Hi, I am thinking of putting a 2" wider rear wheel and tire on my 96 Softail. Specifically a 180/70 tire on a 6" wheel in place of the stock 130/70 tire on 4" wheel. The rear wheel and tire are so narrow, the same size as the front, and I just think it would look a lot better and maybe even perform better with a wider tire. My question is how do I go about this. Obviously it will push my driven belt pulley (wheel) to the left so I'll have to offset my drive pulley (trans) and primary...right? So, how do I go about this. I have measured things and the wheel and tire i want will fit in the swing arm (barely) with no mods. Also my bike has a Primo Rivera Brute III belt drive on it. I'm a good mechanic but, new to bikes and don't want to have to figure this out by trial and error. I want to do this right. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

Not exactly sure but i do believe that the rear fender is the main problem, you'll be lucky to get a 160 in there, better check with your local indy and actually measure a tire and your fender, My 98 softail factory fender just accepts a 150 maybe a 160 if i get real lucky. But i doubt it..

 

You would probably be better asking in the Softail section, where more owners will see your question. In essence your rear fender will only take a 150 with ease, any wider will need surgery or a new fender. The extra width of tyre will, as you comment, need adjustments to clear the belt, possibly a wider swingarm. The simplest answer is to look for a conversion kit, there are plenty out there.

 

You will also have to check for clearance of a wider pulley behind your primary, that may need to be spaced out as well as the rear pulley. If you are looking for the bike to handle better by doing this I think you are looking in the wrong direction cornering and sweeping turns will actually be harder with a wider tire. Also remember that the farther you space the primary out the more you throw of the balance of the motorcycle. 180 isn't anything crazy but just a couple things to keep in mind.

 

Go to the Softail Forum section and at the top under Sticky there already is a thread started on a 180 rear tire install start to finish.

 

Thanks for all the help and info guys.