Hi all,

Hoping to find a definitive answer on this...I'm interested in the M8 Softails - particularly the Street Bob and Slim.

I love the look of spoke wheels...but are they tubeless spoke wheels?

Cheers,
Fugitive

 

No — I know for a fact that they have tubes. I have a 2018 Slim.

 

Dealer should be able to tell you that.

 

I wouldnt trust the dealer to know. He will point to the tire and say its tubeless. It still has a tube in it. There is a kit you can basically use epoxy and tape to seal the spokes. But hard to adjust if they get loose.

 

I have a new 2019 Softail Slim , the print on the side of the tire say's tubeless , that means the tire is tubeless ready . Mine has an old fashion innertube . You would need to buy a tubeless spoked rim and then you could use those tires . Or find a way to seal each and every spoke to make the rim air tight .

 

Thanks guys! Yeah it's interesting the spoke wheels are still coming with tubes - from what I can gather tubeless spoke wheels were an option HD offered in the past on some models. Seems like tubed spoke wheels are still the norm on more classic style bikes for other manufacturers too - e.g. BMW R9T, Triumph Bonneville T120 etc

 

I suspect the “tubeless” spiked rims didn’t work nearly as well as advertised.

 

Outex kit available on ebay:

 

I've just bought yet another bike with tubes. Over the years I only had one bike with cast wheels and tubeless tires.
I've been lucky enough to have never had a flat, but have been riding along with guys who did. Coincidentally, every flat or soft tire I've ever seen personally was on a tubeless tire.
The rest of the leaks/flats were from picking up nails, screws, etc. A couple of us always carry a tire plug kit, which is great for getting your tubeless bike back on the road. If that ever happens to me I'm screwed and will have to call for a trailer. Maybe that tire sealant you connect to your valve stem and spray inside would save me? No experience there.
Another interesting thing, BMW was clever and got the look by running the spokes through two raised 'circumferential fins' so that nothing perforated the inside of the rim that was covered by the tire. After one of the beemer guys nicked his rubber valve stem with road debris they all went to the HD shop and got metal valve stems. We got some entertainment value from that!

 

Yup! Every dealer persons that I've spoken with in Northern Cal tells me this when asked. Very telling how little they know about the product they're selling. With the exception of the mechanics though. They at least know better.