I am getting my 2017 RGU ready for a trip so I serviced it today and took it for a ride into town. I was in town for about an hour and then rode back home, about 5 miles. When I got home, I decided to check the air pressure in the tires and the back wheel and rotor were too hot to touch. The front wheel was warm but not too hot but the back wheel was hot. This is a stock wheel. Is this normal? I haven't noticed any bearing noise or rough feeling. Any input is appreciated.

I don't know what is normal regarding the wheels heating up, but I do know that you don't check your air pressure right after a ride because with air in the tires heating up the pressure will show higher than when you check it on a cold bike in the morning. If you set the pressure on a hot tire, you are not putting enough air in the tire and the tires will overheat.

It doesn't look like Harley uses floating brakes so any heat from the braking will get transferred to the wheel. How many slow downs and stops did you do in that 5 miles? Do you rest your foot over the brake pedal and maybe apply a little brake without realizing it?

It's normal. It's a thing called friction and since the back tire carries more weight and it is the drive tire there is more friction and the result is heat. That is the main reason that you will replace the rear tire more often the the front tire, on my bike it's usually 2 rear tires to 1 front tire. Don't worry about it and twowheeladdict is right you should only set the tire pressure when the tire is cold.

your rotor being to hot to touch is not normal, unless you just ran down a mountain 5 miles riding the rear brake. you should check your rear calip. and make sure it's not hanging up and dragging the pads. check you brake fluids also.

Thanks for the response guys. I do understand that friction causes heat and I also get the idea of checking the tires cold. I check my tire pressure often but just don't remember this kind of heat coming from the outer part of the wheel. I fully expect the rotor and the hub to be hot and I do expect the outer part of the wheel to be warm but this just seemed excessive. It could be that I have just never checked the back tire Hot, I typically check before my rides begin and during a trip I usually check them every couple of days, at the motel. Thanks for easing my mind, I think I will go ahead and jack the rest up and check it out, just for peace of mind. Thanks again.

Bullfrog

Well I jacked the rear of the bike up and as I'm rolling the tire around, there is a slight dragging of the brakes. As I'm rolling it around, I also notice there is a screw in my tire. The bike is now loaded on a trailer so my girlfriend can take it to the dealer today to get a new tire and to get the brakes and bearings checked out. I figured since it is under warranty, this was the best thing to do. Hopefully I can go pick it up tonight and ride it home.