I am about to buy some wheels for my 02 Fatboy and I am curious about what size to go with on the rear. I have decided to go with an 18 on the front for simplicity. I had thought about staying with a 16 on the rear, but someone suggested using an 18 on the rear as well. My primary concern is the ride, I am not building a trailer bike, I ride a lot. I am 5'6" tall, so I don't want the bike to sit too high, I like the factory height, but I know the bigger wheels will raise the ride height a little. Just looking for advise.

 

if you know the height of your tires, & the 18" you want do a mock-up useing a 2x8 under the 16" tires to simulate the height of the 18:.measure with a 3'yardstick. have a extra person or 2 hold the bike steady & see how you like the ride height, etc' everyones legs are different height. just a suggestion.

 

you can go:
21x3.5 max on the front w/ stock fender
18x4.25 max on the rear

... I say go 21x18 or 18x18 if you really want 18 front. the difference in height will not be that significant (16 to 18 rear). Plus 18 will fill out the fender much nicer.

I opted for 23x18. waiting for my wheels now.

 

I would go to a lower profile tire in the rear when going up to the 18 and not gain any height. Especially if it is a concern for you. Same as doing a plus 2 wheel conversion on a car.

Then ride quality is your only concern and that's just a trade off you have to live with.

 

Even using the same profile tires, wouldn't increasing your wheel size 2" only raise your seat height 1"?

 

Cool, thanks for the info everyone. I was just looking for a little more info, don't like making uninformed decisions.

 

Yes. I went with the same 21" profile that the stock 19" came with.