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Harley 16' wheel and disc brake on a Triumph pre unit.

703 Views 5 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  WhizzbangK.C.
Looking through this forum, there are older threads but not answers I am looking for. Has any one customized this? I am having a rear rigid frame to be built to fit the swing arm 1959 frame and I have found a few concerns. If I am correct, the normal inner diameter of the Triumph rear wheel section is 8' inches. I have an older frame that is unusable. It measures 8' inside wheel diameter. If I go with the 16' wheel, with disc on right (sprocket on left), I have a weird feeling the rear wheel will be offset and cause dog walking down the road. (slightly sideways). Im assuming I'll need 9 inches clearance (inner diameter) for the wheel and disc to fit properly.

Has anyone else attempted this?
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If you want to run a 16" harley rim in a stock rigid Triumph you need to move the rim vs. the Triumph hub over to the left. The same would apply to a Harley rim. Now if your rim is a cast wheel you need to widen the left side of the custom built hardtail
accordingly to accommodate that cast wheel.
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If you want to run a 16" harley rim in a stock rigid Triumph you need to move the rim vs. the Triumph hub over to the left. The same would apply to a Harley rim. Now if your rim is a cast wheel you need to widen the left side of the custom built hardtail
accordingly to accommodate that cast wheel.
Im assuming "left side" is always your left when sitting on the bike? Is that what you meant? (y)
yes and btw it isn't important that both wheels are running on the same centerline. Many stock motorcycles don't. The only important thing is that the transmission sprocket and rear sprocket align. The rest you can fudge.
yes and btw it isn't important that both wheels are running on the same centerline. Many stock motorcycles don't. The only important thing is that the transmission sprocket and rear sprocket align. The rest you can fudge.
I believe that the stock motorcycles that have wheels offset from each other do so to keep the center of gravity of the machine right on the line between contact patches. It keeps the bike from feeling like it's pulling one way or the other going down the road. If you've ridden with one saddle bag heavily loaded and the other empty you know the feeling of an unbalanced bike. You are correct that it can be fudged a bit with no extreme negative effect.
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