1952-1954 Rear wheel problem

[hennesse]

People say I should "seek professional help", and when it comes to spoking and truing wheels, I agree. The Parts Manager at my local Harley dealer was a mechanic at local dealers for a long time, so I had him do it my 54 KH 19" wheels.

I put the rear wheel on my bike today, and got a surprise.

Yikes!

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The difference between (tire centerline to left fender strut) and (tire centerline to right fender strut) is about 1", so it appears that the rim is offset 1/2" from where it should be.

The 1952-1954 rear wheel has the earlier-style hub, so there are no spoking/centering/truing directions in the Service Manual. But one would think the rim should be centered on the hub's spoking flanges like every other bike.

It's hard to see exactly with the tire and brake drum on. On the non-brake side, the wheel rim seems to be aligned with the spoke flange. On the brake side, the brake drum gets in the way, but it appears that the wheel rim is aligned with the right spoke flange too. Even if it's off a little, I don't think it can be anywhere near that much.

Axle, spacer, wheel, drum, backing plate, swingarm - all seem to fit together just fine.

What am I doing wrong? Any ideas?

Befuddled in Broad Run,
Dave

P.S. Yes, those are 1956-later shock absorbers. But they're just temporary. Thanks to Stan D., I now have a set of 54-55 shocks to work on.

[thefrenchowl]

Hi Dave,

The K and KH hubs have the same width as the Sportster hubs, front 1/2 drum or back, so correct offset can be found in Sportster service manuals, rim on brake side 1/2" inside edge of hub (without brake drum fitted on rear wheel).

Front or back wheel have the same offset.

For any length of given spoke, I would think there's enough margin to get 1/2" error, so you can correct it yourself...

Patrick

[EKHKHK56]

Yes Patrick sounds correct. I've seen alignment notes that show proper centering procedure. Finalized with spoke tightening to move hub L or R. Erik K

[starcain]

Dave, I have an early hub 18" wheel that looks like it has a few years in service so must assume it was OK. Service manual says offset for 18" and 19" is the same. I measured the offset and it measured 7/16". I have to assume that they were shooting for a 1/2" but just missed it by a 1/16". I think the manual says to within 1/32". So I believe as Patrick does that the correct offset should be 1/2" even for the early hub. Can you post a few pictures of the hub, sprocket, axle and spacer? Maybe a couple different angles. It seems to me that anyone that knows how to lace and true a wheel would not have gotten it that far off center, although stranger things have happened. Stan

[John R]

I don't think a wheel builder with used parts would worry about 1/16". Heavy tire iron use and other abuse takes its toll. Put your straight edge on another line and you may well get a slightly different answer. Put a dismantled rim on a flat surface like an iron face-plate or a mirror and chances are it won't make contact all the way round. Trying to take a distortion out of the rim itself isn't possible. By adjusting nipples you can only go for the best overall positioning of the entire rim with whatever distortions it has. If too bad, then new rim required.

Also, some rims of same nominal spec can differ slightly in width compared to the old Kelsey-Hayes OEM. If so, the 1/2" offset needs to be adjusted accordingly. Can always check when trued wheel fitted and adjust if necessary - takes out all variables.

It's a matter of fit enough for purpose rather than perfection with old stuff.

Good luck!

John

[strong56KH]

Dunlop K70!! Love the cobwebs too, great Holloween photo!

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[mikeslemmon]

did the shocks slip on to the studs easily?

[hennesse]

Today's my birthday, so I started assembling stuff - just to make me feel good.

Badly out of focus, but you get the idea...

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Strong56kh: another Dunlop K70 your your viewing pleasure. I managed to find a pair of new Lange 19" tires. These may be the last ones on the planet - so I'm saving them for later, and will beat up the K70's during the shakedown year.

mikeslemmon: Yes, the -56 shocks slid right on the studs. Here's a factoid we need to confirm (and perhaps the reason for your question) - The hex area on the shock studs 54515-52 and 54516-52 is 5/16 thick. Stan Diener told me that the later versions 54515-56 and 54516-56 have thicker hex areas. I don't know how thick, or if there are any other differences. The -56 versions were used through 1966. Then there was a -56A starting in 1967.

Now I'm off to a nice thick juicy steak, a cold beer, and a warm, juicy (but not thick) woman.
Dave