21"front wheel

[Jesse-James]

....and I had the rear blow on the freeway this summer on the nomad. Tubeless. Why did the spokes matter? Just curious cause I like the look of the big spoke wheels and I had zero problems on my 900 classic with them.

[ponch]

Originally Posted by Jesse-James

....and I had the rear blow on the freeway this summer on the nomad. Tubeless. Why did the spokes matter? Just curious cause I like the look of the big spoke wheels and I had zero problems on my 900 classic with them.

Generally speaking, a tube tire will deflate faster than a tubeless. I've gotten two flats on a KZ1000 that had spoked/tubed tires and it went flat very quickly. I've gotten a couple screws in two different incidents in the rear of the Nomad I had and it was much much slower. The only manufacturers I know that have tubeless spoked wheels are BMW and Moto Guzzi. May be there are others, but if given a choice, I'd rather have tubeless.

[Jared]

Originally Posted by Jesse-James

....and I had the rear blow on the freeway this summer on the nomad. Tubeless. Why did the spokes matter? Just curious cause I like the look of the big spoke wheels and I had zero problems on my 900 classic with them.

Spoked wheels require tubes, which means the tire can't be plugged. Not really a huge deal, but if you're on the side of a road with a nail in your tire, a mag wheel gives you the option of plugging the hole, and continuing down the road while the spoked wheel requires a tow truck.

[ponch]

Originally Posted by Utah Motorcyclist

Spoked wheels require tubes, which means the tire can't be plugged. Not really a huge deal, but if you're on the side of a road with a nail in your tire, a mag wheel gives you the option of plugging the hole, and continuing down the road while the spoked wheel requires a tow truck.

Or a lot of work on the side of the road.

I just looked on HD site and Harley offers a profile laced wheel that is tubeless. So the number is now three that offer a tubeless spoked wheel.

[Jesse-James]

I guess tubes don't bother me much. Just wondering if there was more to it, thanks.

Makes tire changes more expensive but I love the look.

Think I'll be doing a big spoke wheel when the time comes.

[danimal2]

Somewhere I've seen a procedure for sealing the spokes on a rim so you can use a tubeless type tire and be able to plug it if the need arises.

Ah! Here's the link.

sealing a spoke rim for tubeless tire

[signal40]

So thanks to a tip from buddahbagger I called Scootworks (919) 269-0986 and spoke to Dave. He was a HUGE help!!! He basically broke it down for me and told me exactly what I need to make the conversion a simple "bolt-on" process. So here it is.... (This is what he told me for my 1600)

You have to start out with a wheel for a 1999 or older Harley Wide Glide. According to Dave, the bearing out of our Kawasaki front wheel will press right into the HD wheel. Thus allowing use of our stock front axle. He said I could press out my old bearings and re-install them in the HD wheel but I think I'll just go to my local Kawasaki dealer and get a set of new stock front wheel bearings and install them.

From there, you simply buy TWO "Front Rotor Adapters" for Classic 800/1500 and ONE "Wheel Spacer Kit" from SW. Don't let the 800/1500 throw you off. Dave explained to me that the only difference in the 1500 & 1600 is that the 1600's forks are wider to allow for dual front discs. Here is a link to the page where you can pick these up....

http://www.scootworks.com/shop.cgi/p...359658928.7998

If you are contemplating going down to a single disc setup like I am, Dave said no worries. You still use both adapters, just don't install one of the rotors then it's up to you to eliminate one caliper, hose, etc.

I am stoked about getting started with this upgrade. Hope this info help some others out.

[Tony Smith]

Originally Posted by signal40

You have to start out with a wheel for a 1999 or older Harley Wide Glide. According to Dave, the bearing out of our Kawasaki front wheel will press right into the HD wheel. Thus allowing use of our stock front axle. He said I could press out my old bearings and re-install them in the HD wheel but I think I'll just go to my local Kawasaki dealer and get a set of new stock front wheel bearings and install them.

What about the collar/spacer that goes between the bearings on the inside of the wheel? Use the Harley one? Kawasaki one? Custom length?

[signal40]

Originally Posted by Tony Smith

What about the collar/spacer that goes between the bearings on the inside of the wheel? Use the Harley one? Kawasaki one? Custom length?

It's my understanding that that's what the wheel spacer kit is for

[Tony Smith]

I would think the wheel spacer kit is for from outside the bearing to the inside of the fork leg on each side in different lengths to center the wheel.

[meanstreak]

I put a savage eclipse 21 from rc components on my meanstreak and used the same front fender just extended my bracket

[Big_Angus]

Just installed a 21. Love it. Just have to raise the fender an inch

[Nomad212]

Does anyone know if you can still do this with a 99 due to the speedometer?

[andyvh1959]

Originally Posted by Monkeyman

Harley guys swap out the dual front calipers (2 or 4 piston) with 6 piston calipers when they go to a single front brake (generally with a bigger wheel). Their bikes weigh as much as ours do and I've never heard of any brake complaints. On the other hand, I wouldn't do it just on principle.

And I bet they also care more about the looks/cost than the performance. Also they likely have never practiced high effort braking to understand how much braking performance they don't have. I don't buy the "never heardof any brake complaints" because I doubt they ever really get on the brakes hard.

One thing for certain, if your bike has ABS, changing the front wheel to a larger size only works if the 21" tire outside diameter is the same as the stock 16" from tire diameter. If the tire is much larger in diameter it will cause a fault in the ABS system.