I am thinking about buying a 2018 Fatboy. It has solid wheels on it. I tend to think this is not a big deal. I have heard stories about them having issues in the wind and my engineering background makes me think this may just be a wives tale.

My hunch is that any wheel becomes a "solid" at speed.

My test: I put my Dyna on a stand, put it in gear and ran the bike. I then took a line form my compressor and blew air (wind) into the rear wheel. I was NOT able to have any effect on the papers I hung on the other side of the bike. When I stopped the wheel the paper blew off the chair.

Conclusion: At speed spokes become "solid".

What are your thoughts on this? Who actually has a Fatboy and wants to weigh in on this?

 

Trust your background. You scientifically answered your own question.
I had a 14 Fatboy. Loved it. Handled great. Rode over the Mackinaw bridge where the winds have been known to force motorcycles across lanes and even to be thrown from the bridge (as told to me by a friends friend who heard it from his ex wife's cousins hairstylist!)
Didn't affect me one bit more than any of the other motorcycles crossing with me.
Good luck with your purchase!!!

 

the only problem i've seen with the solid wheels are that the sprocket bolts back out sometimes. seen it many times over the years. red loctite and correct torque and checking them once in awhile takes care of it.

 

I heard stories of cross winds way back when the FatBoy first came out. I laughed then and I laugh now. I've had a solid rear wheel on both Softails and my FXLR with zero issues. If cross winds were an issue with solid wheels then all the baggers out there would be especially screwed.

 

Aside from the wind, which may or may not be an issue, I'm not a fan of the way they look. Plus the cleaning has got to suck.

 

You are correct about the effect of the spinning spoked wheel - you even proved it with your test.

That's actually enough to show there isn't more wind pushing you over with solid wheels. Add to that - the wheels have a low center of gravity and represent a small part of the cross section of the bike compared to the chassis/motor and the rider.

Also consider that Harley has produced the Fat Boy for 28 years with solid wheels. If there was a safety problem with the wheels, they would not have continued using them.

 

It's funny how many people think that the solid wheels will be a problem in the wind but they dont think that a fairing or bags will cause any issues. The fact is that the more surface area you have the more it will get pushed in a cross wind.

 

Actually, no. Cleaning the solid Fat Boy wheels is infinitely easier than spokes or even struts. Ask me how I know (I've owned bikes with all three).

The wind is flat-out not an issue. I've ridden in 35MPH crosswinds at 80+ MPH. Just no problem.

 

considering how damn good that bike looks I would just pretend i am a kite.

the only negative might be slightly heavier steering cause of the front tire size, plus I would be curious how those fat tires play in the rain because you know you will get caught in it

 

You'll have way more "problems" with a batwing in the wind than solid wheels. Neither are an issue.