Hello Sporty Crew,

Question for you: How can i tell which side is which on a rear wheel? Does it matter? Or, is the valve stem always on the left side? The reason I ask is I bought a used Harley 16x3.00 spoke rear wheel for 00 - 04. Currently, the mag wheel on my bike has the valve on the left, should i expect this wheel to be the same? Tube valve on the left side? It doesn't look like there's any offset on the hub.

Edit: Wheel didn't come with pulley or brake rotor, so I have no easy identifiers other than the valve hole. Both sides of the hub "look" identical.

Thanks for your help!

 

Is there a rotation arrow on the tyre?
Does the tread pattern give any indication?
http://sgbikerboy.com/2016/12/26/why...read-patterns/

 

Yep, on the ME888 tire I'm having installed there is. Sadly, the wheel I bought does not have a tire currently mounted to it to use as a reference.

 

Motorcycles are not bicycles, so I do not know what I am talking about.
I think, but I do not know

1) Spoked rims can be either right or left.
2) Some wheels are dished and not symmetrical.
3) Sometimes the right flange is different than the left side.
4) Perhaps lacing can give you a clue.
5) Perhaps a picture of the rim in question would help.
6) Perhaps dry mounting the rim each way would give you a clue.

You believe the rim is symmetrical, can you lay it on the left side and measure the dish then lay it on the right side and get the same measurement?

Best of luck..
If nothing else you have a better than 50% chance of getting it right by blind luck.

 

Bolt pattern is usually different on each side, so the pulley and/or rotor can only be bolted on to the correct side. After that it gets real obvious. Good luck.

 

Awesome, thanks for the help guys!

 

That's about the only difference I am aware of. Good luck!

 

I have a Sportser, and a Dyna, both with the same "Sportster" style aluminum wheels. the disc, and sprocket can both be unbolted and put on either side, but you want to pay attention to the wheel spacers on the axle, I beleive they nmay be different sizes creating the offset and or centering of the wheel and sprocket, I would think the sporocket is the important part, the belt will tear up if not lined up properly.

 

On the aluminum spool hub 16x3.00 wheels the valve stem is on the rotor side. Also, the hub will be threaded 3/8" for brake rotor bolts, and 7/16" for sprocket bolts. The narrow flange side is the rotor side, while the wide flange is the sprocket side.