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new billet wheel trouble

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Old Oct 29, 2008 | 07:14 PM
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Default new billet wheel trouble

Was hoping a someone can give some advice.I have a new set of billet wheels for fatboy.tires were still in good shape so took them in to have them removed from the fatboy wheels and put on the new wheels and had them balanced.the back took 3 - 1/4 oz weights and the front took 7 -1/4oz weights which i thought was kinda much for a new wheel.I have a problem with the front i have a wobble around 40 kms. when i spin the wheel i can see a slight tracking when i watch the tread and rotate the wheel.Would this be a tire problem or wheel?I thought the billet wheel would be pretty straight being that it is new.Can you recommend a way to check?thx
 
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Old Oct 29, 2008 | 07:31 PM
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The tire has probably worn in relation to the old rim. Between this and different seating of the tire to the new rim it (tire) may no longer be true. Jack it up and look really closely as it spins. You will likely see something not 100%
Ron
 
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Old Oct 30, 2008 | 11:33 AM
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I agree with Rbabos that you picked up wear from old rim. The wheel weights aren't so far out at 1.25 oz (I have 1.5 on my Sporty 21" front and I mounted and balanced myself). The wobble you speak of, assuming the spacers are correct for that mod, may be "normal" for the wheel esp using old tire. My FLSTC does that at 35 mph with Fat Boy cast alloys due to the "nature of the beast". Rims do have run out lateral/radial tolerances but should be ok since they are new. Did you have new bearings put in also?
 
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Old Nov 4, 2008 | 09:12 PM
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what kind of wheels are they? If you jack up the front of the bike, spin the wheel and check the rotor for any "walk". According to the International Tire and Rim book, the tolerance for a wheel ( which is measured in the safety bead area) is about .030. Even at this end of the spectrum, there might be a slight slight walk when looking at the lip of the wheel. It is also a good idea to check the straitness of the rotor while you spin the front wheel. If it is off, and is pretty noticeable by eye, you can try rotating your hubs. Sometimes the hubs aren't perfectally square and can cause your wheel and rotor to be off a bit.

You will need to pull off your wheel, rotor, and remove the hub bolts. Pull off the hub and rotate it one bolt hole over. Put everything back together and spin check again. This will only need to be done IF your wheel is pretty off. You can't look at the tire, but need to check the rim and/or rotor. Feel free to call if you have any more questions. I'll try to help you get this taken care of.
 
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Old Dec 11, 2008 | 11:46 AM
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Hi these wheels are purchased from http://www.tpmparts.com/contact.html they sent me a second wheel they said they measured it with a guage and it was over there specs harley cast spec is anything over .030 is junk well the they said they guaged the second wheel and it was .010 and thats within the specs well i bought a new tire to be sure and left it at the shop.Went to pick it up and and the wheel was there beside the tire.the guy said this is a new wheel i said yes and it was guaged at .010 he said follow me into the back.he put just the wheel onto the balancer and this wheel has no rotor on it.just the crush middle spacer the bearings and seals.He spinned the wheel it was tracking from side to side pretty bad and he said he would not put a tire on it.he also said if it was .010 you would hardley see much visible tracking.so now i am dealing with the place i bought them from because i cant deal directly with the manufacutere.I think my next step will be take it to a wheel shop and they can tell whats wrong.I cant figure out if they gauged it how it can have such a bad wobble.Any ideas?
 
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Old Dec 11, 2008 | 03:50 PM
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There is clearly a machining issue that needs to be resolved in the bearing bores for alignment. Being CNC machined, they will all be like that until the error is tracked down and fixed. The supplier should contact the manufacturer and explain this problem.
Ron
 
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Old Dec 12, 2008 | 06:44 AM
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he siad he did and he is not getting anywerwith them and being in canada isnt helping if i was there i would go right down there,looks like my ebay buying is done.I finally learned the hard way.the company i bought them from is not to fast in getting back to me.so now i think i will take it to wheel repair shop and they can tell me exactly what is wrong with this wheel
 
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Old Dec 12, 2008 | 06:07 PM
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Probably the only way you will find out. Most likely both bearing bores are not inline with each other. That would suck.
Ron
 
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