I was looking at my bro-in-laws V-Star classic and couldn't help but have a little tire/wheel envy. My stock midnight star back wheel looks like it belongs on a moped, but the V-Star hsa a decent wheel and tire. SO here's my question. Does anyone know if the V-Star rim would interchange with my road star hub? It looks like it is about 5 inches wide and would hold a 180/60/16 tire nicely. Which I understand wouldn't require any other mods. Got opinions or answers, IS there someplace I can get a wider rim to fit my hub? Gotta get fatter.
Thanks

Almost 60 people have looked at this and nobody has any opinions or suggestions? I thought this would be the place to get answers about modifying my roadstar. Come on guys any clues at all? Where can I buy a 5in wide spoke wheel that would work? please help.

Almost 60 people have looked at this and nobody has any opinions or suggestions? I thought this would be the place to get answers about modifying my roadstar. Come on guys any clues at all? Where can I buy a 5in wide spoke wheel that would work? please help.

Tx,

You asked us if a Vstar rim would work, and quite frankly I don't know anyone who has tried to make that work.

I can provide you with the names of at least a couple of custom shops who can lace a 5" rim to your hub, but they charge enough to do the job that you could buy a good aftermarket rim with the same money.

Sorry no one has jumped out here, your idea and questions have not been favorably answered by anyone thus far. In my case I was looking ot do the same thing on my Silverado, although I did not look into the Vstar rims. I did not find a good solution.

Hang in there. I will see if a buddy who works on Vstars can answer this for you.

GRAM

Alright Tx,

Just spoke to one this areas most trusted wrnches for Stars. He works on both Vstars and Road Stars.

The Vstar hub is made for shaft drive. There are no interchangable parts between the two hubs. This means your going to need to aquire a 5" hoop (rim) that can be laced onto your hub. The Vstar rim is 5" x 15". Which also means that you are going to need to get a fairly high (tall sidewall) tire to come out with the same diameter. Otherwise you will be slightly lower.

A better alternative would be to buy a new hoop punched for our spoke count and have it laced into your Road Star hub. You will be in for the cost of new spokes, the rim, and the labor to lace the new hoop in. When I priced this option it was going to end up costing me about $500 to $600 dollars for the single rim (rear). At the time I was looking into a 5" x 18" hoop to replace the stock rear hoop.

Doesn't sound like there is going to be a way to mount the stock Vstar rim on your Road Star.

Nice idea though. I wish it was going to be an easier process.

GRAM

I didn't want to use the vstar hub, just the rim. I wondering if it's the same spoke count. I am pretty sure that my bro-inlaws- has a 16 in rim. I will check and see. If so my question would be do they have the same amount of spokes? If you could ask your bud about the spoke count, that would probably answer my question for good. BTW I just finished this afternoon, lowering my roadstar, per the website instructions. Dropped it about 3 1/2 inches and didn't cost me a dime. I love this site!!!!!!!!!
Thanks

Glad to hear the good news Tx

I asked about the spoke count and he was not certain they were the same, but felt like they should be.

He did assure me that the Vstar rims were 15" rims. Let me know if you find out different, I would like to know.

GRAM

Well, as usual the advise here is correct. The Vstar is a 15 in rim. I guess it is an expensive rim afterall. So any suggestions on where to get one? I am thinking about a 5x18 spoke wheel. Also was curious about after lowering my bike the other day, I took it for a long ride yesterday. (75 degrees here) It rides a little rougher now than before. I lowered it by flipping the bone and grinding the backside as the article on the site describes.(which only took about 1 1/2 hours) Do I need a different spring now? Thanks in advance for a great website and all the help you have been.

When you use the flip to lower your bike, it will change its ride to a stiffer one. Reversing that relay arm changes the geometry of the suspension.

In my case I actually liked it better that way, but thats just me. I have always preferred a stiffer and more tactile feel when riding.

The only way to lower you bike and keep the stock 'feel' is to extend the dogbones. Extended DogBones run in the $80 range (exchange) and you will need to turn the relay arm back around so you don't end up 'double' lowered.

There is an article on our front page this week that details modifying your swingarm for a 240 tire. At the bottom of that segment on our front page, Grey included a phone number for the folks he used to get his new hoop from. I have always liked doing business with the folks at Wheel Works in Garden Grove California. They do real good work, but they are expensive.

There a couple of other alternatives, but might want to check with these guys first since they can do the job a to z. Including lacing it up for you.

Chances are good that there is a custom bike shop somewhere close to you that can lace a wheel for you. They might even be able to get the hoop, but it will need to be punched for our spoke count wich is different than the HDs the guys will be used to working on.

Keep me posted on how things go. If pricing gets too outrageous I know of some folks who sell the SS spokes you will need, and potentially another source for the hoop. You will just need to find a guy who can lace it up, and they don't come cheap.

GRAM