header-left
motorcycle accessories wiseguy logo
header-right

Chrome Motorcycle Wheels Buying Guide

Buying Chrome Motorcycle Wheels can be confusing and expensive. Get the perfect wheels for your ride with this buying guide.

Chrome motorcycle wheels add a touch of class to your cruiser, sportbike, Harley or show bike like nothing else. Bikers take great pride in how their motorcycles look.

Finding the right wheels at the right price, however can be difficult and time consuming. It can also get confusing with all the multi-step process claims and hype from the chrome plating companies. This article will cut to the chase and help you get the perfect chrome motorcycle wheels for your ride.

Major types of Custom Chrome Wheels

When looking for Chrome Motorcycle Wheels , there are basically three choices. They are:

  • Chrome Spoked Wheels
  • Chrome machined or cast wheels
  • Polished Aluminum machined or cast wheels

I wanted to briefly mention polished aluminum wheels as an alternative to chrome motorcycle wheels, because for some riders polished aluminum may be the best choice. The advantage to polished aluminum is that you don't risk pitting and rust. However the drawback to polished aluminum is that the wheels are a bit more work to take care of (keep shiny) and they don't usually have the "bling factor" of chrome.

For the remainder of this article I will assume that you're at least leaning toward a set of chrome, machined or cast wheels for a custom job. However you may be looking to get your existing wheels re-chromed. Either way, the following info will apply to your situation.

Chrome Plating Basics

Chrome Motorcycle Wheel

Chrome rims are not all the same. All of us have seen chrome motorcycle rims start to pit and peel years before they should have. While part of this may have to do with lack of care by the owner, most serious bikers take a great deal of time cleaning and protecting their bikes from dirt and the elements.

So, when we start to see our chrome motorcycle wheels start to look older, we can’t understand what’s going on. The most likely culprits are lack of wheel prep, at the factory, and the use of a “thinner” plate.

Most chrome motorcycle rims are plated with a thin coat, measuring less than .25mm in thickness. Hard chrome-plating is thicker, but that type of plating is reserved for pistons and other mechanical parts. What you see on a wheel or rim is considered “decorative”.

If the base metal is not cleaned properly and pretreated, the thin decorative plating will not adhere properly. You can judge this when looking at a rim by running your fingers over the plating. It should feel smooth. There should be no bubbling or wrinkling. Even tiny bubbles will cause early peeling.

All chromium plating includes at least two layers, one of nickel and another of chromium. Higher quality plating has a minimum of two layers of nickel, but still only a single layer of chromium. Triple chrome-plating may be used to describe any plating that includes three layers, whether the extra layers are chromium or nickel.

Go into more detail about chrome plating with my chrome plating process article.

Do your Chrome Wheel Homework

Chrome Motorcycle Wheel

You have to be particularly careful when you are looking at chrome motorcycle rims that have been used. Most any biker knows how to touch up a rim to make it “look” like new. But, that means the new owner is going to have a chip in the plating, in no time. It is possible to repair the finish of chrome motorcycle wheels, but it requires stripping, polishing and re-plating. Often, it is less expensive to buy new.

Some of the buzzwords used in the industry include show chrome, triple chrome-plating and double nickel-chrome. Salespeople love to use these terms when they are trying to sell chrome motorcycle rims or anything that is not purely functional. While show chrome typically means that the wheel will have a reflectivity good enough to win a prize in a show, the other terms are meaningless.

If you the wheels you have, but want to have them chromed or re-chromed, be sure to read my how to choose a chrome plater article.

When all is said and done, you pay for quality when you are buying chrome motorcycle wheels. Remember the information here and be sure you don't let some savvy dealer rip you off.

Chrome Motorcycle Wheel Chrome Motorcycle Wheel

Updates

From my readers

Helping You Get The Most For Your Motorcycle Accessories Dollar since 2003!

Copyright� 2003-2009 Motorcycle-Accessories-WiseGuy.com

Home Page