Machining costs are very similar between cars and bikes because cars only have one side of the wheel machined but motorcycles have both sides meaning both have 4 machined faces.

This explains why they might be similar to car wheels but only a little since cars use 3x the aluminum.

Now tell me why a Harley costs twice as much as some new cars with full interior, glass, airbags, etc... : )

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Man, I know what you mean. I just paid $2100 for a new PM wheel/tire combo just for the front of my SG. I could have spent the same and put 4 new tires and wheels on my Duramax for that. Its crazy, but there are too many of us that will do it and therefore they can charge it.

 

You got that right. Everything is going up except my paycheck.

 

And there's the problem....

 

And the lemmings will always line up for the cool stuff

 

Actually, the Harley wheels are less expensive than the aftermarket. Significantly less.

 

Unless you're referring to an A/T, WHERE IN THE ***** ARE YOU GUYS FINDING THESE SO CHEAP?!?

My 20x10 Eagle Alloy's on 35x12.5x20's Nitto trail grappler (M/T's) were $2900. And eagles are cheap! with Fuel Offroad's you're talking $3200 easy (again with M/T's)

And let's not forget American forces at $1k a rim

But seriously bike wheel prices are ridiculous. People are paying one off prices for mass produced wheels

 

If you want a quality billet product made in the USA by actual Americans the cost is going to be substantially higher than a cast wheel that Harley makes in Taiwan or Australia. It is simple economics. billet aluminum is expensive, programming designs into a CNC machine is expensive, polishing and chroming is expensive.

You figure that most Americans actually need a living wage to survive in today's world. Add up all the processes required to make a wheel here in the USA and you come out with the pricing that we have today. This is not an industry in which anyone is getting rich. Support your fellow American and buy a made in the USA wheel.

 

Fuel Dropstars and Toyo ATII's, $2200 with hardware.

 

While in Sturgis this year I had a chance to tour the Samson plant there. I was amazed at what goes into taking a raw piece of pipe on one side of the plant and seeing it fully chromed and ready for packing on the other side. I can imagine it's the same for wheels. Not just any old shade tree operation can do this stuff (maybe in China they can but not here).