Method of making composite motorcycle wheel

A method of making a motorcycle wheel comprising the steps of providing as castings of a weldable lightweight metal including aluminum, magnesium and alloys thereof, a hub unit, and a wheel unit having a centrally open tubular portion to receive said hub unit and having a concentric rim portion integrally connected to said tubular portion by angularly spaced-apart spokes;

• heat treating the castings to relieve casting stresses;
• machine finishing the units including finishing the circular end surfaces of said tubular portion and finishing the outer surface of the hub unit and the inner surface of the tubular portion of the wheel unit to provide substantially complimentary cylindrical surfaces of which said inner surface is slightly smaller in diameter than said outer surface at ambient temperature and slightly larger in diameter at an appreciably higher than ambient temperature when the hub unit means remains at ambient temperature;
• inserting the hub unit into said machined inner surface with said wheel unit heated sufficiently to receive the hub unit;
• cooling said wheel unit to shrink-fit it on said hub unit;
• and welding one circular end surface of the tubular portion around an end portion of said outer surface which projects axially beyond said one end surface while rotating said shrink-fitted wheel and hub units about the axis of said inner and outer surfaces.