I’m making this quick thread because when I started my journey to go wider tire, I looked all through this forum and couldn’t find the information I needed. Now that I’ve been through it, I thought I would mention a few things to help someone else looking.

First, what people say is true, 150 is about as big as you can go. I highly recommend that you look up inside your fender and make sure your bolts and nuts aren’t sticking way out. Either reverse them so the head is inside the fender or get small, hex style, nuts, and make sure you cut the thread back. Because it can and will rub even on a 150 tire. I thought I was a genius and knew better when I was told a 150 was as big as you could go. You see I went chain drive, and expected to gain all kinds of room getting rid of the pulley. But the fender and struts are only so wide. That’s the limiting factor for width.

For your transmission you will need an offset sprocket. Don’t think you can shim a non-offset gear correctly. It’s not gonna be a good practice and it’s not gonna work very well. You need quite a bit of offset. I’d like to tell you what offset you need., But I’m not convinced that would be the same on every bike. My 1993 softail needed about 7/16 so I bought a 1/2 offset and then shimmed the stock DISHED style rear wheel sprocket to line up with the transmission gear. If you think that it will fit, it probably wont. The chain will rub your tire. Maybe not all tires but it did with my Avon 150 tire.

Last, I tossed the compensator from the engine and went 24T solid sprocket.. again I thought I knew better and would be a genius saving money with an early 24T sprocket. It fit like a glove and cost $30… thought I won that one and patted my back. That is… until I installed the clutch and realized now it wasn’t in line with the clutch basket. When you swap a solid engine sprocket from a compensator, it too needs an offset. About 5/16. Again being a genius in my own mind I ordered a bunch of shims. We’ll that isn’t what I’d recommend. You lose some of the ID teeth width. Let’s do some math, if your changing from a compensator you probably like me, built a Brawny motor. So don’t skimp on how much thread is left inside that sprocket. I didn’t know to Google “Compensator Eliminator Sprocket” that’s what you’ll need.

The best source I found was Volcan Engineering. My only complaint is if you don’t know you don’t ask. I wish their web site made it clear. I bought a chain conversion kit from them and none of it except the chain itself fits due to me going wider tire. I wish when you went to buy that kit right there they spelt out it’s not for anything wider than a 130 tire.

So hope this helps somebody. Knowing what I know now I would not have ordered any parts… I’d have called Volcan and told them everything and had them tailor a kit with the right parts the first time. Woulda saved a lot of money, time and aggravation.

 

You are correct on all of it.. Most commonly to do the 150 is a 1/2 " offset drive sprocket for a 5 speed Evo Softail.. You would then just need to measure up the spacer for the driven sprocket.. I had to use a .300" spacer.. I've since learned you can put a lot of power to a 1 1/8" belt and still utilize the 150 tire.. My rims on my 98 are 2000 up with the 2.2" hub for the pulley. So I used a 70 tooth pulley from a 2000 up Sportster.
I got tired of the chain maintenance and chain wax all over the rim.. And belts are a little quieter.. I got most of my parts from Zippers (sprockets) chain I got directly from D.I.D.

 

Really really good advice. I appreciate that. I don’t really think a belt was an option for me. I’m pretty hard at launch. And I do intend to take this to the dragstrip. It is a street bike, but I have a strong goal to get into the 10 second ET realm. And I just don’t think I’m gonna be able to get 1:54 foot times using a belt without ripping some teeth off.

 

I would think you can.. Here's my best but know it can be better. This is my Dyna with a belt.. I'm still in the learning stages of throttle launch.. is not as easy as some think.. I do not have wheelie bars and have had the front end 18" of the ground and have to let off the throttle a little..

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Looks pretty darn respectable to me! What kinda mph? I see it 116. Very nice, 98” EVO?

 

Thanks, No this was my Dyna (in my sig) I just topped out 4th gear..I think it was around 5600 rpm.. I try not too shift to late.. This was on a black top highway.. I have found quicker et's by shifting no later than 5500 rpm.. Maybe someday I'll go to a track.. I'm sure to get better traction there.. I might be able to hit high 10's.. I might be dreaming but I like to dream, And I love power..

 

I could find one the right length I'd run the 1-1/8" in a heartbeat on my shovel, 121 tooth is a rare bird even for 1-1/2".

 

When I first went to a 1" belt and pulley from BDL. Don't exactly remember the brand.. Could've been the Falcon.. but I snapped 2 of them when grabbing 2nd gear from an all out hole shot.. At the time I didn't think that the belts could handle the power I was putting out with my built 96 inch at 115 lb of torque and 109 or 110 horsepower.. So that's when I went to a chain set up.. It wasn't more than 1,500 mi I got tired of cleaning all the chain wax and the mess Not to mention that I was actually stretching the rear sprocket teeth folding them over making it look like waves in the ocean but it was an aluminum sprocket and I still I thought it would hold up but it didn't.. I went back to a belt.. However I think it was from the advice of you TwiZted, "to make sure that I had no more than a quarter inch of play in the belt". I think that was the key to me snapping belts because I was actually running a half inch to 5/8" in belt tension which I thought I was the proper tension.. What I believe ended up happening was that the belt actually came off the pulley and rode the lip of the pulley and stretched it so severely that that's what snapped it not the fact that I was producing good power.. I finally got a 1 1/8" setup with an S&S belt who I believe makes the best belts and I never looked back based on your quarter inch belt tension setting.. The thing is these belts are getting so good these guys on 131 putting on 150 $160 horsepower are still running belts so honestly why bother with a chain it's just extra work.. Thanks again TwiZted

 

Yeah the Falcon rubber belts won't deal well with play time. Ran one when I first did the belt conversion, worked for me but I could see it wasn't going to last like the factory belts.

The Gates Polychain belt which the moco use are a magnitude better strength wise and all the bigger name brand aftermarket suppliers of that style are Gates belts rebranded under contract. Industry insider info, I bugged a tech rep at plant about getting some direct, wasn't happening.

 

Good stuff guys. Inspires me now that I just converted to chain lol. I had really bad experience trying to make the old phase 1 inner primary belts work with my shovel snapped them clean straight across. It wasnt an alignment issue either, spent a lot of time perfecting alignment to insure that wasn’t the cause. I know that’s inner and not rear but it was my experience with belts with 115ft lbs of torque.