A few pics(gartec81 asked for a rear view of the 180mm Avon):

 

Oh man your bike looks BADASS! That wheel and rotor combo is freakin awesome Allen. A bit of headache for you in the beginning, but in the end you got it done and it's killer.

Those wheels and rotors should definitly shed some weight from the stock setup and get you some more get-up'n go.

 

Looks killer for sure, dig the matching pulley and the upper belt guard, sharp

 

So here is some weight info for comparison:

Old stock front wheel/tire/rotors: 46.5 lbs
New front wheel/tire/rotors: 36.0 lbs

Old rear stock wheel/tire/rotor/pulley: 55.5 lbs
New rear wheel/tire/rotor/pulley: 45.5 lbs

So I lost 10.5 lbs on the front and 10.0 lbs on the rear - a pretty nice result. I don't have an exact breakdown on where all the weight loss came from but I know the rotors accounted for 6 lbs on the front and 3 lbs on the rear. I am thinking about removing the old stock tires, rotors and pulley from the wheels - if I do then I will be able to determine where exactly the rest of the weight savings came from.

Ride report:

The biggest thing that struck me was how much easier it was to move the handlebars around. With the big loss of rotating mass up front it becomes much easier to make rapid transitions in handlebar movement.

The lighter weight seemed to make all bumps less intense, hard to say how much but definately noticeable. I think the front and back shocks have a much easier job keeping things smooth with the lighter sprung weight.

The Avon tires are WAY better. The grip inspires a ton more confidence, tar snakes are of no concern, and the softer rubber seems to remove a lot of the "grainy" road feel you get with the hard stockers.

The brakes feel smooth and strong. I thought they might be "touchy" with all the extra braking capability but they are not. You just keep pulling/pushing the brake lever/pedal and the braking performace just smoothly ramps up to whatever you need. Today I went flying over a hill and forgot that a Stop sign was on the other side, I really jumped on both the front and rear brakes and was amazed at how smoothly and rapidly I came to a stop.

Overall I am very happy in the end results. Went through more pain than I should have but pretty much got what I was looking for in the end.

 

Nice job Allan, great report as always! Wheels look killer nice to hear that they handle better too!

 

Looks great! I am jealous. I didn't have wheels on my upgrade but roadmap, but after seeing yours......

 

Alan,

Not having read any updates from you the past few days I was beginning to wonder what the status was of your wheel/tire/brake changeover, so it was good to see your most recent post. Congrats on a super job of pulling it all together! Really have to admire your perseverance and ingenuity in solving the various fitment problems with the associated parts. Had it been me, I would have let out a few loud curses and pounded my fists against the walls more than once!

The overall result is outstanding! Besides the performance improvements you’ve already noted, the aesthetics of the bike have been significantly enhanced as well - less “Main St. Cruiser” and more “Lean, Mean, Racing Machine!”

Well done, Pilot, well done! Here’s hoping all your sweat and sore muscles bring you countless miles of smiles! Enjoy, ride safe!

~

 

Thanks, Bobber! Some may think that 20.5 lbs lighter is not much for a Harley but when it comes off the wheels - it is a big deal.

Upper belt guard is RSD, do you remember how I scratched up my then new 68T pulley from the rivets on the backside of that belt guard....

End result is great, hope the same for your engine build! Anytime you start modding your bike, kinda have to expect some bumps but overcoming obstacles makes you a better mech!

Yeah O-Town D wheels did the same to me!

Yeah, had to work a lot right when the rear pulley showed up so the mod slowed down a bunch. Yes I love the end result, was worth the aggravation and I, like you mentioned, said a few unappropriate words here or there...but like I told Robby, a lot of learning ensued.

Thanks for the compliments and for all the great advice during the mod!

 

Before I forget, I wanted to mention the "Ride-On Tire Balancer & Sealant". I decided to go this direction to avoid using weights on the outside of the brand new wheels. Their website is excellent and they have a chart that tells you how much of their product you should use based on the size of your tires. For my tires, I used 8 oz in the front and 13 oz in the rear. The bottles I bought on Amazon were 8 oz and cost about $13 each, be sure to get the motorcycle formula that seals and balances.

Installation is a breeze, just let the pressure out of your tire, remove the valve core with the tool provided, squeeze in the correct quantity, reinstall valve core, and reinflate tire.

So far riding has been completely smooth and zero imbalance detected plus the protection if you happen to role over an evil object - seems like a great product!

 

I love my SMW wheels but their customer service after the sale sucks in my opinion. They screwed up on my pulley tooth count but after waiting for 2 months to get my wheels I told them just send the one they have. He said he would get the new pulley sent out as quick as he could and would ony charge me $150. I emailed and called for over a year and just kept getting the run around. He said it was taking a long time because it was a "special order" and I'm thinking " Yea no ****. We talked for close to an hour when I placed the original order" A month after that he says there was no way he would agree to sell me the pulley for $150 because it costs that much just for labor. Which is funny because he was the one that told me he was only going to charge me $150 because they screwed up the order. Then later my pulley bolts all backed out, even with proper torque, lock washers, AND Loctite. I called and asked him if he knew of a fix and he said it was impossible for that to happen and that I obviously didn't torque them right. And yet the exact same thing happened on my buddy's Blackline with SMW wheels and pulley. But on his, one of the bolts backed out far enough to tag the swing arm which cracked the pulley. He was told he was **** out of luck even though you could easily see the bolts had a bunch of play in the hub threads. Maybe a bad batch of pulley bolts? I dunno. But whatever the cause I would expect to be treated a little better after dropping a couple thousand on wheels. But oh well. I make a habit of checking the bolts before and after long rides now and finally just gave up on waiting for them to send me the pulley I original ordered.