Question: I read about bikes from the factory with rear wheels not centered that seem to track fine. I'm building a bike and am squeezing everything to the right as far as I can while maintaining clearance between the caliper bracket and the rotor bolts but the wheel is still 1/4" off center, too far to the left.

The squeeze is as far as I can go without addressing the wheel hub-end thickness. If I have to do that I'll get in touch with Ride Wright wheels to see what they can do. Besides, if I don't make the hub-end narrower to address the wheel off center then I think I'll need to shim the calipers by something like 1/8" to 3/16". Is that okay?

What are people's thoughts on all this?

Thanks

 

I would machine the right side hub to move the tire , leave the caliper alone and shim the sprocket as required

Just thinking out loud

 

Yeah think I'll go the extra step to do it right and either ask Sam at RWW to turn this down 3/8" or, depending on all-in cost with shipping and work, just send a new narrower one. Thanks





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The more I search and read the more I think I'll live with 1/4" off center. If the final run-in tracking/handling is screwy I can return to the off center/hub end thickness question. No sense in machining a thinner hub end anyway until Tech Cycles sends the primary on order and I install the motor/primary/tranny to see where the sprocket alignment sits. Based on my readings, it may be that after the front sprocket is set and lined up with the rear that the wheel ends up 1/4" off as per what seems to be in the neighborhood of Harley's design on a lot of evo softails.

Looking at an 85-90 softail/FX service manual it has offset factors that vary for different models. One issue I have is I cannot match my build with any particular model other than an "evo softail springer" (Rolling Thunder's frame nomenclature) but with all aftermarket parts. Harley manuals are only helpful sometimes bure often not. The frame is an Evo softail but 1" axle and the rear wheel is FLH '09 and above. I was not knowledgeable enough to specify with Ride Wright Wheels a pre-2000 softail when I ordered the wheels back in 2018 or so. I don't know Harleys well enough to know whether this mismatch is part of the problem, or if it's a problem at all.