3 is wrong... ill slip on my 300lb wr just as fast as i slip on my 550lb dyna. Weight has nothing to do with it... tires however do. If your bmw has battlewings then yes, those tires suck. They sucked on the wr, and they suck on the tiger(501/502).

If it were me id stop thinking about it and just ride what ever i feel like riding. If all you ride is 30 minutes max then why even ride? Go buy a honda grom...

 

a) my 15 minutes on the express lanes would translate into an hour on the regular lanes if I were in a car.
b) parking in DC is expensive, hard to get in/out of the garages, and some close early. why not slide your bike between cars in the metered spaces right in front of the building?
c) chicks love bikes, see evidence attached

 

I have a Buell Firebolt and an Electra Glide, two bikes of very different shape, wheelbase and c of g. They probably represent the extremes of the bikes I have owned, with the exception of a couple of trail bikes. We've also mentioned BMWs, of which more shortly.

The Buell has a very short wheelbase and a high c of g, my Glide has a long wheelbase and a low c of g. The Buell won an accolade here in the UK when it was announced as being the best handling bike of 2005 bar none, against Ducatis and all the Jap sports bikes. Other Harleys hardly set any standards of excellence for ride quality or handling, even though I love the silly things!

I suggest you completely ignore those mechanics - fortunately there are engineers like Erik Buell out there who know much better than they do! And Avon tyres are great, I have them on all three of my V-twins.

As for BMWs, their models routinely have a high c of g, because they have an odd idea about bike geometry. The c of g lies on a line between the point of contact of the rear tyre on the ground and the centre-line of the steering axis, which it intersects at right-angles. I'll leave you with that one......

 

I like the firebolt, a lot, what prevented me from getting one is that Buell's out of business and after having to source parts from eBay for a 944 I owned, it's not an experience I want to repeat.

 

I bought mine new, before Buell closed down. I wasn't about to sell it due to that! I've had no problems with spares to date, what I have needed so far has been available from my local friendly Harley dealer, or on line from elsewhere.

 

I've recently been riding a rigid chopper with an 84" wheelbase but also a 250mm rear tire.
I'm not feeling the snakes on the road like the fat boy.
It's pointing to the skinny 15omm tire on the fat boy.
The BMW may have a better suspension but the chopper doesn't.
The BMW may also have a shorter wheelbase but the chopper doesn't.
That only leaves the rear tire width (170mm on the BMW, 250mm on the chopper, and only 150 on the fat boy).

 

It probably has a bunch of trail..

 

what Max headflow said
This, put forks flush with triple clamps more straight line stability,lose turning,put forks up in triple clamps quicker turning less straight line stability,maybe some head shake.

 

The front tire was bald so I got a new one.
Makes a huge difference.
Never thought the front tire mattered much if at all.
Problem solved.

 

Good grief! Tread matters. My riding experience is that a worn tyre starts to let you know that it is getting towards the end of its life long before it gets to the wear bars, especially the rear tyre. IMHO that is the time to change the darned things!

Now you have a lovely new front tyre, check the condition of your rear and replace that as well, if it is old or close to the wear bars.