress cracks in sheet plastic.....
Points well taken. Got me thinking about my hole tolerances now. Thank you. Like solid wheels in a cross wind. A BIG factor for me is how I will use this wheel. I don't get on these XS650's on the highway. I-75 Mostly around town. Country road from small town to small town. Maybe 65 mph max. This has been done several times. There a company that sells clear wheels. I'm just using a drill press, lathe, and a table saw. Lol
did some casual Lexan fab reading ONE takeaway was dealing with thermal expansion especially at mounting holes.
IMHO there's prolly a reason nearly all wheels are dish shaped or triangulated rather than flat disks.......
and finally thinking of your health and safety
propagation of stress cracks in sheet plastic.....
http://cyrilhuzeblog.com/2010/10/21/metalsport-clear-wheel-program/
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Absorbing brake torque without cracking mounting holes seems like the trick. Some sort of lobes to transfer torque load from hub to disk to rim?
This prototype doesn’t have a brake. I was thinking a hub brake and no disc. I’ve only had a hub brake on one wheel before. I'll have to use one a hubs with brake. I’ll do research. While turning down the aluminum hub, I was not impressed with the casting quality. Whatever R&D that was done on these wheels and assembly's was strictly with 650 hp/torque. That is for sure!
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