Fatboy solids VS spoke wheels?

[Electric Head]

I've been trying to find info on weights or other people who have swapped wheels for better performance but have come up blank.

Would there be a noticable acceleration and braking advantage going from fatboy solids (06 16 inch) to deluxe wire-spoke wheels? I imagine the weight difference would be substantial, however the spoke wheels have a steel rim, which is the outer-most part of the wheel and have the most influence on their moment of inertia.

Anyone done this or thought about it? Did you notice less low-speed stability? More?

[swmnkdinthervr]

Vafatboy would be the one to ask on here...

The solid to spoke wheels would make verly little or no acceleration difference at all..
Again with braking no difference at all.

All your acceleration is in the power going to the tire contact with the road....
On funny cars or rail dragsters people use both and believe me when you are looking for ways to gain even a 100th of a second they would be the ones that would do this.....

Breaking is strickly done by the pads being squeezed onto the rotors...
What makes the difference here is the type of pads and the size of the pads and rotors.

As for weight the FatBoy wheel although solid is an alloy and is probably lighter than the spoke wheels since the spoke wheels tend to be steel....

The rotating mass that has the most effect on acceleration or decceleration is (depending on the "B" motor or "A" motor) would be the counter weights in the "B" motor which weigh 2.5 pounds each and are directly attached at the flywheel.....Now add the counter weights on the flywheels next the primary componets, now add the transmission componets and then all the drive componets and you have quite a lot that directly affects both outcomes...
So yes the wheels do have some affect but it in itself is very minimal....

[My name is Doug]

I changed my rear wheel to a solid (thanks to vafatboy) because for some unknown reason where my spokes would get loose all the time. I never had any low speed stability issues. It always was at high speeds and was not very nice and quite scary. I am still running the spoke wheel on the front because the spoke does look better on my bike. Not so worried about the rear wheel since my bags basically cover upp that area anyway.

Originally Posted by My name is Doug

I changed my rear wheel to a solid (thanks to vafatboy) because for some unknown reason where my spokes would get loose all the time. I never had any low speed stability issues. It always was at high speeds and was not very nice and quite scary. I am still running the spoke wheel on the front because the spoke does look better on my bike. Not so worried about the rear wheel since my bags basically cover upp that area anyway.

The big drawback to spokes is that they do come loose and the more power the worse it is...

I will say that the solid wheels (may not be as noticable with only the rear wheel being solid) will be affected by a cross wind....
I know HD says this is not true.. well I for one say it is true... the solid wheels are a PITA in a cross wind.....

I have the best of both worlds.... Alloy (mag) 5 spoke wheels......

[My name is Doug]

Originally Posted by KTWillys

The big drawback to spokes is that they do come loose and the more power the worse it is...

I will say that the solid wheels (may not be as noticable with only the rear wheel being solid) will be affected by a cross wind....
I know HD says this is not true.. well I for one say it is true... the solid wheels are a PITA in a cross wind.....

I have the best of both worlds.... Alloy (mag) 5 spoke wheels......

I couldn't agree with you more KT. I have noticed a bit of difference in crosswinds but it's a better feeling then not really having any control due to the spokes being loose at high speeds. I was looking into mags also but I believe there are axle size differences so I went with what I knew would work.

With all the weight one ends up losing through the endless polishing of spoked wheels, the rider actually picks up about 5.375 hp and 6.248 ft/lbs of torque... crosswinds aside of course...

Studies are being conducted now on why riders with solid wheels gain an average of 4.27 lbs. per year of solid riding...

Originally Posted by My name is Doug

I couldn't agree with you more KT. I have noticed a bit of difference in crosswinds but it's a better feeling then not really having any control due to the spokes being loose at high speeds. I was looking into mags also but I believe there are axle size differences so I went with what I knew would work.

Mike you are so very right... I love the look of spokes but unless you are dedicated to keeping them tight and he wheel true it is no fun....

Not sure if you already know this but as for the axle size differences.....
on almost any and I reallly think all HD's you can change the axle size for a wheel very easily...
The OD of the wheel bearing is the same for all of HD wheels.. The ID is where the difference is..
I checked into this a while back and found it to be true every time...


have a good ride today..

[My name is Doug]

Noted....wish I knew that before. Now I'm happy with what I got so I'm staying with what I know works for now. Couldn't really beat the price on the solids I got from Warren.

[fxr4mikey]

I have a solid disk in the rear and spoke wheel up front.

I've NEVER had any problems with loose spokes in the 8 years the spokes have been on this bike.

I don't think that cross winds make any 'real' difference on the rear. Sure Sure....... the theory and math would show this on paper. But when it comes time for riding, I don't believe that it really makes a hill of beans.

well, that's my 1cent input .....

ENJOY your disk wheels !!!!!!!



I do like the fact that my disk has a chrome ring on it as opposed to polished alum........ it is very easy to clean

Originally Posted by BigMike

The crosswind factor is an old wive's tale. I haven't notice any difference between the solid and spoke wheels I've had on my bike. I never had a problem with loose spokes but my rear wheel was out of true once. I took it to an Indy motorcycle tire shop that had a wheel builder do all of his work. I only had the rim back on the bike about 1000 miles before switching to the current solid wheels - which btw, ROCK.

Ahhha I knew you guys would play right into my hands....

Of course that is a load of sh!t....
I say this because when I had my FatBoy( which I put 30k on it before I traded it in) I had solid disc wheels on it... and it was affected by the crosswinds... now in Oregon there is a lot of wind and they do tend to change direction rather rapidly ... of which I am sure this happens in a lot of places...
Now I may not be as good of a rider as you all.... (only 42 years riding) so I may not be able to handle the bike...
But I do know that it is not a myth and is in fact very true.... I have been pushed into on coming lanes of traffic in the middle of a turn and have been pushed over farther in a turn than was planned... And I have been pushed side to side while going down a straight section of highway....
It has been commented on by others riding behind me...so I know that it is true....
I think that it is a matter of preference as to what style of wheel anyone has and if solid is the choice then enjoy... just as we should always do... use caution when riding....

I will also say that you learn to compensate for this but it still can catch you off guard..
I now ride a RG with cast spoke wheels.. and it doesnt have the same problem even with that big a$$ fairing on it...

Hmmm

have a great day guys.... going out for a ride and even supposed to be windy today...

Originally Posted by BigMike

nuff said

Difference between bagger and a softail. The rear wheel is covered anyway because of the bags. With the size of the brake discs on both sides of the bagger, there isn't very much wind making through the front either.

Good point....

I am going to take one of those motorsickle riding courses... hope that helps....

[Highmiles]

My personal experience, is that solids do make a difference in the wind. Especially the front wheel. I religiously kept my spokes tightened, I checked them twice a year, which is a pain. The spoke wheels on my RK were as heavy as solids. The other disadvantage is tubes in the spoke wheels. To my mind, that is a big disadvantage.

[fxr4mikey]

Originally Posted by Highmiles

My personal experience, is that solids do make a difference in the wind. Especially the front wheel. I religiously kept my spokes tightened, I checked them twice a year, which is a pain. The spoke wheels on my RK were as heavy as solids. The other disadvantage is tubes in the spoke wheels. To my mind, that is a big disadvantage.

I don't know what the big deal is about having a tube in a wheel

I have them in both my tires on my bicycle

I have one in the front wheel of my Harley -
I've never had a flat on my motorcycle ....... I've only been riding since 1973 ...............

I'm sure now that I've mentioned this ...... I'll flat next week

[Highmiles]

Originally Posted by fxr4mikey

I don't know what the big deal is about having a tube in a wheel
I've never had a flat on my motorcycle .......

'Nuff said