Lesson learned....

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Feb 20, 2018 | 04:46 AM

#31

grbrown

Club Member

Joined: Jun 2007

Posts: 45,429

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From: Bedford UK

Quote:

Originally Posted by bentparts

The wider the tire, the harder to initialize a turn and if the rear profile doesn't match the front your gonna have some stability issues.

I'm not sure I entirely agree with that! I can imagine a very wide rear tyre may do it, but very nearly every bike on the market has a wider rear than front. Buttercup my Buell has 120F/180R, our SuperLow is 120F/150R and they ride just fine. Current touring Harleys are 130F/180R.

Feb 20, 2018 | 04:51 AM

#32

grbrown

Club Member

Joined: Jun 2007

Posts: 45,429

Likes: 2,896

From: Bedford UK

Quote:

Originally Posted by 98hotrodfatboy

Keep the rear @16" and do an 18" on the front with a 130-70/18 Metzler.. It'll easily fit under the stock fender.. I even went to a 19 on the front but the widest tire they make is a 120... It's a little thin. The 18 looked better....

The front wheels used by Harley on the Touring and similar style bikes have varied in recent years from 16" to 17", then 18" and 19", yet all have near identical rolling diameters, due to using lower profile tyres. IIRC my 18" SG front rim on my ole Glide is actually 3.5" wide, allowing the use of a 130/70x18" tyre. A 19" is feasible, but also needs a wider rim of probably 3.5", which will take a 130/60 tyre.