Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Custom Corner Front Wheel Woes

Long time non-contributor, first time hopefully-going-to-contribute-er here with a front wheel issue:

I've been in the market for a 21" front wheel for my 07 Speedmaster for quite some time now. Last night I was doing my usual browse through ebay and found this: Triumph Front wheel just about to end. I raced around to do research to see if it'd work, but couldn't find much, so in a panic I bought it anyway. It's much cheaper than any other option, and if I end up losing a few bucks on it, I'll be bummed but not broken. The question is....will it work? If no, why? and is there anything that can be done to make it work? Thanks everyone!

The first two things of concern, did you get the axle with the wheel, and if you did, what size , if any bushing or machine work needed to make a good, safe axle fit to the fork bottoms. Along comes to mind, what will it take to install a functional brake system, or are you planning to just have a brake in the rear? Me, I'm a big fan of brakes and I never roll out without (both Fr.&Rr.) them.

Simplest, iff, the number of spokes are the same between the wheels, is re-lace your hub onto that chopper rim.

Yep Mike, Jim[moe] is correct here. Your first concern would be that this rim is a 36-spoker and holds the same number of spokes as the stock BA hub does, and which would make lacing this 21in rim to the stock BA hub and then mating it to your existing forks and brake caliper a breeze.

However, after counting the number of spokes on the wheel you've just purchased on ebay, unfortunately it appears that one is a 40-spoke setup(unless I've miscounted, that is), and thus while this won't make it impossible to mount this one, you'll be into a lot more work in order to make it work.

This means you'll have to(as Ryk noted above) find or machine a new axle, and if you'll want a brake mounted to it also(and I DEFINITELY advise that you run a front brake, as over 70% of your braking power is by use of a front brake), the rotor would somehow have to be added to the hub.

well, first, I have a speeedmaster so i don't have an existing spoked hub. That's not to say that I couldn't get one though. Either way, I just counted 40-spokes as well, which makes me feel like a total bone-head. I assumed, all along, that it was a stock BA hub laced to an aftermarket rim.

Some things:
The hub has a flange for a disc brake. Does it at least look similar to ours?
What are the odds that, even though the hub isn't a stock hub, with a little work it could be made to fit?
In the auction it says that the included axle is 13" long, and 19mm in diameter.

I DO want a brake up front, for sure.

I seems like you could have three problems, I don't have any answers but maybe other do>

1. Axle diameter. Not sure what the sock speedmaster axle diameter is. The one you bought is 19 mm.

2. Width of the hub. If it fits between the forks then you may need spacers to center the rim.

3. The off set for the disc has to match the off set for the brake caliper.

ok so where we stand as of now is this, am I right?:

The biggest concern, what size is the stock axle. If its 19mm we can move on to the next step, what if the stock size is 20mm, will that be close enough? what if its the other way, could the fork be machined?

Next step, the brake. If this hub is wider that the stock hub, it may not work b/c I may not be able to space it correctly to fit the brake. Finding the origin of this hub is probably a good idea. I'll try to get the measurements from the guy, hopefully before he sends it.

Right?

Is it in any way a feasible option to find a pair of forks that fit the wheel, or is that ridiculous?

Yep, once again Mike it seems to me, what with the talk now of either machining and/or purchasing a whole new set of forks, that to go in that direction and just so you can use the wheel you got on ebay would most likely be more of a headache and expense than just goin' the route I earlier mentioned about having Buchanan's lace up 36-spoke rim to a stock BA hub...and mainly because you'd know beforehand that the axle size is correct and that the brake rotor would line up perfectly to the caliper.

The easy way to accomplish your goal is to get your hands on a T-Bird Sport hub and have Buchanan lace it to a 21" rim. Everything fits, axle, both brakes, well the front fender is going to go away. They are not cheap as a rule and constructed from a material known as Unobtainium. I have an extra, what have you got to trade?

Wait Ryk! You're sayin' YOU have a TBS hub?

There ya go, Mike. Take my advice and jump on Ryk's offer here! He's right. The easiest(and best) way to accomplish your goal is to(unfortunately)forget about usin' that ebay wheel and have Buchanan's lace up a 21-incher to that TBS hub. It'll fit right on AND you'll be able to use your Speedie's complete twin-rotor brake system.

First of all let me say that I don't know everything. But I do know that you guys are blowing this wheel thing out of proportion. I'm fortunate to have my own lathe, mill and both oxyacet,mig/tig welders. SINCE YOU 'RE NOT SURE WHAT'S TO BE DONE, take off your front end and wheel andtake it to good custom shop and have them make the necessary parts to fit your wheel. If you live anywhere near Tulsa Oklahoma, stop by and we'll get things sorted out.

He's about 20 miles closer to Tulsa than I am...

Honestly, I would be fine with a BA hub, but I haven't been able to find anything. Any recommendations?

Angelis, Moe's right. I'm in Orlando.

If you go with the BA hub you may need to change the front brake master cylinder. The BA is a single disc and the speedmaster is dual....The speedmaster may be too "grabby" (larger piston for the dual) for the single disc. I do not know for sure. Also to clean things up you would want to "shave" the fork leg with out the caliper.

I don't know if these are gone six post down:
http://www.bonnevilleamerica.com/forums/...ge=1#Post576648

Also check here:

http://www.triumphrat.net/forum.php

I got my Bonnie tank there....

Looks like it's a no go on this wheel. Just had the guy measure it and just the hub itself is about 6.5" wide.

Yep Mike, that'll be too wide to fit between the Speedy's fork sliders, alright.

THOUGH of course, as you mentioned earlier, you COULD see if you could find a set of forks that would work.

(...but THEN you'd probably ALSO have to end up buyin' the REST of the Harley Wide Glide in order to make THAT fit TOO, and THEN you'd ULTIMATELY just end up with your run-of-the-mill V-Twin that EVERYBODY already owns anyway, RIGHT?!...and THAT certainly isn't anything special, now IS it???!!!)

Mike, I just wanted to say welcome to the forum, and I like how you just jump in with buying stuff not knowing if it will work out!
I do the same thing way more often than I'd care to admit!

haha well, in my defense, I had very little time and had to act fast. The good news is, the guy is super cool and is just going to refund me the money. Also, in other good news, I DID manage to also score some cool pipes off of him that may end up on the bike if I can get them to do what I want them to.

Sorry to here you spent your cash on somthing that wont work. If you keep looking you will find the right wheel it took me a long time to find a tbird sport wheel. Put that wheel back on ebay and get your cash back and start the search. The only wheels that i think will work are america and thunderbird.

I have a hub/wheel assembly wheel has a dent in it. Off my 04 America pm me if interested.

My TBS wheel should be here early next week, thanks though!

Ok it will still be hanging on the wall reminding me not to ride in the center of the lane behind a car by Chicago because that's right where they keep their firewood.

ouch