Motorcycle wheel wheels are predominantly made from an aluminium-alloy, but can also be made from more-exotic materials, such as magnesium content alloy or carbon fibre. The first commercial motorcycles were built like bicycles, with wire wheels as bicycles had traditionally been fitted with. The Steffey motorcycle in 1902, essentially a bicycle with a two-stroke engine attached, used wooden rims with wire spokes. This style of wheel evolved into a stouter motorcycle-specific wheel, still with spokes, up to the 1960s and beyond. In April, 1922, Borrani started production of motorcycle wheels with an aluminium rim. Although cast wheels had already been used on
Wheel hub motor designs have minimized the electrical steel content of the motor by using a coreless design with Litz wire coil windings to reduce eddy current losses. This significantly reduces wheel motor weight and therefore unsprung weight. Another method used is to replace the cast iron friction brake assembly with a wheel motor assembly of similar weight. This results in no net gain in unsprung weight and provides a car capable of braking up to 1G. A good example of this is the Michelin Active Wheel motor as fitted to the Heuliez Will, the first electric car with an Active Wheel drive,