I'm looking to buy some wheels for my SG. I've been looking over the pics in the Hogpro gallery. I like the 8 spokes a lot, but not sure I'm in a place to afforda full set up of custom wheels and rotors right now. Then I saw the "Saver Set." Very nice price for two wheels and rotors and a couple of styles to choose from. The one I like is the Panther. Does anyone have them on their bike? If so can you post a picture please.

Also, I'm sure this has been beaten to death, but I haven't paid much attention to "wheel" discussions on the bagger. I keep looking at the 21" and the 18". I'm not sure which size I like the best. The 21" shows more wheel for sure. The 18" doesn't look quite big enough, but still looks good... The 21" is quite a bit more dramatic in appearance, but in some ways a bit too drastic.

I understand that there isn't a big difference in ride and handling between the two, so the only issue would be the need to lower the front end with the 21" as well as some fender fitting, correct? With the 18", it's just mount them and go as I understand it.

Anyone with the Panthers and further thoughts on 21" vs 18"? Anyone went one way or the other and wished they had done the opposite?

 

I have a 21f/18r combo on my street glide and love it. My dealership ordered them for me and they came in within 2 days, which i dug very much about hogpro. Ive never had a bagger with an 18 front, however i did have a bobber and went from a 19 f to a 21 front. I did notice the ride was a lil different, but within a mile or so i already gotten used to it. i went with the 21 front becuz i liked to show off the wheel. The oversized 21 is way better than a 24" wheel on an SUV. Ha Ha.

 

I lowered the front end one inch for the 21" wheel as I had already lowered the rear with the 3/4" lower Harley shocks. No fender mods needed at all and all I had to do was undo the fender bolts and lift up at the bottom and while holding it up tighten the bolts back up. I taped a 3/16" thick washer to the middle of the wheel and while the wheel was off the ground spun the tire to make sure it did not rub. This spec was given to me from my wheel manufacturer as a minimum. I have run the bike way up past highway speed and then had the wheel back off to check and I have had noproblems with the tire rubbing. I went straight from the 16" to the 21" and noticed no difference with handling.

I hope this answers a couple of your questions.

 

One thing to note with the saver sets is that the rims are polished. Will be tough to keep looking nice over time ( look at a 2-3 year old chopper). You may want to get chrome rims.

 

I gotta agree with this. I still have stock wheels on my bike, but today I went for a ride with a buddy who has a Covington Chopper. His wheels are not chrome, but polished. They did not look good, IMO. His bike is a couple years old now, and showing a lot of wear, in my eyes. Still looks bad @ss, but he is the type to throw money at it and have someone else do everything for the bike, instead of taking the time to get the details. If you know what I mean. Still though, even if you went with the polished wheels, for now, couldn't you have them chromed, at a later date?

 

I was going to do the same thing with HogPro, buy the saver set. All I can say is I'm glad I waited that extra month or so to save the rest of the coin for the chrome set.

Polished is a pain! Unless you have absurd amounts of free time for.....you guessed it, polishing. Get the chrome ones even if you have wait a few more months to get them.

 

Hog Pro is great to deal with no matter what you buy. I just put on a set of their fatty spokes which are made by Ride Wright and called the Fat Daddy 50 wheels. I went with 18's. Rims are chrome and spokes are stainless and they're tubeless. Jerry was a big help and you'll be pleased regardless. I waited a few months and moved to the 18's and did the front end along with the calipers and rotors etc. Glad I waited now, it's off the chain and looks good.

 

XXXRacing,
Which wheel is that on your SG? It looks great and I would like to find out where those can be purchased.

Thanks,

 

I went w/the 21" up front, 18" on the back & have no complaints. Look on their web site in the gallery & check the pic of my orange SG.....that's a 21-8 spoke. I'm not on my computer. The pic is probably buried on their page, been 4-5 months, & they add new customers often. Great people to order from, no probs here.

 

Bobberino,Kasper, Kern,

3 Excellent arguments for 21" wheels after looking at your bike!!!.I keep working on my bike and have done a lot.It looks good, but you always stand back and say "what is it that is going to take it over the top" and your pics are the answer. Thanks for posting and your feedback.
It doesn't sound like anyone has any issues with inferior handling, ride, or high speed wobble; in other words radically changed the excellent handling charactertics of the touring bikes. Would anyone say it has improved?
Kasper...wouldn't I want to lower the front end 1" with a 21" even if I hadn't done any further lowering to the rear end of the SG since the rear is lowered 1" from the factory, just to keep it even?
Bobberino/Kern...did you guys lower your front ends? Also, obviously the front end sit's higher so the fairing and bars are raised to a differnt level than stock resulting in lower windshields providing greater coverage and the bars being a bit higher...am I correct about that?

XXX, Travis,,,,good point. I didn't even take notice about the polished wheel vs chrome, but should have realized due to the significant price reduction. I'll have to scrap that idea and take Kerns advice to put a few more pennies back...at least then I'll make sure and get exactly the style I want.,

Boogeyman...was the 18" just a personal preference for looks or did you have a handling concern?

Also...I currently have the blacked center floating rotors on my black SG which add some level of style to the bike, PLUS eliminated the dreaded front brake squeal most of us had. Is a matching floating rotor an option with these wheels? I can't imagine trading looks to go back to that PITA squeal I was so happy to get rid of.

Thanks for the response...you bikes are gorgeous!