I want to change my rear old flaking chrome spoke rim on my 2007 FLHTC to a tubeless mag wheel. I'm running a 160/80/16 on there now without any issues and I love it. I would like to keep running this size on the new rim I purchase. What years will fit this tire and also my belt sprocket and rotor. I like some of the older wheels just wondering how far back I can go. I see a lot of older touring rims for cheap that i like. I know nothing newer than 2008 will work but I'm more curious how far I can go back to find a 16x3 or 16x3.5 that will fit without any issues?

 

02-07 will have the same 1" wheel bearings. The stock 3 inch wheel is too narrow for a 160 tire. If you want to run a wider tire (I'm running a 180 on my 07), you should consider a 4.25" wide wheel for the 160 tire, or a 5.5" wide wheel and wider fender for a 180 tire.

 

I agree with Mike. I run a 4.5" rear rim with my 160/70 tyre. The largest tyre recommended for a stock 3" wide rim is 150/80, which does work fine, in my experience.

Mike, what rear fender are you using with your 180?

 

I have to agree with the 3" rim being too narrow for a 160 tire. On a 3" rim a 150 is the widest that should be run. You can get an 18x4.25 to run a 160 but on a bagger personally I would not bother with a 160. You cannot see it and ti will not last very long. Get a 150/70/18 and run that on a 4.25 rim.

 

Were all stock 02 tru 07 rims 3 inch rims or are there any certain year rims that I should be looking for that is wider than 3 inch? Possibly from another model bike? Or do I have to purchase an aftermarket rim to achieve this? Now that I'm running a 160 on a three inch rim I'm a bit concerned. I did however notice a big difference in performance. My bike does not track nearly as bad on tar snakes as it did with the 140. I do believe you gain some payload with the 160 as far as tire weight rating goes. I know the size difference between a 150 and 160 is minimal but the 160 has been working well with no rubbing or trimming needed, and I looks great.

 

Is there a reason why the 160 will not last as long as the 150?

 

3" rims were used widely across the entire Harley range until relatively recently and are still used on many models. The Deuce was possibly the first to use a different size on the rear, a 4.5"x17", which I have on my Glide. However it is not a simple bolt in! The tyre is almost as wide as the stock fender. I don't know of a slightly wider stock wheel that will bolt in, although there are custom sizes that will work.

The MT-130/90, MU-140/85 and 150/80 tyres all have almost identical rolling diameter, but when going wider to a 160, the profile is reduced again, keeping that diameter similar, at which point the beads have to move apart, to get the tread width, with the lower profile. As for the 160 you've been using, have you checked the manufacturer's website for recommended rim fitting? That tyre is over 6" wide, twice as wide as the rim it is on.

 

After shopping around there does not appear to be as many options for rim size as i thought unless I go aftermarket or deuce route. I would love to go aftermarket but the $ is not there now. The deuce route is something I'm gonna look into some more. Is there a thread on this process? I've found a few deuce wheels but only 3/4 axel ones off of pre 2000 years. I'm gonna keep looking. I've also been reading as much as I can find on this subject and I keep finding people referring to a 16x3.5 rim. However after looking on a chart it does not show a 3.5 inch rim as ever being a stock rim size. Where can I find this illusive 3.5 wide rim? Is this an aftermarket rim or did harley make a16x3.5? I'd feel much more comfortable running a 160 on a 3.5 than the 3 inch that I'm running now.

 

It started as a Klock Werks fender, which I modified. ( frenching the license plate and welding side fillers onto it.) I also used the Klock upper fillers, which bolt on.

I don't think they're making the 8-1/4" wide fender any longer, which is a shame.

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You can always change the bearings to fit your axle.

I have an aftermarket rear wheel that was spec'd for a Deuce. I swapped the 3/4" bearings for 1", and made custom spacers to center the wheel. Pretty simple stuff, I don't know if you'll find a how-to thread that covers it in more detail.