So I am at the stage in the '68 restoration that I have disassembled both wheels. They were quite nasty, but before I unlaced them I did put them up on my wheel truing stand and they still ran very "true", so I believe they can be laced up and trued back without issues. That said, they are rusty. Not 'beyond use' rusty, but as I am intending to do as nice a job restoring as I can, I would like to either get them re-chromed (warts, scratches, and one tiny ding regardless), or replace them with new.

Only, I have not been able to find "new". I have found decent used, but... not quite what I am wanting (that is, essentially, what I already have). Looking on 'the bay' today I see these from Thailand. (I know, I know, unknown quality):



Have any members bought these? I am sure they will not be proper Takasago rims, and may have "unacceptable" markings for something like what I am trying to do (on a "collectible" ). But I am already having to use some reproduction parts. 

I have bought parts from Asia before, and been satisfied. But those bits were either genuine NOS in Yamaha packaging, or obvious aftermarket bits where OEM was not an issue. Using these would save me about $200 for this part of the project, which is attractive. And rechroming will not remove some of the tire iron scratches and the one small (1/8") ding, but, they will be original and correct.

Would appreciate any thoughts from the afficionados on the site!

Be careful about rechroming the original wheels. I have had 3 wheels become unusable after the acid bath due to so much rust that there were perforations through them.

That is a good point to remember. And it is probably something that would only appear as a problem after the acid bath was completed. 

Thanks for the warning!

I did ask the ebay outfit about the steel rims, only info they sent back was that the brand is 'Union Cycle". I need to look that up and see where made (I asked but that question was not answered).

I have an 18" Takasago rim for a CT front for sale, which just won't do.But something to think about since 19" tires are getting harder to find in certain tread patterns. 

 

 

I have had three rims rechormed and two rejected.  A good shop will be able to tell you if they will come out usable.  I had two for my Matchless that I desperately wanted to rechrome and they were absolutley too far gone to go through the process.

I used the polishing shop in Oxnard, they outsourced the actual chrome (California is of course very restrictive), but Dave told me very quickly which rims would survive and which would not.

thepolishingshop.com/index.htm

Mike

I bought a replacement Union Cycle front rim for my DT1 .
I bought it as a genuine yamaha part , possibly for an AG 175 ,
if I remember corrrectly .
The downside of them is that the brand and size detail is stamped
onto the outside flange , very much in plain sight .
I didn't fancy that much , so had the chrome stripped , stampings
filled and rim rechromed . The rim itself was inexpensive , but the
follow up work made it a costly exercise .
 

Yes, it is not cheap to get it done right.

I appreciate the comments, especially the one about having the writing on the outside of the rim- that I do not want.

I think I have come to a decision point with this part of my project. I was able to contact a couple of reputable shops, one in PA and one in RI ( I am in NH). The shop in RI could not handle the rims, but the one in PA (Paul's Chrome) gave me some very interesting info as well as projected costs. 

As noted earlier, the rim goes in an acid bath, and if it is pitted too bad it will not be useable (like your Matchless rims). Then the individual pits and dings are addressed and filled as much as possible, and then the chrome is applied. What is significant to me at this point is that the chrome at this point obliterates any manufacturer markings. So if you want them, or need them to be visible for a high-end restoration, then those markings need to be gone over and made deeper by an engraver before the chrome is applied. That way the markings will be seen after the chroming is done. I am pretty sure that a true "restoration" would require this to be done.

So, he gave me a ball-park estimate of about $250-$300 per rim for the renovation/chroming, and another $125 per rim for the engraving. (Earlier this month he had finished a pair of rims for a 1973 Kawasaki Z1 that ran to $1100.) So potentially $900-$1000 for my 2 rims.

With this in mind, I am now looking askance at the total bill from the seller on eBay of $350 to chrome my 2 rims, wondering just what kind of job I will get.

So for now, I think I am going to clean them up as good as I can myself (I can be pretty meticulous and careful). I have stripped the hubs down and will be cleaning them up and polishing the outsides and spoke flanges and clear coat them, then lace up the rims with NOS spokes, and mount the tires. I have 2 older but new Cheng Shin trials tires to mount in the proper sizes. So, not "correct", but period correct anyway. 

I'll do my best, and the best I can do is... the best I can do!

Thank you all. 
 

I always use Aluminum shouldered rims. Not stock but an upgrade & usually accepted as a
replacement. They are about 150-200 per rim. Here is one, please forgive the large front brake 
 

Something I did not consider for this rebuild certainly. And it would have been an upgrade at the time, so a possibility (this is actually what I did for the 360A rebuild, although I was fortunate enough to find useable alloy rims on eBay for that). 

I was just on the Buchanan's site and they appear to have increased price-wise to around $275-$300 per rim.

Thanks for the suggestion!

(R5 front brake??)