Sorry, I am a little late to the party. Yes, I opted for late model import wheels (at least the front one for now) as tire selection was a whole lot better (there are almost no speed rated tires in stock Harley sizes). the craigslist donorcycle ponied up the front end (forks, triple trees, fender, wheel, handle bars, etc) all designed for speeds waaay faster than HD ever envisioned. so, swapping out HD stuff for rising sun products was an easy decision. the bike and this rider scale at apprx. 750 lbs with a 50/50 split front to back. traction has not been an issue so far but we are going to address that per the old adage "add power till the tires break loose then add weight till they don't. repeat till you are out of money"
The stock cast Gixxer wheel is straight and true, is tubeless and again, is easy to find tires to fit. i run 50 psi and the tires show almost no wear, the little thingies are still on the chicken strips. the last tire timed out with it's Minnie Pearl still attached.
To add to what stainless said about alignment, yes it is very important. at the '12 WOS meet my back wheel was out about three or four flats on the left side adjuster. bike dog tracked something fierce, almost wanted to swap ends. i had to hang off the bike to convince it to wander back to the centerline. fixed that before the next pass then when back home in the land of oz, i broke down the entire bike and reassembled while keeping everything plumb and square. bike has ridden like it is on a rail since. Hope this helps. go fast, have fun, be safe.
