King Spoke (Fat Spoke) Wheels by Ultima
#11
Mine was a direct bolt on. I will tell you what I tell anyone who asks. Repack the wheel bearings. What comes with the wheel is totally worthless. The bearing will fail in no time if just install them as shipped. Other than that. Its a very heavy well built wheel. My chrome is holding up great as well.
#12
#13
3" vs. 3.5" doesn't matter, same tire fits either rim. They were technicaly a direct fit. The front was perfect. I later noticed that although my belt tracked perfectly on the rear pulley, the rear tire wasn't aligned perfectly with the fender. So I shifted the wheel 1/16" to the left and it's now perfectly aligned.
Mine was a direct bolt on. I will tell you what I tell anyone who asks. Repack the wheel bearings. What comes with the wheel is totally worthless. The bearing will fail in no time if just install them as shipped. Other than that. Its a very heavy well built wheel. My chrome is holding up great as well.
Like Bikerlaw says, be sure to check the grease on the bearings as you should with any wheel before mounting. I found that the bearings on both of my wheels had plenty of grease, so I didn't need any extra. But it's certainly good & simple enough to check.
FWIW: As of yesterday I've put over 1600 miles on mine so far and all is well. I'm using the bearings that came with the wheels and I really don't expect any problems with them. I do put my bike on the lift everytime I clean it and I check the bearing at that time as well. So far they're in perfect shape. I'm confident enough with them that I put many miles on them "literally" cruising through the middle of the desert.
In fact I took this pic yesterday when making a desert **** stop. Of course I do carry water, my cell & AAA card if things go bad.
Last edited by PanHeadRich; 05-07-2012 at 04:51 PM.
#15
3" vs. 3.5" doesn't matter, same tire fits either rim. They were technicaly a direct fit. The front was perfect. I later noticed that although my belt tracked perfectly on the rear pulley, the rear tire wasn't aligned perfectly with the fender. So I shifted the wheel 1/16" to the left and it's now perfectly aligned.
Like Bikerlaw says, be sure to check the grease on the bearings as you should with any wheel before mounting. I found that the bearings on both of my wheels had plenty of grease, so I didn't need any extra. But it's certainly good & simple enough to check.
FWIW: As of yesterday I've put over 1600 miles on mine so far and all is well. I'm using the bearings that came with the wheels and I really don't expect any problems with them. I do put my bike on the lift everytime I clean it and I check the bearing at that time as well. So far they're in perfect shape. I'm confident enough with them that I put many miles on them "literally" cruising through the middle of the desert.
In fact I took this pic yesterday when making a desert **** stop. Of course I do carry water, my cell & AAA card if things go bad.
#17
Yeah, I hear ya. It would have been easy enough to swap them out, but I just wanted to see if they would go bad. If they last all summer, I'll pull the bearings out of the wheels next winter for a good inspection & repack. But for now, I'll just keep running the **** out of them
#18
#19
Hrmmm. I've needed new wheels since I bought my '93. They have some rust on them and it looks like the PO banged the front wheel into a curb or something plus there's a bit of a shimmy to the front, prolly from being hit. The price of aluminum wheels for motorcycles is ridiculous and I always have a hard time spending $3K on a pair of wheels, especially when I put four 15x8 chrome aluminum wheels on my Jeep plus four 35x12.50 mud terrains for $1K. I'd rather put $3K into a big motor.
I never like cleaning spokes, but they do look good on a Heritage. For this price, I may have to try a pair out.
I never like cleaning spokes, but they do look good on a Heritage. For this price, I may have to try a pair out.
#20
Running twisted spoke Ultima's as well. Like others said I repacked the bearings and had the end play checked at the dealer. For you guys that replaced your bearings what kind of bearings did you go with? I have considered replacing mine just for peace of mind.
Also (and I should know this). When I put the bike on my lift how is the best way to check the bearings. Just listen for anything?
Also (and I should know this). When I put the bike on my lift how is the best way to check the bearings. Just listen for anything?
Last edited by 2006FLST; 05-22-2012 at 08:45 AM.