[notofthisworld]

I am getting ready to remove the spokes and put on a set of alloy rims I purchased. I was told that the front rim was a no-brainer and the guy that sold me the rim sold me one off of a 1800 vtx. I was told it was the same fit as the 1300 and I hope he is right.

I got another rear rim from a friend and plan on dark-siding it as soon as I choose the tire I get the best reviews on. I spoke with a friend that is a chips rider here in california and he said no way, he even went so far as to say the phat tires were unsafe.

So far I have seen nothing to back up his humble CHP opinion, but I suppose everyone is entitled to one. He reasoned that if you bought a MC than why make it into a two wheel car. I thought that a stupid thing to say.

So is there anything I will run into when I take off the rear wheel of my 1300S and replace it with the alloy rim dark side that will make life interesting, let me know?

Ijust want to have the whole tool box there if needed.

One final note, for those of you that may have seen the post I put up on the general message board about the Cobra light bar breaking off. I have news. I am supposed to be receiving the first of the new bars and should have it in a few days if the guy was being honest with me.

To summarize for those that didn't read the post, The only critical weld on the light bar was incoreectly welded and had zip for penetration where it was welded. It looked pretty, but it wasn't pretty bouncing all over the front fender of the bike at 70.

I will repost on this issue after I receive this light-bar, hopefully next week. I plan on doing a few lab vibration tests on it before I install it to see if they have corrected their production problem.

So, in summary If you all have any insights or remember any nasties changing over to alloy rims and doing the dark side tire , drop me a line and let me know.

 

[DRFLGD]

Check out www.bareasschoppers.com and http://tech.vtxoa.com/index.php?

 

[Jon's1800VTXC]

If you have a 1300 and are putting 1800 wheels the front will not work without modification. The rear will work, but you need the correct rotor for the cast wheel and caliper and caliper bracket. The reason the front doesn't work is the 1800 has dual front rotors and the fork spacing is different :wink:

 

[notofthisworld]

1800 front wheel.

Whoa, I see the dual brake rotor that is talked about here. Guess I will be returning the front wheel to the seller. I should have known, I did look over both mochines before buting the 1300.

The post on wheel removal from badasschoppers is very good and the author is very concise and helpful. His comments about being frugal are very accurate.

We all know when it comes to tools that the best ones are worth the up-front cash, rather than go through years of faulty tools. Unless you can get the tool for cents on the dollar and know you will never need it again, (harbor freight).

I will continue to look at the dark side post for more info on the replacement tire. Thanjs to all for the info.

 

[Coyote7864]

Your CHiPs officer friend is partly right.
Folks who ride a car tire or a really fat tire bike for the
first time are surprised about the added effort that it takes
to lean those bikes over and make them stay leaned over.
But after a few hundred miles it becomes something you get used to.

The car tire and fat rear tires also take a little getting used
to when performing parking lot manuevers like
Jerry Motorman Palladino does in his videos.
I was training a new rider last summer and was re-acquainting
myself with how our big VTX bikes manuever around in a
parking lot.

The bigger rear tire and the car tire with their extra rubber on the
road have more of an effect on steering than you might think,
but you will get used to it after a short while.

However, it costs a lot more to get a fat tire for our bikes
because we need modified swingarms in addition to the bigger rims.
For most of us, it is not worth the cost or the effort.

 

[Chicago-Spike]

I'm not sure if you have a 1300 or an 1800, but either way, neither the front or rear wheels will work without some modifications. The fronts as you've heard are very different. 1300 has single disc, 1800 has dual disc brakes. The rear wheel and brake rotor and calipers are different between the 2 models also. The 1300 is smaller in that area so the rotor will not be all the way into the caliper for symetrical pressure, pads only contacting about half of the rotor.
So, if you have an 1800, return them both. If you have a 1300, the rear wheel can be made to work by getting an 1800 rear brake caliper and brake stay