Rear rim on front?
Rear rim on front?
Has anyone attempted to mount a rear rim on the front? Planning a fat front tire conversion on my 05 train, and wanted the front to match the stock rear. Already bought the 16x3 rear rim and fatboy front fender but haven't had a chance to do any fitup yet. Wondered if there was anyone who has attempted this, and what I might be in for.
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 4,656
Likes: 10
From: Aledo, Texas
I know Grimm has a rear Duece rim and 160 tire on the front of his Night Train trike. He said he just flipped the rim around, mounted the tire in the correct direction, spaced it out, and been riding with it for some time. You might hollar at him to see what exactly he did.
Thanks Tx, I'll msg grimm and see if he can give me some details. Haven't received the rim yet, scheduled for delivery on Monday. From the pics on ebay, the hubs look to be identical between a fatboy front and the night train rear, but haven't had a chance to put a tape measure to it yet. Planning on 150 or 160 rubber and might take the cutoff wheel to the fatboy fender to put a little custom flavor on it. I'll let you know how it goes and post some pics when finished. Thanks again.
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 4,656
Likes: 10
From: Aledo, Texas
Thanks Jim! You might not know just how "sic" it really is....... Guess I'll start a post here in a bit.......
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Elite HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 4,598
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From: navarre ohio
i have never looked at the rims close enough to say for sure,but i always thought there was something different between front and rear.rear is offset 3/4" or something
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Well, got the rim and there's a bit of work to do. The hub's match up exactly, except that the rear rotor hardware is 3/8" and the front is 5/16". Easy fix, I just got a rear rotor and hardware on ebay for $35 and I'll just run it up front. Nothing wrong with having bigger bolts on the rotor! With the rotor in place though, the rim is about 1/4" off center to the opposite side (rider right). Mechanically probably no big deal, but aesthetically it looks pretty crappy so I'm having a bit milled off the brake side of the hub to scoot the wheel over. Sounds like a lot of trouble, but I'm still well under what I would have spent on a new wheel, and it's custom in every way! Not just some bolt on part!