Fronts and rears in sizes from 16 x 3.5 ” to 32 x 4 ”
Metalsport operates its own on-site polishing shop
business opportunity came in the early 1970s . Ed (“ Big Daddy ”) Roth turned up at Ron ’ s shop one day , saying that a friend had recommended he ’ d check Ron ’ s place out , and that he could maybe help him resolve a problem he was having with his VW Trike
project . The end result was that he designed and fabricated a new springer front suspension that immediately resolved the problems Ed had been having , and from that point the springer fork became a required part of Ed ’ s VW Trike kit .
Corleone
Ron has had many very successful collaborations down the years , not least with Chip Foose . Ron ’ s involvement with the motorcycle industry deepened from that early involvement with Ed Roth by producing components for several aftermarket suppliers and specialty parts for noted custom bike builders . Eventually Ron bought out the small motorcycle wheels division of a major automotive wheel manufacturer , and that resulted in opening up as Metalsport Inc . These days the company offers over 30 forged and billet wheel designs in total over their
The Whip
2D and 3D ranges , with front and rear fitments all the way from 16 x 3.5 ” up to 32 x 4 ”, all CNC-machined from 6061-T6 aerospace grade aluminum . The most popular in their ‘ 2D ’ design range are the ‘ Don Juan ’ and ‘ Don Juan Torque ’, and the ‘ Corleone ’, ‘ Impression ’ and ‘ The Whip ’ in their ‘ 3D ’ program . Major machinery investments have been made along the way , and in addition to finished wheels , Metalsport has also become a large scale producer of blanks . Additionally , the company is one of the V-twin market ’ s largest vendors of Vee Rubber tires , and has always offered a range of other accessories , such as the stylish new patent pending ,
contour-hugging billet trunk and side bag racks for Harley ’ s Tour Pak hard bags . It was Metalsport who , thanks to their partnership with Vee Rubber , effectively gave life to what went on to become known as the “ Big Wheel ” craze . With 26-inchers the “ hot ticket ” and largest readily available option at the time , Ron invested in tooling for a 30-inch wheel and tire , and when that proved successful , followed it up 12 months later with their now famous 32-inch wheel and tire package .
Along the way Ron also pitched a line of whitewall tires , which also captured the market ’ s imagination . Vee Rubber subsequently invested in the tooling for a line of 10 tire sizes that were not available in the marketplace at the time . As a Vee Rubber distributor , Metalsport stocks the Big Wheel and Whitewall tires along with standard replacement sizes for most
Harley applications . Ron regards this as the missing link that gave Metalsport the opportunity to offer a complete package . From wheels and hubs with matching rotors and pulleys right through to the tires – pre-mounted and balanced if the customer wants , “ we can offer a complete , ready to install package . “ We make every effort to carry the tire sizes our customers need ,“ says Ron ,“ we still offer pre-mounting and balancing before we ship , and we strongly recommend taking advantage of this service , especially if ordering
26 ” and larger wheels .” Blanks for the wheels are machined from aluminum billet or rotary forgings , with the 26 ” and larger designs machined from billet plate . The company has invested in the tooling needed to produce 30 ” and 32 ” ‘ 2D ’ and ‘ 3D ’ wheel blanks and installed a monster 4-Axis CNC mill that is capable of machining any size wheel . Indeed , Ron says that Metalsport “ is the only manufacturer of true ‘ 3D ’ wheels .”
Metalsport sells its blanks to the industry at a cost saving of around 50 percent against the pricing of typical “ billet blanks ” available from other factories . In order to further reduce costs and improve production speed , efficiency and quality control , Ron has also invested
in Metalsport ’ s own on-site polishing facility , installing three upright polishing units and one automatic polisher just for wheels . The facility is run by a ‘ Master Polisher ’ with “ years and years of experience ,” and Metalsport is also actively exploring the possibilities of investing in their own chrome shop . Ron told AMD that the thing that has given him the most pleasure and been the most rewarding is “ to have the opportunity to be a friend to , and to work with , some of the most talented people in the industry .” Oh , and BTW - you didn ’ t get it from us , but there is a new wheel size in the works , but that is still “ hush-hush ” at this time – watch out for news about it in an upcoming edition of AMD Magazine just as soon as Metalsport are ready to go to market with it .
METALSPORT WHEELS South Gate , California , USA Tel : 562 776 9594 info @ metalsportwheels . com www . metalsportwheels . com
Billet Tour Pak rack
Don Juan torque
Don Juan
24 AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - SEPTEMBER 2016 www . AMDchampionship . com