sportster aluminum wheel care?

[egaddz]

i have new sporty w aluminum wheels as u know half machined and half cast... what does everyone else use on these things? cast part can use wheel cleaner but marks up machined areas and need to polish that and get polish on cast part looks like hell(white marks)... what to do? i love them when im done but hate trying to make them look good.

also rotors r starting to rust inside the designs is that normal?

[Krayven Sumhead]

The rust inside the the air holes of the rotors probably can't be helped. I use a light duty electric power washer on my wheels. The front wheel is laced, the rear is like your's.
I just wash them normally and apply a coat of wax on the smooth parts, and don't do anything to the rough area. Both wheels still look new. No rust, pits, missing chrome, etc.
I've also got saddlebags, so very little of the rear wheel is visable.

[Karsten]

When I bought my Sportster it already had 11 years with of grime and what not that had worked it's way into the pouris areas as well as the semi polished flats.

I bought an extra set of wheels, rear rotor and took them in hte be bead blasted and mirror polished.

When I picked them one the guy asked me if I was going to paint them or what the plan was. I told him I figured I could just keep them clean.

He told me the polished flats and the rotor/pulley would be a problem the the rought satin areas would just suck the grime again.

So after many hours of washing off polishing paste residue, degreasing and what not I painted mine using Dulicolor Wheel Primer, Paint and Clear.





Karsten

[jdbankey]

eggadz - regular application of wd-40 with a q-tip, wipe clean with a rag will help with the rust in the rotor holes. Be careful to remove any wd from the rotor surface before your next ride.

[tunnelrat]

Black epoxy paint the wheels and black header paint on the rotors and problem solved.