How many of you beer drinking, bar fighting, stripper chasing, Harley ridin’, grimy saddle tramps, from the late ’60s and early ’70s remember the old 12-spoke magnesium wheels we ran on bikes out of the south bay area? Who remembers who was the first person to convert that classic mag to a motorcycle? Does anybody know the history of these very rare wheels? Well after admiring my brother Bob T’s Shovelhead some of these questions came up. So, ChopNGrind decided to conduct an extensive investigation on the subject. Hey, were not Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, but we can sift through the bullshit once and a while.
Romeo Palamides, an early drag racing innovator, Grandfather of Jet Racing, designed and crafted leading edge, high strength-to-weight magnesium drag racing wheels for his dragster. It was the early years of hot Roding and street enthusiast interest in the lightweight, higher tech wheels was overwhelming. Romeo’s vision, working from Jim Ellison’s small machine shop in San Francisco with engineering innovator Tom Griffith, they evolved into America’s leading aftermarket wheel company. In 1956, they formed American Racing Equipment
American racing only made them 17 years for car drag racing use, some scooter maniacs adapted a couple for use, in what I would call the beginning of the custom motorcycle wheel movement. Among these forefathers was Dick Allen not well known by the motorcycling masses but rather by his peers and the local South Bay scene. Dick was a true innovator, and ahead of his time when it came to research and development. He was
one of the first to adapt American mag 12-spoke and centerline wheels for the choppers.
After American mags 17-year run Perry Sands, owner of PM acquired the molds and began wheel production. He planned production from 50 to 100 maximum a year, at that time, and all of the wheels would be sold complete with PM brake setups. Performance Machine versions came in 15-inch and 18-inch diameters only and were poured in aluminum. Soon after Performance Machine took over the production from American Racing, they were called Cal Mags. The mystery continued, and I am not too clear on is EME. From what the ChopNGrind team stealth investigation gathered, EME worked closely with Dick and started distributing girders and US Mag wheels along with some other Dick innovations.
After a while, the expense of producing these wheels became cost prohibitive and PM stopped producing the aluminum heat treated wheel and allegedly sold the molds to Jesse James. In our relentless endeavors to find one of these wheels for a build we came across a company called Radir racing wheels Based out of Montville, NJ, in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area. Radir wheels has been manufacturing traditional hot rod gasser wheels since the mid ’90s with a casting facility based right here in So. Cal.
Radir 12-spoke spindle mount 18×3-inch wheel is one-piece aluminum construction, heat-treated to T6 specifications, which makes the aluminum 30 percent stronger than conventional aluminum castings. The hubs have more material than its predecessors and are made in the U.S.A. available in full polish, full satin or chrome. There is a possibility that Radir might consider manufacturing a 16-inch version so guys like us can plan rear fitments for our choppers. For more info, contact Rich at Radir Wheel, Inc. P.O. Box 166 Montville, NJ 07045 Toll free 1-866-334-3470. Ask for Rich.
P.S. Stay tuned for part deuce a tech article installing Radir 18×3 12-spoked wheel on the front of an old Shovel. It’s gonna be BADASS!!!
–ChopNGrind.
