dds are that in 1940, when Clyde Wiseman started making pistons in his Cleveland, Ohio garage, he didn’t plan to start a company that would be known throughout the world as the leader in piston manufacturing. The story tells us that Wiseman made a few pistons for himself, and then a few friends and soon enough everyone in the area was asking him for product. By 1941 he had started a business that is as much in demand today as it was 60-plus years ago.
     Now located in Mentor, Ohio, in a 150,000 square foot manufacturing and engineering facility, Wiseco has never stopped striving for the quality that made Wiseman’s pistons so in demand when he started. Being the only forged piston manufacturer in the United States that designs and builds all of its own forging tooling in house, Wiseco eliminates the need to adapt a forging to the product they want to build. It creates a large tooling inventory, but it assures each piston is forged one-by-one in equipment developed specifically for it—this assures the maximum performance and quality possible.
     Keep in mind that Wiseco v-twin pistons are made from high-silicone aerospace-grade certified aluminum alloy that is brought into shape with a 2,000 ton forging press to assure the tightest tolerance possible. Then, each piston is heat-treated in house at the Wiseco facilty. Keying back to the tooling specific designs, each Wiseco piston is engineered to have the highest strength-to-weight ratio in the industry. Additionally, Wiseco’s manufacturing process ensures low expansion at higher operating temperatures.
     From Shovelhead to Harley-Davidson® Twin Cam 88® engines, Wiseco has a broad selection of pistons available. And rather than just make one piston for each engine, Wiseco uses their in-house state-of-the-art dynamometers to develop piston designs that allow for varied compression ratios to help engine builders achieve that perfect performance package. Wiseco also respects the high-mileage engine builder by offering most of their designs with an overbore all the way up to .040” and, for some older engines, an overbore all the way up to .080”!
     Knowing the needs of today’s v-twin rider are different than they were back in 1940, Wiseco has done everything possible to keep their manufacturing technology ahead of the curve. By manufacturing pistons for all aspects of the powersports industry, they keep their engineers on top of the curve designing pistons that move as fast as 16,000 rpm and applying what they learn from that to their v-twin designs. Customer satisfaction is what the Wiseco name has been all about for over 60 years, and they plan to stay that way.


Whether it’s for a performance upgrade,
or to breathe new life into an old motor,
Wiseco has all the parts you need to do
a thorough top end job.


Wiseco’s in-house dynamometer allows
technicians to constantly install and test
new designs and applications.


A Buell ready to be fired up for a dyno run.