Not a real great comparo pic since the bikes are at different angles, but you get the point.

160 on the left 180 on the right


Now they both have 180s!

 

ditto!!!

 

Yes there have been a lot of other posts on the subject but there's no harm in re-posting information and questions on this subject it to keep others informed.

Regarding the tyres I did some research on this topic a while back and here's the deal.

The SE 180 tyre is built for a 4.5" wheel rim which my 06 superglide custom has, I'm not sure about the 07's and 08's. None of the other 180's that I could find were, they all have a minimum rim size specified of 5". The tyre expert I asked about thissaid that putting these other 180's on a rim that is too small would mis-shape the cross-sectional profile of the tyre. To what degree, if any though I don't know, and plenty of people have done this without an issue.

Also, if you go with a 180/55 it does change the diameter of the wheel slighlty by reducing it (The kit comes with a 180/60). Theoretically this should lower the effective gearing of the bike, and bring the speedo, tripmeter etc. out of calibration. Perhaps the thinner rim squeezes theprofile making it taller and pushes the diameter out so it is effectively thea similar profile?

The SE 180 is a cross-ply tyre also. The others are radials.

At that stage I was more worried about the tyre dismounting from the rim at speed as these radials are tubeless,so I chose to play it safe and go with a 170 Avon (the minimum rim size specified is 4.5 ")which I'm very happy with. I've not heard of anyone having any tyre dismout or other issues though so it's probably not an issue.

 

How is the Avon holding up?

Also, did you run the matching front?

When I'm due for new tires, I probably won't be going for the SEs.

 

No I didn't change the front although I should have and that will happen soon. From memory it I will have to go to a slighlty larger front tyre with the Avons as they didn't have a perfect match.

I've done about 3000 miles on the Avon and I like it. The wear seems fine. One thing with them though, I've been warned to keep them at a high pressure, as apparently they have a tendancy to blow sidewalls at low pressure. I keep mine @ 41 psi.

 

Well it certainly is good to see some "traffic" on this mod. I posted this info becauseas like "Iwant1" says it is "a commonly talked about issue".. but my thinking is also on two other issues... 1) the "search engine" on this site to actually search for stuff (waterman)is very hit and miss at best. 2) there are new riders joining or reading this forum every week.. what that number might be would only be a guess on my part, ergo this being a popular mod for us Dyna guys.
All the info that not only I post, but what all ofmy other "Dyna brothers" post here, someone else may find enormously helpful in making a good decision. Thanks to all who posted.

 

Tried search but whats a tyre? Used this post-thanks for the info

 

Its the non-US spelling for Tire. That's how it's spelt in Australia, not sure about the UK and EU.

I normally try to use the US spelling for words that are spelt differently to avoid confusion, but that one slipped through.

 

What about this Avon 180: http://www.avon-tyres.co.uk/motorcyc.../pdf/storm.pdf ???

 

i've never had a problem. seems to work just fine

just make sure you set the "options". set the search terms in "body and subject" .
just "subject" will weed out a lot of BS

and keeping people informed is one thing, claiming to have "solved" the problem is quite another.