Replacement Wheels for a Motor Trike conversion

The wheels on the 2008 Goldwing with the Motor Trike conversion I've looked at, have a considerable amount of rust on them and thought I would like to replace them. I'll be third or forth owner and there isn't any manuals with the trike but on the MT site they show upgraded wheels. The upgrade wheels (I'm thinking normally are upgraded when the conversion is done) shown on the MT site are "American Racing Torque Thrust" wheels. The wheel size shown in a current MT Condor Owners Manual shows the wheels are 15" x 7" and 5 x 4.5". MT gets $627 for the wheels but on the American Racing site the Torque Thrust wheels start at $140 but they only list cars no motorcycles.

Has anybody gone to other wheel distributors and bought new wheels for their Motor Trike?

You might also consider having them replated or Powder Coated

Just an FYI, the rear rims used in trikes are in fact automotive rims. They have modified automotive rear ends so they use automotive wheels. That's why you couldn't find motorcycle rims. You can actually use just about any aftermarket rim you want to replace those if you wish.

But besides the size and the bolt pattern, you have to pay attention to the offset. The offset is basically the positioning of the center face of rim in relation to the round outside of rim if that makes sense. If you get the wrong offset, the rims will mount and be too far in or too far out. Normally you can find the offset of your rim stamped into the back side of rim somewhere. This explains offset a little more

Actually there is no such animal as a "trike rear wheel" when talking trike conversions, they are all unmodified automotive wheels. As Mike said you just have to match the bolt pattern and offset. If you get that right, you can use any wheel you want with those specs, just be mindful of the height and width of the tire you'll be using. Motor Trike is one of the few companies that have used those chrome plated steel wheels as their base wheel option, they are cheap for a reason and they all have rusted. Not a fan of them...

Thanks for the information. I'm waiting for some work that had to be done to the trike before I pick it up. That is one of the first things I intend to do. I'll have to reread how to figure the offset. It sounds like if I take the wheels off a good tire/wheel shop should be able to determine the offset even if I can't! I called MT but the guy I talked to said he didn't have offset information. Only size and $627 for two. $$$

@OldRider2 - I have a 2008 VTX motortrike, original alloy wheels. If you have issues determining offset, LMK and I can pull a wheel and measure. I just went down and looked, they appear to be centered, ie: no offset. Pretty sure they were 15x7 rims, they ARE 5x4.5 bolt pattern. (I have a 7.5" ford rearend)



Google 'measure wheel offset video' and you will get many answers. Its easy.

As others said, we have CUSTOM trikes. so have fun! I went from the original 225/60r15 BF Goodrich car tires to Federal 595RS-PRO 225/45R15 rain race tires. . Absolutely satisfied with the results. Installed 5 years ago. Grip like they are glued to the road, INCREDIBLE wet performance, and good wear so far! The reduced gearing really helped also.

Maybe you can find an alloy that compliments your front wheel. The pattern on mine do. Good luck!

Volkeman. The original MT steel wheels were 15" x 7", 5 4.5" (114.3mm) made in the USA! The offset was about 4" +/- but MT told me they didn't know the actual offset. MT's upgraded wheel is an American Racing wheel called a Torque Thrust so I used that as my reference. I couldn't find any deals on that wheel although I think the MSRP was about $270 each. One of my local Tire/Auto facilities sold Vision Wheels and gave me a good price on a Legend 141, similar looking to the Torque Thrust, kind of like the old Cragar wheels. I had the Tire place mount one tire and then I went home and mounted it, then measured every conceivable way I could think of to make sure it was clearing everything. So I went with them Legend, picture attached. The dealer I bought the trike from put on new 225/60 x 15" tires so I didn't need them.
My front wheel was pretty messy and didn't look very good so I had that buffed and polished and much happier with the way it looks. Just got it put back on this weekend.

Nice wheels

Those look fantastic! But.... I dont think they are 4" offset.

They look to be '0' offset.
IE: the backside of the wheel that sits against the axle is equidistant from the inside and outside of the sidewalls. The flat part you CANT see with wheels installed.



Positive offset is what you see in most newer cars, along with zero. The 'deep dish' rims are a negative offset. A 15x7 rim with 4" negative offset would have the lug nuts VERY close to the same plane as the sidewall. NO backspacing.

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My setup:






The cutouts on the front wheel(stock VTX 1800C) are echoed in the custom back wheels, along with the added 'speed lines'. The center cap is obviously custom for Motortrike. Had a machinist friend guess the rears were billet rims from looking at the front face of them while mounted. Plus they polish up well, and hold the shine.


I questioned the same machinist about adding the 'speed lines' to the front wheel. He stated that the front wheel was cast, and most likely would not take a polish well after machining. He suspected that the previous owner had the front wheel sanded and polished. I know polishing the front wheel is ALWAYS on the to-do list.



I absolutely LOVED the tread pattern. Grips like a gecko in the dry, and excels in the wet. And leaves the most awesome tracks.