OK - I was just poking around Harley's website and noticed you can buy a complete blacked out set of FatBob trees (part# 48609-09). I checked Zanotti's price on them and they are "only" $195.60.

Anyway; my question is this...... could I just swap out my stock trees for the FB ones and reuse my tubes, sliders, wheel, brakes etc for an instant wide glide? Can I just use some spacers for the wheel alignment or would I have to change out the hub/wheel as well?

 

You can purchase a spacer that goes between the hub and rotor so that your rotor will line up with the caliper so I would say yes it is doable.

 

sounds cheap, easy and tempting.......... just like a good woman.

 

You will probably need an axle and if you plan on using your front fender you'll need spacers. Depending on the year of your bike you might have to swap wheel bearings also.

 

doh!!!!! an axle - of course! I missed the obvious one; thanks.

 

I used those triple trees on my bike. I switched the wheel out for a wide glide 21, but think others have made custom spacers to use with the stock 19 hub. You will also have to get the axle, and space your caliper and rotor or get some wide glide/fat bob lower legs. I currently have spacers for my rotor and caliper, but bought some WG lower legs to have powdered and will remove the spacers once those get done. Search for Wide glide conversions and you should find some good info.

 

Not sure I follow you -

Do you have a Wide Glide 21" wheel (which fits without spacers)? or

Stock 19" wheel with spacers?

I believe the lower sliders for Street Bob and Wide Glide are the same ... so swapping out the lowers would not allow you to run a narrower (Mid Glide) front wheel without spacers (i.e., the 'gap' between the fork tubes would not change by changing out the lower sliders) ....

As I appreciate the engineering problem, centering the stock Street Bob wheel in a Wide Glide front end would require spacers on both sides of the hub ... the one on the left would have to be a small disc the same diameter of the hub with a hole pattern drilled for the disc brake rotor bolt pattern ....

Whether you need bearings would depend on which axle your bike has - the 1" or the 25mm axle ... you would need to use the same axle size as your stock bike if you want to avoid the cost of replacing the lowers, but if you change the lowers to a different axle size configuration, you'll need to change the bearings in your wheel as well ....

As noted, you'll also need fender spacers for the stock Steet Bob fender ....

* * *

CRF -

I think the cheapest quickest approach would be to buy the Wide Glide length axle of the same size (diameter) as your stock axle ... get the spacers for your stock wheel (set of two for both sides ... I think you can find them through Custom Cycle Engineering of San Diego area), and spacers for your fender ....

Later if you want a 21" wheel, you could find the rim and lace it to your stock hub ... keeping the cost down ... (find the thread where several forum members have done it with a 'how-to') ....

R/
'Chop

 

those fat bob trees sound cheap ?

does anyone know the part # for the longer axle

I'll look for it but if someone already knows....

 

Hmmm, that sounds tempting. I may have to keep that in mind for the future.

 

I have a 2009 SB. I used WG trees, my stock tubes and lowers. I got a 21" wheel from a 2003 WG and drilled out the center hole for the larger inner bearing spacer for the 25mm bearings. I had to machine spacers for the hub only because the 3/4" and 1" bearing is wider than the 25mm so it caused the 25mm to sit farther in the seat of the hub. Therefore requiring longer spacers than the stock WG spacer. My point being that the rotor lined up with the caliper with the wheel centered in between the lowers meaning I did not need WG lowers. In other words I am using my stock lowers and do not have any spacers behind the rotor or caliper. So please tell me again why you needed WG lowers.