Good Morning Everyone,

I've been reading these forums for quite a while and finally decided to sign up and join the party. I ride a 2005 Anniversary Fatboy that I picked up about a year ago. I do all of my own work on my bike bc I have always felt that that is the best way to truly know your machine... and also its just fun as hell.

I was hoping that the more experienced members could help me out with my current project. I have searched both this forum and google and never seem to find exactly what I need. What I am working on is that I have gotten bored of the mag wheels for now and found some standard spokes on Craigslist that I picked up. The seller didn't know the year that they came off of but did know that it was a softail and my lack of knowledge thought that would be ok.

The rims are 3/4" axle with 2" hubs for the rotors so I think they are from a pre '99 deluxe or heritage. MY fatboy is also 3/4" axle, but has 2 1/4" hubs for the rotors. I already ordered an adapter made of aluminum from eBay to get my rotors to fit so I think I have solved that problem.

The one I am struggling with is spacing. A lot of people told me that it would be a straight swap using the same spacers, but when I went to mount the rim, the fatboy spacer seemed to go inside the right side hub (side with the dog bowl). The bearings seem to move inside the hub by about 1/2". Is this normal on these older rims? Am I missing a part prior to the spacer to keep it from going inside? Also I haven't even attempted the rear wheel yet. Any issues you guys know of pertaining to the belt sprocket?



Thanks a lot for any insight you guys have.

 

Here is the exploded diagram for a 2005 FLSTCI front wheel......



I'm not sure what you mean by, " the bearings seem to move inside the hub by about 1/2 "

Here's the quick version of how it works.....

You press a bearing into the wheel until it seats in the wheel. (The service manual will tell you which side gets pressed in first. I forget which side it is, off the top of my head. My manuals are out in the shop). Then, you put spacer sleeve #25 into the hub of the wheel from the side without a bearing. You press in the other side bearing, just until it contacts the #25 spacer sleeve which is now in the hub, between the wheel bearings. The left side spacer #12, will come in contact with the left side wheel bearing and the right side hub cap spacer #26 will contact the right side bearing.... but they don't really "go inside" the hub....

The spacer sleeve #25, dictates the distance between the left & right side wheel bearings and resides between them in the hub. The other spacers just butt up against the outside of the wheel bearings. As long as the hub of the wheel is the proper width, you use the proper #25 spacer sleeve, #8 bearings, and #26 & #12 spacers.... when the wheel is bolted up, the rotor will fit in the caliper (mounted on the fork leg) .....

However, from what you said about your swap, if you are using an adapter, to get the rotor to match the width you have, with the wheel you want to use, you may also need to make an adjustment to one of your wheel spacers.....

I hope I didn't misunderstand what you were saying, if so, I apologize in advance...

Good luck....

 

I would agree, the internal spacer #25 is to short.

 

Primary side bearing is the one on the brake rotor side, if there are two brake rotors, the left side (as you're sitting on the bike) is the primary bearing side.

Just in case someone wants to find this in a search, I'll use the the HDF spelling of "break rotor"

 

I re-read my post, not sure I was clear...

You mentioned the hubs for the rotors are different sizes. I suspect you meant their diameter....?

Have you measured the width of the hubs, where the axle and spacer sleeve #25 go...?

It is critical you use the proper size #25 spacer sleeve FOR THE WHEEL you are using, not the application you are using it in..... the #25 spacer sleeve assures you have the proper wheel bearing fit for a given wheel hub..... If the hub widths are different sizes, you will need to find what #25 spacer sleeve goes with that wheel, or check with a custom wheel shop on what that spacer width should be for the hub you want to use.....

You will need to modify the outside spacers to adjust for the width of the "adapter" you added to mount the rotor, and/or to shift the wheel if it has a different width hub than your OEM hub.

Let's say for the sake of argument, that the rotor mounting adapter you used is 1/2" wide, but both wheels have the same width hubs. You have just added 1/2" to the the rotor side of the wheel. The wheel will need to be shifted 1/2" away from the caliper....... That would require lengthening the rotor side spacer 1/2" and shortening the other side spacer 1/2".....

Does this make sense.....?

In any case, break out the calipers and do some measuring... the keys are proper #25 spacer sleeve for the wheel you are using, and then adjusting the outside spacers to shift the wheel so the rotor, as mounted, lines up with the caliper...

One thing to note, you may be shifting the wheel-off center to accommodate for that adapter width... depending on that distance, it may not look right and/or may affect handling... I don't know for sure, as I've never swapped wheels that involved changing the spacers to make it fit....

If you could identify the year of the wheels you are using, it would simplify the process and maybe someone who did the same swap could give you some measurements..

Good luck with the wheel swap...

 

Thanks hattitude for the diagram. After looking at it and comparing it to my rims I think all that I am missing is #12 (left side spacer) and #26 (right side hub spacer). I ordered an aluminum spacer kit that has all of the different spacers that HD uses so I should have what I need in there. Now the question is can I use just a standard cylinder spacer on the right side (hub side)? Looking at the diagram, #26 looks like it has a lip on it.

 

The adapter I'm referring to is for the brake rotor, where it sits on the rim. My rotors have a 2 1/4" hole but the rims are made for rotors with a 2" hole.

 

Multihdrdr to the white courtesy phone pls.

 

Welcome!

 

Yes it does, the spacer used on the left side depends on the wheel, and whether or not you have the hub cap.... that lip is where the hub cap is attached with a c-clip...