Tech Tip-Metalsport Wheels

GET ON THAT BIKE AND RIDE!

Damn. A quarter of the year is already gone! Hopefully you didn’t waste any time! The weather is getting nicer, restrictions are loosening up, and events are starting to take place all around our beautiful state. If you listen to the rumor mill, it says we have a lotta really cool events coming up in the next couple of months for all of us to get out there on our bikes to enjoy. Along with all this beautiful weather we also have snowbirds still among us. Y’all know better than to slack on paying attention and keep an eye out for those cages that are among us. Over the past few writings, I’ve been pretty adamant about the topic of accountability. Always remember that the bottom line is that what you do or decide to do is up to you but be prepared to be held accountable for your decisions. Don’t go crying to your mama when you decide to do something stupid, and your response is to try to blame everyone else but yourself for your actions. We’re supposed to be adults out there, so let’s try to do the right thing. I’m not saying don’t go out there and have fun. On the contrary, we need to get out there more and enjoy what we have left of our lives. If last year taught me anything it’s that you only get one trip around this world. I know I’ve spent a lot of years on two wheels and I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to many destinations. The experiences I’ve been able to have, thanks to being on a motorcycle, are too many to count. The people I’ve encountered along the way have taught me that there is so much out there offered to us, that we would be fools not to experience it. Motorcycling and living a biker lifestyle is an education in itself. People like to say it’s wind therapy, but I believe it’s so much more. I truly believe that if you open your eyes to it, you’ll discover that riding is both enjoyable and educational. Pretty bold statement. So, what has my biker life taught me over the many years? Well, it’s a pretty long list so I’ll just touch on some of the main points. I guess we can start out with the fact that bein’ a biker is helping me develop patience. This one for me is always a work in progress. I never claimed to be a great student but I try my best. Every time I’m on my motorcycle my patience is tested by those around me. Either by their actions, attitude or just lack of caring for others. But it is what it is and like I stated, for me, that’s a constant work in progress. My motorcycle also taught me patience early on as one of my first sleds was an AMF. Which we can all pretty much say, if you owned one of those, you had to develop patience. Tolerance. This kinda goes along with patience as we have to tolerate those who test our patience. Whether it be weather, mechanical breakdowns, traffic, ignorance and the list goes on and on. Accountability. There’s a big word I use all the time. I figured out that over the years my actions have a direct impact of how the outcome of those actions affect me. For instance, if I don’t maintain my sled, it won’t be reliable for me. If I don’t figure out directions to where I need to go before I leave, it will take more time to get there. If I ignore the knowledge of others before me, I learn things the hard way. If I decide to get hammered and ride my sled, well a multitude of results could happen from that. I don’t blame everyone else for what I’ve decided to do. I own what I do and pay the consequence for those decisions. But let’s not be all negative about it. On the flipside, I also reap the benefits of my decisions when I make them wisely. Fun, enjoyment, and quality of life. Riding all these years has also taught me that there’s more out there in the world than just my own backyard. Every flavor of person is out there to be experienced. So much scenery to be taken in. So many things to do, so many places to go and most importantly, so many things out there to enhance your quality of life. I’ve had the honor of being able to do this through living my biker lifestyle. Everything is going to have its ups and downs. It’s up to you whether you want to dwell on the negative and be miserable with your life. A great organization out there uses the saying “adapt and overcome.” This is the way to move forward. Take life head on. Don’t hide behind excuses. Be the person that you admire the most. There is no hardship that you cannot survive. There is no hurdle you can’t get over. Even at your darkest moments you can still move on. I know this to be true. You may fall along the way but you pick yourself up, dust yourself off and push ahead. Respect. My lifestyle has taught me the meaning of respect. Respect of the road, respect of those around me, respect for others’ opinions and viewpoints. I will be the first to admit I am not always right. I’m a true believer that every day in life you should learn something new. Because again, the world is bigger than just your own backyard. If there’s a point to be made, I guess it’s that riding motorcycles has taught me a lot. The experiences I’ve had, the people I’ve met and the lessons I’ve learned are things you can’t learn from any book. You have to live it.

In closing, I guess what I want to say is, go out there and live your life. Enjoy what there is out there to enjoy. There’s more of it out there than you could ever dream of. I’ll leave you with this saying. It’ll make about as much sense as military intelligence. Make smart decisions but have some stupid fun. Hope to see you out there. Now get on that bike and ride. NEFARIOUS JAMES AMERICAN

Bitchin’ Big Wheels for Baggers at Metalsport Wheels

WE CHECK OUT METALSPORT INC.

There are some companies whose products can really add an outstanding custom look to a bagger, yet most riders don’t know much about them. Metalsport is just such a company; they make super sharp looking large diameter billet wheels. Granted there are other people that make large diameter wheels, but only few do it like Metalsport; their billet wheels are true one-piece creations.

Having seen their wheels on many custom bikes, we decided to give you a close-up view of just how they make them. Located in a rather non-descript building out east of Los Angeles, which houses more large CNC metal working machines than we had seen in quite a while. Ron Loynds, Metalsport’s President, filled us in on their history and gave us a cook’s tour. They have been in the custom motorcycle parts manufacturing business for twenty plus years, albeit quietly though. They popped up on everybody’s radar with their introduction of several large diameter billet aluminum wheels.

Now most tires have a lot in common, but not big aluminum wheels. Metalsport’s 3-D wheels have machined spokes that flair out to almost the same width as the rim, whereas your average custom wheel features spokes that are barely a fourth the width of the rim. Making one-piece wheels requires three things: a big aluminum billet, a CNC machine that is capable of milling it and a lot of time. Metalsport bought a large machine to do big wheel in, then bought several more so that they could make more than one wheel a day. They start with a solid chunk of aluminum, they put it into the giant CNC machine that is programmed to whittle away all of the excess metal. When they are done, they have two products: a custom 3-D motorcycle wheel and a bucket of machining chips that weighs more than the finished wheel. So subtly stunning are their wheels that our pictures can’t project their actual depth and texture.

Along the way, Ron hooked up with several custom builders; among them is Chip Foose. Chip has designed a lot of custom wheels, which Metalsport makes and markets for him. To say that their styling is handsome is a gross understatement; we especially liked the Nitrous II in black.

For a complete look at Metalsport’s wheels, hit their website and be sure to watch the wheel video.

WHEELS AND MACHINES, METALSPORT HAS LOTS OF BOTH. THESE SEMI-FINISHED WHEELS ARE WAITING THEIR TURN IN ONE OF THE CNC MACHINES.

THIS 3-D WHEEL HAS HAD ITS SPOKES ROUGHED-IN; NOTICE HOW THEY GO OUT ALL THE WAY TO THE EDGE OF THE RIM.

SOURCE: Metalsport Custom Wheels 10112 Miller Way, South Gate, CA 90280 502-776-9594