18'' Rims

[51FL]

Who Makes A quality Reproduction 18'' Rim ? I need two one for a star hub and one for the 45 Front Drum . And Were the Wla RIMS PAINTED Black ?

[38 el]

Evidently no one......I was curious as well.

[Steve Slocombe]

I'm having 18 and 19 inch rims made in England, which are about 50% heavier than those Chinese or Indian ones, but they are dimpled and pierced for the VL. The star hub is near the VL one in dimensions and uses the same nipples, so you should be OK, but the 45 front wheel has different spoke angles and smaller nipples. Late JD owners wanting to use drop centre rims, and 1930/31 Indian owners, ask for the 19" rims but it's hard work making special orders. If there is significant demand I'll make a batch for you.

[rwm]

18 inch rims are around at swap meets. sometimes i see a few on ebay. ebay may be harder to deal with you need a good photo of valve steam placement to spoke holes

[Jerry Wieland]

51FL your message box is full. I have one rim that I am about to remove from a very early 45 wheel that I am going to use on my Cannonball bike. I would take $100 for it. I think it is OEM paint although the paint is not really that great.

Most WLA rims I have seen are Olive Drab. Jerry

[starklite]

I make a high quality 18" Rolled Edge rim in the U.S.A. - I have them in stock for Indians, but also keep a stock of rims with no dimples or holes so we can have them custom pierced for any model motorcycle. There is no comparison of our USA rim to the made in India HD/Indian rims. Ours are made from heavy gauge steel.
There have been no complaints from anyone receiving the rim.
We sell the finished Indian 18" Rims for $240each. It costs me more to make the bare rim then what the India rims cost finished, but that is the price of quality vs the price of junk made overseas.

I was going to make some and keep in stock for Harley's but I was told most people would not spend the extra $$$ for a quality rim unless it was on a bike they were going to keep for themselves.

For more details and availability you can call me at:
Starklite Cycle - 951-968-3070

Sincerely,
Gary Stark

[Steve Slocombe]

I agree with Starklite that you need a good rim on a bike you're going to ride yourself, and maybe customers deserve them too. My 18 and 19 inch VL rims in the Kelsey-Hayes style are significantly less expensive, so maybe I'm due a big price hike next month. I don't trust swap meet rims any more, particular the 19 inch ones which will always be 60+ years old and usually pitted from the inside and out of round.