FYI - '09 Touring Wheels

TLMitchell

I've had a spare rear wheel for my dressers for almost 10 years. Kinda convenient to throw on fresh rubber before a trip when I'm unsure if the existing rear has the tread to go the distance. Pretty pricey picking up rubber on the road and if you run a non-OEM tire it might be tough to find.

As I'm expecting a 2010 Ultra around the end of the month I've been shopping for an '09 rear wheel. Seems to be a lot of 'em out there as folks add custom wheels or convert to a trike. Most of 'em have the bearings still in but most of 'em come without the rear compensator pulley and isolators. I figure no problem, when you swap wheels just use your existing pulley and IDS.

There's a bit of a problem with that theory though. My dealer mentioned that the pulley and IDS has to be on the wheel to use the machines to mount and balance. And if your only pulley is on your bike.... well, no way to get rubber mounted on that handy spare wheel unless you're good with tire irons and have a balancing stand. The isolators are cheap enough new... around 20 bucks. But the compensator pulley is a whopping $192 retail, Zanotti's discounts it for 152 bucks plus shipping. Take that into consideration when deciding how much to pay for a wheel.

Another consideration is ABS or no ABS. The right side bearing on ABS bikes has a magnetic sensor imbedded, the non-ABS bearing is the same as the ones on the other side. You can run an ABS bearing on a non-ABS bike but if you've got ABS you need that bearing with sensor for it to work.

Last handy hint.... the first thing I do when I get a new bike the 12 miles home from the dealer is to wipe off the wheels and apply a sealant. My rear wheels get cruddy like everyone else's but I don't get the imbedded brake dust that eats into the aluminum. A quick wash and they look like new for years. YMMV.

TL

Freebee

What are we sealing the cast wheels with ?

pahdrider

Pledge work great !

TLMitchell

I've used a dedicated wheel sealant with good results but find commercially available sealants to be as long-lasting. Meguiar's NXT 2.0 Tech Wax, despite it's name, is actually a synthetic sealant. The wheels have to be clean to use it. I use a product available online called Klasse All-In-One these days because it cleans, polishes and protects. No substitute for a metal polish when the wheels are grungy but the whole point of sealing 'em is so they don't get that way in the first place. YMMV.

TL

I've been seeing that over and over, gonna have to give it a look just for grins. I'm an obsessive-compulsive detailer with a cabinet full of buffers, pads, polishes, waxes, sealants and about every other dedicated niche product you can name. I'm not satisfied with less than concours results when I go whole-hog on any vehicle but something easy to use and effective would be a great addition for those in-between light cleanups.

TL