I want to upgrade my wheels on my 2011 Ultra. I ride about 10k per year and my average trip is 400 miles round trip. Roads are mostly back roads farmland with trips to the Mountains twice a year.

I am wondering if I should stay with the stock tire sizes which includes a 17" front or would the 18.35, 19 or 21 inch ride better with a low profile tire?

I'm normally two up at a total weight of 300 pounds including the gear. I have Ohlins shocks.

Any thoughts?

 

Unless you have a busting desire to change wheel style, I would stay with what ya got! I am planning a change from 16" to 18" on my old Glide, but that is mainly to gain access to your Brembo brakes and rotors. The Harley 16", 17" and 18" front wheels all have the same rolling diameter, near as matters, after that they start getting a little larger in rolling diameter, which may affect steering geometry.

 

I wonder if the lower profile tires have a lower payload rating?

 

It all depends on what your goal is. Give us a call in a few hours and I can explain my view on this.

 

Harley has shifted the load ratings in recent years. When all the dressers had 16" wheels both tyres were rated at around 74. With the '09s the ratings shifted to 65 for the 17" and 69 for the 18" fronts, but with much higher rears. I chose to change to 18", to get the slightly higher rating.

 

I can give you a call at some point today as I will be at work soon and will need to find a free moment. As you can see I am trying to educate myself so I do not make a decision that I will regret later. I am also not in a big hurry because I will probably not have the wheels in time for this riding season due to the build time. I really like the new cruise wheel buy extreme machine.

 

I wonder why Harley-Davidson uses a 17 on the ultra and a 19 on the street glide. I'm wondering if it was strictly for looks ?

 

I ask what your goal is as changing wheel sizes can affect choices in tires, change the handling characteristics and give your bike a whole new look all at the same time. Everyone has their own opinion on how each size wheel feels but i find a lot of the information that I read on the internet to be untrue for me personally.

I run a 21x3.5 front with a 16x5 stock rear on my bike. This is a great combination for me as the tire choices are great, the bike looks great, and I love the way it rides. I much prefer the 21x3.5 front to the stock size 18x3.5 on my bike. It gives me more lean angle and a much sportier feel not to mention it fills up the front fender very nicely and get the bike a lot of attention from on lookers.

It sits a little higher in the front with the 21" (about 1") which is not of concern to me in the slightest. If anything, the added height allows me to lean the bike over further in the canyons creating extra ground clearance.

That being said, depending on what your goals are your choice might be something different.

Here are a few pics of my bike with 21" front wheels on it.

 

I asked my wife, and she assures me that tire size does not matter... it's all about how you use the handlebars. So there ya go.

 

You will find you get quicker and lighter steering with a stock 17" front wheel. A bigger front wheel will change the steering geometry and give more trail. Raising the the height of the front without raising the rear the same amount will detract from handling. 17 inch wheels provide the biggest choice in tire selection as the vast majority of motorcycles on the road use 17 inch wheels.

Draw an invisible line through the steering bearing following the angle of rake and mark where this hits the road. The horizontal distance from where this line intersects the road back to the center of the front tire's contact patch is the trail. You need some trail to provide steering stability but too much makes a bike feel lethargic and heavy.