I may be over thinking this but I want to be sure before I invest a ton more money for the 23/18 set up. I have been deciding if I want to replace the stock 2012 Wide Glide wheels with the same sizes or move to a 23 and 18. I want to run some stuff past the experts and get some advice to see if I am doing this right. I currently have a rear 17" 180/60 and a front 21" 80/90. I am not concerned with the width just the heights, because I don’t want the bike to look or ride funny. I want the rake and trail to stay the same and I do not want to change forks.

The overall height of my rear is 21.25" on a 17" rim with 4.25" of tire. If I go with an 18" 200/55 my overall height would be 22.33" on an 18" rim with 4.33" of tire. That’s an increase of 1.08" so .54" higher off the ground.

The overall height of my front is 23.83" on a 21" rim with 2.83"" of tire. If I go with a 23" 130/60 my overall height would be 26.07" on a 23" rim with 3.07" of tire. That’s an increase of 2.24" so 1.12" higher off the ground.

If my thinking is correct, I would want to either raise the front and the rear the same distance or lower them the same distance in order to keep the trail/rake the same. Since I am raising the bike with the new wheels my goal is to lower it so it sits the same height from the factory. Do I need to go with 1/2" lower rear shocks and a 1" lowering kit for the front springs? Am I thinking about this all wrong? Any tips advice or suggestions would be awesome!

 

Most go with a 18-21 setup..23 in the front looks cool but I wouldn't do it.

 

If it were me I would just do it and see how you like it. Then at that point decide if you want to lower the bike a bit. Thats just what I would do, no offence but I think your over thinking the process to much. The looks won't be an issue, I think the only issue would be is if your short like mw then that would be a bit of a concern. But there are a few WG around here running 18 and 23 and it looks sweet! I am not sure if they have an suspension modifications but either way your not talking major differences. Your going to end up lowering it more than you have raised it cause your not going to find shocks that are going to be that precise in what you what to drop it. Good luck and post up some pics!!!

 

Send a PM to LooseNoose, he was running that setup on his WG. At least I know it was a 23" up front, not 100% sure he was running a 18" on back. His bike was BA!!