Well put Mike. My pops would often tell me , that you would only get the truth from someone about a purchase "after" they sold that item cause while they still owned it they would never admit that what they bought wasn't very good.

 

I ride a 2000 RK. I had a sporster and a dyna befor. I always liked baggers because of the 16 " front wheel. I finaly get a bagger and everyone is now putting 21",23"and bigger on the front.WTF. I still like the low fatty wheel better. Personal opinion. What ever floats your boat.. To me the 16 fatty takes the road grooves better. Here in northeast Ohio the Road department is always grinding the road surface. I no for a fact that the 16" fat tire handles better than the 19",21" and 23" skinnys on that surface.

 

Has anyone looked at the load rating on a 21" tire? Now do the math on a bagger with 2 up and see if you exceed the load rating of the tire.

 

my main issue is not with the looks. Its with performance. Now my first issue wit the 21x18 was with the increse in height. The bike does not sit level anymore. front of the bike sits higher than the rear. This changes the whole geometry of the bike and CANNOT handle the same as stock geometry. Is lowering the front end the answer ??? Ive heard yes and ive heard no. Can anyone shed some light on lowering the front end 1" to correct this geometry issue.

 

If you lower the front end the amount you increased the radius of the front wheel you will have corrected the change in front end height you made with the 21" front wheel. But you will have lessened the front end travel by same amount. I lifted my Street Glide up 1" in the rear with 13" shocks which actually brings my bike back to the geometry the frame and forks were designed to work at as Street Glides are 1" lower in the rear than the FLH/FLT line are. So a Street Glide with stock length shocks and a 21" front wheel is at least 2" higher in the front than Harley originally intended the frame/fork to work at. Just an observation from a madman.

 

Im really thinking about lowering the front end 1" to get back to stock height. I know im gonna lose travel which will result in a harder ride but this is the only option for me aside from going back to stock. I measured the rear and it went up a 1/2 inch. Im wondering if i should get 12 1/2 inch shocks now also ? This never ends...... p.s. im gonna post pics of a diagram I made when I made the swap once I figure out how to post pics.

 

I was thinking about going to a 21 on my '08 Street Glide because I really liked the look. After talking to a few folks I decided on the 18 because I was concerned about screwing with the ride and handling. The 18 feels the same as the stock 17 but looks great.

 

Had a 21" on my 09 SG - in fact it is the wheel on the bike in my sig pic. It looked good, but I really didn't like how it rode and handled at all, not to mention being a little nervous about the load rating. I sold the 21 and got an 18" and am extremely happy with the outcome. Just my $.02.

 

I put 21" on the bike in my sig picture for the look....truth be told, I ride this bike more than my Ultra because I love the way it looks, rides and handles. The Ultra only gets ridden when wife comes along now. Don't knock it til you tried it!

 

I put the stockers back on last fall to finish out the season because my rear 18 was worn out and I was waiting on the new Metz reinforced rear prices to stabilize. Yes there is a difference in ride and handling. 16's ride softer. 21/18 respond to rider input quicker. I've got 10k miles on the 21/18 setup and have no problems with ride or handling. But then I used to ride a hardtail with a 20 over front