Hi guys. I have a Victory Highball and it runs whitewalls and on the rear is a 16" x 150 on a 3.5 inch rim. It's ok but I want to put a 200 back there. I have seen it done but with normal black tyres but I would like to keep the whitewalls. I was thinking if getting just the 5.5 or 6 inch (40spoke) rim and re-lacing my existing hub. Does anyone know where I could order that?

Also what options do I have with tyre choice? Is a 200 on a 16 inch rim in a whitewall even possible to buy?

Would Crossbone rims or tyres work?

Thanks.

 

I suggest a Victory forum would be a more suitable place to ask that sort of question! We have our work cut out in here mixing wheels between different Harley models, without adding another brand.....

 

Thanks for the reply. I know what you mean and I have already tried that. I have heard of 2 that have put a 200 with whitewalls on the bike but only have emailed with one if them and he ran a Vee Rubber tyre and is in Australia. Aftermarket options are few for the victory so I has hoping someone might know or an outer rim or a tyre that might suit. Surely someone has put a 200 white wall on a HD before. Fingers crossed!

 

A few recent Harleys come with 200 tyres and that size can be squeezed into a recent touring bike. Getting a wider than stock wheel into a bike often involves surgery or replacement with custom parts.

The things that limit tyre size are fender width and drive belt/chain clearance and you can check them yourself. Knowing what size tyre you currently have, measure clearance to the drive belt/chain, also the gaps either side of the fender. Bear in mind that actual tyre width can differ from nominal size (I have a 160 tyre that measures 167mm fitted on my wheel) and you can see this is not an exact science!

If you have a wire-spoked wheel any wheel builder will be able to replace your current rim with one suitable for a 200 wide tyre. That size is available in 16" and 18" diameters, that I know of. Check the website of your preferred tyre brand, where you should find more details. They may tell you fitted width, but even that has to be taken with a pinch of salt!

If a 200 tyre is significantly wider than stock, the only way ahead may be custom parts. Recent wide Harley wheels cannot be installed in earlier models, for example. Wide wheel kits are available for popular Harleys, possibly Victorys too, so the well-known kit brands is another possible avenue for enquiry.

WWW tyres is guilding the lily! That is somewhere down the line at present!

 

Thanks for the great reply. I know it can fit but I do agree that the manufacturers measurements and the actual ones can vary widely. I remember looking at an Avon 250 and a Metz 260 and the Avon looked wider and had a flatter curve to it.

The hard thing is that I want to keep the white wall. Some of the other models run a 180 tyre with the exact same bike/fender but those wheels are mag rims not spokes.

Do any Harleys run a 180-200 rear with a white wall?

What size rear wheel does the Crossbones run? Is that a 40 spoke rim?

This bike has the 200 on it but it is Vee Rubber.

 

That's a Queensland plate! WW are available on stock touring 180 tyres, but I don't know of any wider ones. If those bikes with alloys you mention have the same rim width as your wire wheels, I can't see any problem with you using the same tyre. My only reservation is that wide low profile tyres tend to be fussy about rim width. Harleys with 180s come with 5" rims, but 200 tyres need a 6", although some owners fit them on their stock wheels.

The Crossbones rear wheel is 17" x 6" wide, so suitable for a 200 tyre and has 40 spokes. As you can see, despite my earlier words, there is obviously a 17" diameter option as well!

 

Yes that bike is in Qld. I'm actually from NSW in Oz but now live in the UK.

So I could definitely get a 180 and buy just the 5 inch rim and re-lace it to my hub.

The only thing stopping the 200 is finding rubber then? I don't think I want to use Vee Rubber.

Do you think putting a 17 inch on the back would work or does it change the way the bike would ride? (Other than the bigger width)

 

So we're both in the UK talking via a US website?! What size rim and tyre does your bike currently have? You can get your wheel rebuilt if necessary at Hagons, who can also supply a rim.

 

Ha ha! I'm in Edinburgh. My bike is running a 150 on a 3.5" x16 rim. I will google Hagons and see

 

There's a fitment guide for tyres and rim sizes taken from numerous manufacturers, here.

A 200 seems a bit much on a 3.50" by these figures.