Rims

Whether for replacement after damage, or for rebuilding a wheel, W&W Cycles' selection of rims for Harley-Davidson motorcycles covers nearly every need. These include reproductions of the original equipment, such as bead rims for vintage bikes, 18" semi-drop center rims for classic knuckleheads or flatheads, and drop center rims for the more modern machines. In addition, there are a variety of rims for custom bikes, such as narrow steel rims for choppers, wide and very wide stainless steel rims for the wide tire fat look, or drop center and university aluminum rims for sportier machines.

Drop center rims, semi-drop center rims, bead rims, tertiary rims? Can someone explain this?

There are basically two different types of tires on Harley-Davidsons because of the long model history or construction time: the so-called bead strips (about until 1930) and those of modern construction. The bead strips require a special type of rim in whose rim edge the tire bead can hook: the hook rim or bead rim.

For all other tires, you need a rim with a recessed center part, the so-called bed. This has to do with mounting. To prevent the rigid wire or nylon core from tearing, the tire must be moved into this bed, while on the opposite side the tire is pulled over the rim flange. Depending on how this bed is designed (more semi-circular or rectangular and really deep set), we speak of semi-drop center or drop center rims. By the way, the semi-drop center rims are called type WM in modern terminology. The factory did not make a difference here back then, in the 1940s manuals there are only drop center rims (= drop center rims). The difference to the old bead rims was the determining factor for the name.

University drop center rims were an "invention" of the 1960s. To save weight, the first rims were pressed from aluminum. To make these rims more stable, their rim outer side ("shoulder") was reinforced with an additional radial ring. In cross-section, such a rim looks like a very wide H. In terms of bed, Hochschulter rims tend to be semi-drop centre rims.

Why does W&W Cycles make the difference drop center/semi-drop center?

It has to do with the spoke lengths. Certain spoke lengths can be spoked into an 18" rim as well as a 19" rim, depending on the diameter of the rim bed where the nipple heads rest. Harley had only one type of 18" rim, only one type of 16" rim, and only one type of 19" rim. The matching spokes were called 16", 18" and 19" spokes. And matched the original hub and rim combination exactly. If you make the most different combinations of rims, spokes and hubs possible like W&W, you have to pay attention to such subtleties as the rim bed, so that the spokes are neatly sorted in the store and everyone knows their way around. If you still get stuck, you'll know your way around again after contacting the W&W Cycles service crew.