Hi everyone
I have seventy-two year 2016 with 24000 km and I am the first owner
Recently I discovered that I have a problem with the rear wheel. I bought Harley's sissy bar and when I tried to loosen the screws from the rear fener and replace the screws of the Sissy Bar I discovered that the wheel almost touched the rear fender on the right side of the wheel. It is so close to the wing that I could not get a tool to hold the nut inside. On the left side, however, there is much more distance. That is, the wheel or wing is not sitting properly. In a licensed Harley garage they checked the bike and told me that everything was fine and the wheel is sitting right on the road and i am safe to ride, and that's how Hurley must have designed the motorcycle. And to release the screws to install asissy bar i should release the shock absorbers and lift the motorcycle. It sounded unlikely to me that Harley designed the motorcycle like that. Can anyone help mw with a professional answer?
Thanks in advance
Assaf from israel

 

That sounds right. The fenders don't necessarily center over the wheel. And to get to those inside bolt heads I always lift a bike. Can't get in there with hands and tools otherwise, as you've noticed.

 

Thank you for your response.
I compared with other motorcycles like forty-eight and iron and both wheel centered in the middle of the fender with the possibility to open the screws from the inside with atool. I have not checked seventy-two yet.

 

Yep jack the bike up disconnect the rear shocks from the swing arm let the wheel and swing arm drop down and you should have the room to get your hands in there. At least that worked on my 48. Just watch the rear brake line that you don’t stretch it.

 

True, the wheel is not centered inside the fender. However, check the alignment of your rear wheel. It could be the wheel is crooked. The Service Manual walks you through how to do this in the section on replacing the rear wheel.

 

if you have spoked wheels, adjust the offset to center the tire

 

Wheels don't "adjust" like that

 

I should have said "spokes" instead of "spoked"
on the contrary, an incorrect offset will have the tire or rim closer to one side instead of centered just to give you an idea