Hello all, this is Maurizio from Rome, Italy.

My current ride is a 1995 Dyna but I am also negotiating to buy a 1991 FXR, so the question applies to both.


I'm putting all by "pipedreams" into one big bucket list and plan to ride around the world before I'm too old for that.

For this king of long range riding I am considering, among things, a 17" rear wheel as found on 103 cu.in. Dynas.

The reason for this is it is much easier to find rubber for a 17" rim (be it cruiser, dual sport or whatnot) than it is for a 16" rim.

I am not considering the average bike shop in the continental US or Western Europe;
I am considering anywhere east of Poland... i.e. Russia, Kazakhstan, that odd workshop in Siberia... India or China...
...but also Morocco, Senegal, Zambia or even Bolivia.

So... thoughts ?

 

I put a 17" rear wheel from a Softail deuce on my 94 Softail. It was quite a bit wider so I had to do some work but I got it to fit. I had to line everything up without the rear rotor bolted on, start the axle from the pulley side an then slip the rotor through an finish getting the axle through then bolt down the rotor. If you stay with a stock width rim you might not have to do this, I went with a wider rim for a bigger tire.

 

I have a 17" in my 1990 Glide, but to install it I also swapped swingarm and rear brake as well as used a narrower drive belt. I use a 160/70 tyre which is tight on clearance everywhere!

 

How did you get the 160 to fit up in the fender? A 150 is the max I can use on my 98 Fatboy....

 

I have an Avon Storm, which measures 167mm wide on the rim. It fits by the skin of it's teeth! In other words it is an extremely close fit. Fortunately my rear fender is dead central on my wheel.

 

I put a 170 sport bike tire on my 94 softail...I had to flip the hardware an it's tight but it clears.

 

Thank you all.

To be honest my aim is not to ift a colossal rear tyre, but to fit dualsports type rubber
while maintaining the 130 tire size, i.e. 130/80x17

... ... ... Pirelli MT60 is a good choice, or Pirelli MT90, or ... ... ...

_

... ... ... or the Heidenau K60 Scout or the Continental TKC 70
_

100/90x19 front tires are no problem, but rear dualsports in 16" size ?
All I could find was "DURO Tire" but it's a name I've never heard of in Europe.
(Even SHINKO is unknown in Europe)

So, I would like to hopw that if maintaining the 130 size tire the job should be a direct swap.

 

The only stock Harley 17" wheels I know of have a 4.5" wide rim, as used on some Softail, CVO and Dyna models, whereas the stock 16" wheel has a 3" wide rim. An MT-130/90x16 is around 640mm OD. Depending on brand a 130/70x17 will be similar in diameter, but will not fit a 4.5" rim, which is too wide.

If you have wire-spoked wheels then replacing your rear rim with a suitable 17" is one any competent wheel builder should be able to do. For a suitable cast wheel you may have a bit of a challenge!

 

Do any those Rear tires you mention have a high enough load rating for the FXR?


.

 

Interesting question, and you DO have a point.

Let's see...

In 130/90x16 size,
Dunlop's 404 is rated 67S or 67H
Dunlop's 491 is rated 67H
Dunlop's 502 is rated 67V (this is my current tire)

On the other hand, the dualsports tires I mentioned (130/80x17) are all rated 65S, T or H.

To me, this makes negligible difference because :
- speed rating is superior to any intended road use (who, me, speeding at 120mph? or even 80mph...)
- weight load rating is more than compatible, as the two units difference (67 v. 65) mean ~17Kg or ~40 lbs on a fully laden bike.
More specifically, a "65" tire will bear up to 290Kg (each), a "67" tire up to 307Kg (each).

Considering I'd be riding solo with roughly 20 kg (45 lbs) baggage, methinks a 65 rating dualsport tire more than suffices.
Dyna = 290Kg; myself = 100Kg; baggage = 20 Kg; full tank + 10l. reservoir = 30Kg;
TOTAL 440 Kg v. 580 Kg of two "65" rated tires.
(The Dyna weighs 290 Kg, the FXR is rated 245 Kg...)

Alas... if only the MoCo asked for a duasports tire, Dunlop would be more than happy to oblige...