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Did some measuring this afternoon and found the back wheel is offset to the left by 3/4"...have no clue what this was supposed to fit or why someone would lace it that way. I have not checked on a price to true a wheel, but I'm guessing it would be much more than the price of a truing stand. Might as well do it myself as I was planning on replacing the tires anyway. Tread is good and I see no checking, but they are 8 years or older. Every fastener I put my hands on will be replaced by stainless...corroded nuts/bolts/washers just make me cringe.
You sure it's a lacing issue or the wheel itself is off another model ?
I'm not sure of anything at this point as I had no hand in it. Lets say the wheel is from another model...does any bike come to mind that would require the wheel to be offset 3/4" to the left? Is there anything that would prevent moving it back to center with the laces? The drive sprocket and disc are lined up correctly...it's just the hoop that has the tire thrown against the left-side of the fender.
I cannot speak for 1966, but 1970 the rear wheel is laced with an offset per the factory manual.
Now you have a newer style square swing arm and disc brake, so all bets are off as to what it is supposed to be at that point. Mixing and matching of parts makes questions like a wheel offset hard to answer.
I would start with the FSM for 1966, should the wheel be laced with an offset? Now find a FSM for 1974 and up and look up the same question. That will be the beginning of your journey, good luck.
I have no FSM for either year...suggestions on the best place to obtain these? I'm assuming any offset specified would be to get the back wheel to track with the front. Someone before me had to have seen this when the fender was mounted...you literally cannot squeeze a slim open-end wrench between the tire and fender. When I have viewed parts online I have been cross checking compatibility from 1966 to 1978 Electra Glides and have found no issues thus far. Given the limited space of a swingarm, 3/4" is a huge move in my mind. Thanks to all for the input...this annoyance will be sorted out in the end.
Take some pics of the wheel (axle) spacers and also the rotor and sprocket mounting. Are there spacers on either? Is the sprocket dished one way or the other?
Drive sprocket appears to be slightly dished. Chain and brake disk are running true with no spacers between them and the wheel hub...these do not need any change in position. It is the wheel hoop that is offset to the left which creates conflict. The actual axle spacers are approximately 7/8" on the left and 1/2" on the right. There is no room for adjustment on that front as the bolts for the disc would be at risk of interfering with the caliper bracket.
I downloaded a pdf service manual, but have found no reference as to wheel offset yet. I suppose my next question is if I move this wheel more to center will I introduce any evil handling characteristics to the bike? I have not ridden this one before other than loading it on a trailer and can't speak to how it handled previously. All I can say right now is this just looks mechanically all wrong. The sprocket appears to be correct and is a direct replacement for 66 thru 78 at least (9.8mm dish/offset).
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