In praise of laced wheels
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Cruiser
Joined: Mar 2007
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From:
In praise of laced wheels
My Heritage is the first motorcycle I have owned with laced wheels. I have heard a lot about laced wheels being stronger than cast wheels and yesterday I found out for myself how true this is. I was riding on the normal highway crossing between Lancashire and Yorkshire here in the UK and having a bit of time to kill I thought I would head off on the backroads and see where I ended up. Was rounding a bend on a very quiet country road and I hit the mother of all potholes in the road at about 40MPH. The bike felt like it had been whacked by a demolition ball really big BANG and I was convinced that it would be damaged. Pulled up at the side of the road and checked it out - NOTHING!!!!. Went back to look at the pothole which was about 6inches deep by about 3 feet long and I am amazed that the bike stood up to this without any damage at all. I put the bike on the jack when I got home and spun the wheels which were both totally true. Maybe it sounded and feltworse than what it was but it sure made me think just how strong these bikes and wheels are. Any of you guys any experiences with laced wheels versus cast wheels??
Road Master
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 769
Likes: 1
From: (UK)
RE: In praise of laced wheels
A friend of mine has a Road King Custom and the chrome was flaking on his mag wheels but HD Replaced them no problem but will it happen again ? Also as the wheels are virtually solid slight cross winds tend to blow him around a lot. I have always prefered spokes and they look a lot nicer with aretro styled bike such as the Heritage.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 2,622
Likes: 7
From: Gulf Coast
RE: In praise of laced wheels
No offense to the guy's running cast wheels,cause to each his own,but I've never seen a bike with cast wheels that I didn't think would look better with laced wheels.Like you,I've hit some hellish potholes without any damage,apparently there's enough flex in the spokes to absorb a lot of punishment which otherwise the tire would have to absorb.
Good Luck
Tom
Good Luck
Tom
Advanced
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 93
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From:
RE: In praise of laced wheels
I was running a spoke wheel on my wide glide. I broke 7 spokes for no reason at all. I checked them everytime I cleaned the bike and none needed adjusted. I went to a solid wheel. I love the look of the spokes but dont want the thing coming apart at 80mph.
Later
D
Later
D
Road Master
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,165
Likes: 33
From: Acworth
RE: In praise of laced wheels
I like the looks of spoke wheels but keeping them looking good is more of a challenge. I have never had a spoke problem on a street bike. Ilike the tubelessand weight saving features of the magwheel also.
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Cruiser
Joined: Mar 2007
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RE: In praise of laced wheels
ORIGINAL: whaap
I have cast wheels which equates to tubeless tires. Looks is an arbitrary thing but being able to plug a tire and go isn't.
I have cast wheels which equates to tubeless tires. Looks is an arbitrary thing but being able to plug a tire and go isn't.
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Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 10,033
Likes: 29
RE: In praise of laced wheels
After having the spokes loosen up on my rear wheel, not once but twice. I replaced the rear with a mag. The first time happened at 31k miles. The second time at 62k miles. Before the second time, I had put the bike on a lift and checked them. They loosened within 200 miles...some broke, some pulled out of the hub. I had to get trailered home.
I have an indy buddy that says he sees lots of loose spokes on Twin Cam bikes. He blames it on two things: 1.) Cheap spokes. 2.) The fact that the TC puts out more torque than any factory HD to date.
About laced wheels looking good...Not really, IMO unless you relace the wheels. Up until about 2005, the spokes were cadmium plated. They turned battleship gray in about 6 months.
Another thing to consider with steel wheels and spokes is rust....Check out the pic of my ruined wheel. The nipples are starting to rust and crumble. The wheel is starting to rust. My bike is a 2000 and garage kept. How long do you think it would have been until that wheel was unsafe? Oh, yeah before anybody blames the rust on tire change lube, that ain't it. I change my own tires and use Murphy's Oil Soap as a lube. It doesn't corrode metal.
[IMG]local://upfiles/17633/3349F9AE9BC44E1A8F2D6FF2973BA2DB.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]local://upfiles/17633/237629F1FE35493E9BF1B0D38DC7EF6E.jpg[/IMG]
I have an indy buddy that says he sees lots of loose spokes on Twin Cam bikes. He blames it on two things: 1.) Cheap spokes. 2.) The fact that the TC puts out more torque than any factory HD to date.
About laced wheels looking good...Not really, IMO unless you relace the wheels. Up until about 2005, the spokes were cadmium plated. They turned battleship gray in about 6 months.
Another thing to consider with steel wheels and spokes is rust....Check out the pic of my ruined wheel. The nipples are starting to rust and crumble. The wheel is starting to rust. My bike is a 2000 and garage kept. How long do you think it would have been until that wheel was unsafe? Oh, yeah before anybody blames the rust on tire change lube, that ain't it. I change my own tires and use Murphy's Oil Soap as a lube. It doesn't corrode metal.
[IMG]local://upfiles/17633/3349F9AE9BC44E1A8F2D6FF2973BA2DB.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]local://upfiles/17633/237629F1FE35493E9BF1B0D38DC7EF6E.jpg[/IMG]
Cruiser
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 153
Likes: 0
From:
RE: In praise of laced wheels
i got these and love them.
http://www.harley-davidson.com/gma/g...bmLocale=en_US
I wanted my bike to look more beefy and muscular rather than retro.
http://www.harley-davidson.com/gma/g...bmLocale=en_US
I wanted my bike to look more beefy and muscular rather than retro.