Hi folks,

We bought our '09 FLHX garage queen last fall for a killer price, knowing that it had tubed wheels that I wasn't crazy about. It came with the optional spoked wheels. I've been leery of spoked wheels with tubes because of the potential for flats that deflate quickly, rather than a slow leak, and the tow to a shop that it would likely require. A local rider told me about a flat they had, and they were able to get it home after adding two cans of Fix-a-Flat, so I have been keeping a couple of cans with me. I carry a plug kit and a compressor on the other bike.

Inflating the tires and checking the pressure is a pain because the valve stem is in a cage of spokes. But I've been using a pair of Camco valve stem extenders to help with that. It's still a pain -- especially on the rear wheel -- but less of a hassle than it was without the valve stem extenders.

I've located some local OEM Street Glide wheels with the ABS bearings from a new bike with no miles. What is a fair price to pay for these from a dealer?

Is it worth the expense to change the wheels to mags, or am I over-worrying about a flat on the road?

Have any of you made this change from spoked/tubed wheels to mag/tubeless?

Adding the roadside assistance with trip interruption insurance is $30/year on both of the bikes. As long as we weren't in a major time crunch, I suppose, we could probably put up with the wait for a tow truck and repair at a shop.

Thanks for your opinions and experiences about this. I'm interested in making the change, but I'm also considering the expense. Changing over to mags will be dang expensive and will buy a lot of other stuff for the bike!

'fooz

 

when i bought my '12 street glide I was very close to buying the newer spoked wheels as those are tubeless. I'm glad I didn't mainly b/c i'm not that fond of the look nore the cleaning involved.

I know people on this forum are selling like new street glide mag wheels with tires and rotors sometimes for about 500 bucks. Don't purchase from the dealership, would be way too much $$

 

I have tubed spoke wheels and have had 3 or 4 flats. Lost track but it does suck. I still love the nostalgic look of spokes and when the money tree starts bearing its fruit again I plan to go with fat spoke rims. No tubes required.

 

That is a subjective question. Is it worth it to you?

mikebaby

 

I did not want spokes either, went with the standard Roadking rims.

 

I think it would depend on the type of riding you do. If you often find yourself out in the boonies at night where you may not have a cell phone signal and a tow may take hours to reach you, swap out. If you primarily ride bar to bar (not saying you do!), not worth it.

 

why price from a dealer? there are killer deals on ebay for the newer mags with low to no miles - 18" front & 5" wide rear that will plug & play on your 09, probably get original tires included & then sell your spokes & lower your cost - the dealer will always be more costly

 

Spoked wheels require maintenance to keep the spokes tight and the wheel true. If you go touring, I say get rid of the spoked wheels.

 

Mag wheels have a benefits like tubeless tires,no spokes to maintain and easier to clean.

 

I changed out the profile laced wheels on my 08 SG to mag wheels from a 08 Ultra. I found a set locally on Craigslist for 300.00 c/w ABS bearings, sold the profile laced wheels for 250.00. For 50 bucks plus mounting it was well worth it.