single disc brake conversion?
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 6,322
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From: Tennessee
The smaller footprint of the skinny little tire reduces traction and therefore stability.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 6,133
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From: CT/FL
yeah you'd be like those morons who ride a Heritage Softail and lot of other big bikes that come from HD with a single front disk
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2009
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From: Doghouse... mostly
Road Master
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,170
Likes: 14
From: washington dc
Sorta harsh words there, HP. It's what I think, too. Please offer evidence supporting your assertion that a smaller tire patch has same traction as a larger tire patch. I believe that for any given properly-inflated tire, the total available traction is a function of tire patch size.
Last edited by jefla; Feb 18, 2015 at 04:16 PM.
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 6,322
Likes: 2,500
From: Tennessee
That's what I KNOW....Less rubber in contact with the ground = less traction.
It can't mean anything else!
Here's a clue for you....ALL high performance motorcycles have wide tires front and rear.
Why do you suppose that is?
I'll help you....Because they want that thing to stick to the ground and not slide out from under the rider in hard cornering situations!
I've ridden plenty of them, between bikes I've owned and customer bikes coming through my shop, I've probably ridden more motorcycles than most guy s here.
I have a 21" wheel on my Dyna Wide Glide and I'm in the process of getting rid of the Wide Glide front end and the useless 21" wheel because I want more rubber between me and the road than a 21" tire has to offer.
21" wheels/tires have NEVER been about performance, they started out being about looks and they continue to be about looks.
No one that truly rides a motorcycle wants a skinny little tire up front that doesn't stick to the road like a wider tire will.
Don't come here and try to insult the intelligence of people that know about tire performance and that more rubber on the road equals the tire holding the road better.
There are variables depending on rubber compounds in one tire as compared to another, but barring differences in compounds a wider tire will stick to the road better every single time.
That's the facts...
It can't mean anything else!
Here's a clue for you....ALL high performance motorcycles have wide tires front and rear.
Why do you suppose that is?
I'll help you....Because they want that thing to stick to the ground and not slide out from under the rider in hard cornering situations!
I've ridden plenty of them, between bikes I've owned and customer bikes coming through my shop, I've probably ridden more motorcycles than most guy s here.
I have a 21" wheel on my Dyna Wide Glide and I'm in the process of getting rid of the Wide Glide front end and the useless 21" wheel because I want more rubber between me and the road than a 21" tire has to offer.
21" wheels/tires have NEVER been about performance, they started out being about looks and they continue to be about looks.
No one that truly rides a motorcycle wants a skinny little tire up front that doesn't stick to the road like a wider tire will.
Don't come here and try to insult the intelligence of people that know about tire performance and that more rubber on the road equals the tire holding the road better.
There are variables depending on rubber compounds in one tire as compared to another, but barring differences in compounds a wider tire will stick to the road better every single time.
That's the facts...
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 6,133
Likes: 2,528
From: CT/FL
OP - a heritage softail is 730 pounds - touring bikes are only 10-20% heavier - not enough to make the single disk a problem on a touring bike - put a heavy rider on a heritage and they're heavier than my road king with me on it... go for what you want - it won't be 'unsafe'
ps. contact patch size = weight on the tire / pounds per square inch of air in the tire - in other words the size doesn't change with narrow tires - just the shape... racing tires are wider so the bike can lean further - not a problem on a touring bike
.
ps. contact patch size = weight on the tire / pounds per square inch of air in the tire - in other words the size doesn't change with narrow tires - just the shape... racing tires are wider so the bike can lean further - not a problem on a touring bike
.
Last edited by Joe12RK; Feb 18, 2015 at 01:37 PM.
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Joined: Aug 2014
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From: Eastern Ohio
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I personally would want more braking instead of less.
Maybe a compromise would be to convert to a Brembo single front. Get the better clamping from the 4 piston caliper, it may be the same as your 2 - 2 piston you have now.
Interesting reading about contact patch.
http://www.performancesimulations.co...tire-pressure/
Cruiser
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 217
Likes: 2
From: thayer, Missouri
single disc
if you do go to a single disc, do you have to go to the 9/16ths master cylinder? I would think at higher speeds that the braking force would be preferred. at lower speeds ie.. parking lots, gas station and the like seems it would be pretty easy to lock up the front tire. someone had said in this thread or a recent one that you have to change the banjo bolt from two hole to single. didn't remember seeing two holes in the bolt. have a extra two caliper set up in the shop will have to ck. great discussion in this thread.