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I'm a brand new first time Harley owner. Owned bikes much of my life but never a Harley. This is a picture of the really badly installed wheel weights on the rear wheel of my 2011 deluxe with. The front wheel has 6 weights installed a little better than these on the back. I'd like to replace these ugly things with some chrome spoke weights. Do you have a brand/model of spoke weights that you prefer or one I should stay away from? Is there any reason I shouldn't do that? Are these spoked wheels normally this out of balance? And, lastly, do you all think this awful work was done at the dealership level, or did the bike leave the factory like this?
dude, i feel your pain, ugly, whoever did it was smoking something. no that is def not factory.
right off, i have no source for the nipple weights so try ebay, the jp cycle or jireh cycle. there are plenty of outlets.
first of all, i would make sure the wheel is balanced, the add up the weights marked on the stick on and that will give a ballpark figure you need. one thing for sure, as you spread out the weight like that, it does affect the balance so you probably will need less weight with the nipple variety. also with the nipple type, you will have less dynamic weight shift, not really an issue with mc tire/rim but still there.
I'd be taking that back to where ever you got it and have a nice WTF!!! conversation with them, that is not factory work. One, there's too many weights on that wheel so it's not correctly balanced and 2nd you don't use stick on's on a spoke wheel. Go get in somebody's face about that mess, those tape weights will fly off and they can damage sheet metal & paint.
Thanks for all the feedback guys. I bought this bike from a very small indy used dealer, not a HD shop. I know he didn’t put these weights on. He treated me very well. I got what I think was a great deal and he delivered the bike to my house 40 miles away in the rain for free at night.. I’m not inclined to go back to him on this, but take care of it myself.
What do you think of the idea of taking the weights off and seeing how the bike rides?
Vibration and tires will cup out very fast on you. If you can pull the wheel and have the indy or a sport bike place like Cycle gear rebalance it, there's something seriously out the picture you posted. Unbalanced tires are a no no.
Second option if you have a compressor is pop the weights and use Ride On, can get it from Amazon.
Last edited by TwiZted Biker; Jan 22, 2019 at 09:27 PM.
I do have air compressors. Is ride on ok with inner tubes? I’ve read that dyna beads wear the inside of the tire, so I’m not sure how they would work on my bike.
I’m inclined to take off the weights and try an internal balancing solution like ride on.
I do have air compressors. Is ride on ok with inner tubes? Ive read that dyna beads wear the inside of the tire, so Im not sure how they would work on my bike.
Im inclined to take off the weights and try an internal balancing solution like ride on.
Thanks, Chris-
You do DO NOT use Slime, it does soften inner tubes over time. Learned that the hard way years ago.
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Wheel weights
