Okay, whats the scoop? Who wants to make their bike PHAT? Who's done it already? What I am really curious about is has this affected the ride quality? Is your ride smoother, more balanced, less balanced? How about some links to the best and most cost effective way to do this? Chops comes to mind as he did his fatboy without changing the swingarm.

 

The really fat tire will make it less easier to handle on the twisties. It's pretty exspensive to get the fat tire install done. 2 cents

 

Good friend of mine is making big bucks fixing trannies on newer Harley's that converted to 200+ tires on the rear.
If you don't do it right you will be paying the Piper.

 

I agree with softy, the wider the tire the harder it is to lean in corners. The bike wants to straighten itself back upright. After test riding these bikes in a dealership I worked at I was always glad to get back on a bike with a 180mm size or smaller. Even the V-Rods with the 240mm rear tire don't handle as good as the ones with the original 180mm rear tire. The widest in my opinion that I would go would be the 200mm on the new softails.

 

Biggest rear tire on a bike that I've ridden is a 250. Big tires suck for handling. Looks wise, some look good, most have an odd fender cut. IMO, anything bigger than a 200 is a waste of rubber.

 

Had 200 on my Softail. Now skinnier on my Streetglide. StreetGlide handles much better.

 

and not to mention the cost to replace them

 

Phat tires kits are for people who are burdeoned with a phat wallet and need to have it thinned out. No other reason.

 

I test rode a bunch of fat tire bikes before I got my latest FXD. The Screamin eagle V-rod, big dog and a Victory Hammer they all had 240 size tires and really the V-rod was the worst. It was sluggish (torque felt slow)compared to the same model with a 200 but honestly the handling is just something you get used to moving around a little more and using your body weight.
They tend to transfer more road noise and vibration, show wear fasterand don't like extra load.
Performance machine makes a pretty bad a$$ phat tire kit.
The thing is phat tires are just like prescrition drugs... they work great but there are always side affects...
Your ride would look F'n cool with a 240 on it... I will tell you that.

 

If you ain't got the power to bust the stock one loose when you twist the grip, save your money.