Vl Rims 18" Or 19"

[Chuck#1848]

I am working on the wheels on my Vl starting with the front one,some of the spokes were pitted fairly bad just above the nipples but the rim looks to be in pretty good shape for the age of it the rear wheel may be a different story as the rim and spokes are rusted and pitted pretty bad.

This got me thinking what would you prefer to run 18" or 19" wheels and why? I can recall some of you here mentioning 18s over 16s for handling but how about 19" wheels?

Thanks in advance

[vride5]

VL rims

Chuck
since yours is a thirty you have no choice, 18's weren't an option till 34 or 35, that said . I have the choice an I much prefer the 19's, they look better, they fill the fender, an they handle very well with the goodyear eagles.
dave

[vldave]

VL Rim's

My 31 VC has 19 inch factory wheels and I love the ride and handling. Firestone now offers a really nice 4.00 19 inch tire that set the bike up really nice.

David Lloyd

[exeric]

Vride5 said it all. I love 19" rims and I thought they very much enhanced the looks, and ride on my '33 VL. The fashion trend in those days was leading to smaller diameter, fatter tires which the factories offered by 1940. Indian resisted the trend as long as they could and even published an arguement in favor of 18" rims. If you've got a set of 19's you should be quite happy with the looks and the ride.

[Chuck#1848]

19"ers

Thanks guys I felt the same way about the 19" rims they do fill the fenders quite well and looked good to me, but I was curious about other peoples preferances and why.

After cutting the tire off last night the rim looks pretty good some of the spokes are border line in my mind in side the tire becides the tube that had a total of 7 patches on it one fairly large! was a heavy rubber sleeve I am assuming to help protect the tube from any sharp objects hitting the tube after going thru the tire I had never seen anything like this before.

Next question if you replaced the spokes and rims where did you get your parts from?

I am planning on bead blasting the stainless steel spokes as Iwill be replacing the ones in the front wheel I think the rear rim may have to be replaced and I know the spokes are shot on the rear rim as some are broke and pitted so bad that there isn't much left at the nipple end to the spoke.

Thanks again

[exeric]

Unless your rim is bent, or rusted thin, I would use it. Those old rims are good and heavy and drop center rims are made for tires with a saftey bead. If it was a clincher rim I would tread (get it) more carefully.

I always get my spokes from Buchanan's. I send them a sample so there is no confusion about length. Great company and easy to deal with.

It's possible someone is making 19" rims. I know you can get 18's. H-D's are no problem because they used a semetrical straight side hub on VL's. Reproduction rims become a problem with Indians, Hen KJ's, and Harley 45's that had brake drums integral with the hub. Spoke angles are much more radical on rims for those bikes and I have seen no substitute for original rims in those cases.

[KDR]

I have our own reproduction 19" rim at www.45partsdepot.com and I also believe Steve from VL Heaven has his available if you need new ones for your project.

Kurt

[Chuck#1848]

I always get my spokes from Buchanan's. I send them a sample so there is no confusion about length. Great company and easy to deal with.

Eric,

Would you have a part number for the 19" spokes from Buchannons?

[23JDCA 808]

I let Buchanan's do it all. I had my 1923 rim and hub powder coated then took a picture of my other wheel to get the lacing the same. Specified brushed stainless steel. Very satisfied with their craftsmanship and turn around. ...bill in oregon

[exeric]

Chuck, I don't have a part number. They have a web site and list many of their products there. I still think it is good practice to send them a sample so they know exactly what you want. All of your spokes will be the same length for a VL so there won't be that problem. Stainless Steel is the way to go if you're going to ride your bike. I have ordered bare steel spokes from Buchanan's in the past and had them cad plated but that's a lot of work and worry.

[Johnny]

If you decide to replace the rims with new ones, I have been using the 18" drop center rims from 45 Parts Depot and couldn't be happier with the quality and how well original nipples fit the holes.

I just received a set of spokes back from Buchanan's and am very happy with the quality of their stainless spokes. After bead blasting, they look almost exactly like the original ones I have that are cad plated. Unfortunately, I couldn't send a sample because these were for a Goulding sidecar hub. Two different lengths, each with two different head angles. It was easiest to just send the rim and hub, and they did a great job with turn around time of about 1 week after the order was processed.

[Chuck#1848]

Kurt,

On your web page for the 19" rims it says that they are not for earlier VL models what is the difference between the earlier and later rims?

Thanks Chuck

[KDR]

D'oh!!!....I must be suffering from Alzheimer’s.........I completely forgot about that..........too much on my plate at the moment I guess......contact Steve at VL Heaven, he may be able to help.

We're working on getting the correct ones.

Kurt

[Steve Slocombe]

Dear Chuck, 19 inch rims were standard on the VL until 1934, when 18" appeared as an option in the factory order blanks. I make the new 18 and 19 inch rims in the UK, which are about a pound heavier than those Chinese or Indian 18" repros because of the use of thicker material, like the originals. I find original rims can suffer heavy pitting inside, spokes pull through the rims, they go out of round, you get pits and flats on the visible parts which get hit in judging, and so on. Any 19" rim is likely to be 70 years old. I use 19 x 4.00 tyres, or 18 x 4.50, which fill the mudguards, and the 18 x 4.00 are fine too on the later bikes with deep mudguard valances. All were available originally, in Goodyear or Firestone, as well as the early 19 x 4.40 not being reproduced. Keen riders say the 1940 move to 16 x 5.00 wheels was a backward step, as it made the front end heavier and the bikes lost the excellent handling of the VL and early knuckleheads.

Watch out for the 18" rims, as these could be for the VL, knucklehead, WLA or WLC. Spoke angles are different in each case. The WLA front wheel uses lighter spokes and nipples, and the WLC has anchor bolt holes in the rim. Knucklehead spokes do not fit the VL and vice versa. VL spokes are 'inner' and 'outer' with quite different head angles. VL wheels are interchangeable, including sidecar, because of the splined hubs.

On spokes, the AMCA judges now demand bead-blasted unpolished stainless to simulate the original cadmium. The late knucklehead service manual says spoke the wheels with the hub grease connection 180 degrees from the inflator, but there is no evidence for this on earlier bikes, and original VL wheels seem pretty random. You may want to humour the judges though. Judged VLs will also need the Schrader valve cheaters and the washers under the hub alemites, or a quarter point a wheel each time - ouch.

Finally on nipples, the original Harley ones have a 40 tpi thread while the European ones, and I think Buchanan's are 32 tpi. That means you can't mix and match original and new spokes and nipples - aargh! I've machined some 40 tpi nipples but they are expensive. I'm also trying to get 40 tpi spokes made, and finished in cad rather than made in stainless.

[HarleyCreation]

Vride5 said it all. I love 19" rims and I thought they very much enhanced the looks, and ride on my '33 VL. The fashion trend in those days was leading to smaller diameter, fatter tires which the factories offered by 1940. Indian resisted the trend as long as they could and even published an arguement in favor of 18" rims. If you've got a set of 19's you should be quite happy with the looks and the ride.

Indian was right. As a long time fan of 18 & 19 inch rims, I'd love to hear more about Indian's published argument in favor of eighteens. Can you post it?