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fatboy solid disc whell question

6K views 36 replies 24 participants last post by  Alan S 
#1 · (Edited)
fatboy solid disc wheel question

Hello,
Considering purchasing a 1999 fatboy. I have not ridden it yet. I have talked to people (none of them own a fatboy) that say they do not handle as well as other softails due to the solid disc wheels and cross winds. Is this true? Any owners out there have any problems due to the solid wheels ?

thanks for the help
 
#27 ·
jace said:
NEKKO,
Yes it is a EVO motor 12,000 miles single owner.
EVO motors sound the best! The engine is rigid mounted to the frame on a Fatboy. All Harleys vibrate to a certain degree. Some folks find the EVO Fatboy to be too much of a good thing. I'll be interested in your impressions from the test ride. At some point, Fatboys switched over to a counter balanced engine and that seems to work a lot better in the rigid mount frame. Good luck with the bike, Jace.
 
#28 ·
flstflee said:
okay..take a box fan..unplugged..and blow through it..no problem


now..plug it in..turn it on..try it then

spoked wheel is the same
Yeah, that's real scientific. Fan blades are broad and pitched to produce air flow. How many fans have spokes instead of blades and how many spokes are shaped like blades.
Here's some info for you, just because a spinning wheel looks solid, the spokes are still spaced apart, they don't move. Try this, get up to speed and stick a broomstick in the front spokes, if nothing can go through, you'll live to tell about it.
 
#29 ·
how much wind do solid wheels catch? how much wind do dual disc brakes catch? how much wind do saddlebags catch? what about side winds and the batwing fairing? how much wood can a woodchuck chuck? how many licks to the center of a tootsie pop? i say buy what you like and don't worry about it...or ride in a windless tunnel.
 
#30 ·
csoday said:
Yeah, that's real scientific. Fan blades are broad and pitched to produce air flow. How many fans have spokes instead of blades and how many spokes are shaped like blades.
Here's some info for you, just because a spinning wheel looks solid, the spokes are still spaced apart, they don't move. Try this, get up to speed and stick a broomstick in the front spokes, if nothing can go through, you'll live to tell about it.
OK....then let's watch CSODAY piss on the spokes while the spoked wheel is turning. :p
 
#32 ·
If it were a problem that could be documented, Harley would not sell it with solid wheel as it would be a liablity for them.

And the total surface area you are talking about could be regained if you went on a diet for a few weeks !!

In otherwords, good luck proving it makes a differance.
 
#36 ·
Wow lol




sorry I'm just a guest here and super late to the party but this thread came up in a google search and I have to say this post is the dumbest thing I've ever read on the internet. The MoCo couldn't care less about known issues and rider safety. If they did, the bagger death wobble would have been fixed, softails would be able to turn with enough ground clearance to not slam a hard part and lever the read wheel, the newer twin cam engines wouldn't explode at 50K miles unless you're vigilant enough to insist that the plastic shoes riding the cam chains get swapped out after 30K miles. The MoCo knows enough stupid yuppies and wannabes will buy their junk, overpriced pieces of **** no matter what and oblivious fanboys will defend these technological relics no matter how much evidence that Harleys are garbage.
 
#33 ·
exactly...but then again the HD corp didn't ask Csoday

I wonder if that rear wheel Billy Lane used with no center might create a vacume and cause the bike to switch ends..or mebbe whistle?

fact of the matter is..dont pass on a fatboy if your worried about the wheels..me?..have never noticed any more buffeting in high winds than the rest of the group I ride with..some 80 plus bikes at times of all makes and models..one trip fromYellowstone to Sturgis was told the crosswinds were 35mph gusting to 45mph..all of us were gettin pushed around

jmho
 
#34 ·
well, long story short guy sold the 99 before I had a chance to ride, found an injected 03 that I liked and priced right. Rode it last night and boy am I glad I did. It handled like a dream, only thing is I didn't like how I sat on it, felt like I was on top, more straight up and down type feel, instead of the down in feel I had on the customs and standards. Didn't go with it, I think I'm a softail custom man, so I'm still searching. Thank you for all the help, and I will echo what I have read here several times, ride everything before you buy.
 
#35 ·
I never said that there was a handeling problem with solid wheels. What I said was air will pass through spoked wheels no matter how fast they are turning. What I will now add to that is that solid wheels will catch a cross wind just like a rather large rider (myself), saddlebags or fairings. Higher cross sectional density equals increased wind resistance. Head north out of Corpus Christy on FM35 when there is a 40mph wind coming off the gulf. Try it on an '03 Fatboy and an '89 Evo with spoked wheels.
 
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