tire size

nramike

My mechanic is telling me to put larger tires than stock on my 98 superglide, is this OK? Will it effect handling?

Animal

I don't think your speedo will read true but it shouldn't hurt anything.

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Northern Rider says Ride Hard or Stay Home

Fisher

How big?Yes it will have an effect on handling but size determines how much.

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Go out on a limb,that's where the fruit is anyway.........

Hobbit

fitting bigger tires can have a drastic effect and once fitted depending on profile the tire can be taller which does not make it look as wide.
remember as well the rim is made for a specfic tire width - so lets say your rim in 3" wide and the tire size is 140/80-16 and is made to fit 2.5" to 3.5" rims so it will fit perfectly on your bike now the bigger tire is lets say 160/80-16 not only will it be wider it will be taller in profile negating any width you may have gained and here is the kicker its made for a 3.5" to 4.5" rim which is like trying to squeeze a size 16 into a size 10 as far as the rim goes, you may not get good bead seal due to it being pinched at the rim, the side walls wont do the job correctly in corners and it will look like it has a balloon for a tire, also tires expand so it may fit when cold but what is it going to rub on when hot?
Yes metzler offer the tire stage upgrades and say they work and blah blah blah ever used one? I did and what a waste bike handled poor in both the corners and straight line stability it was on for 1 week then replaced with the correct size Avon which when viewed from the rear looked much wider the tire was a 170/55-15 and actually measaured 192mm across, remember one thing your bike is in contact with the road thru its tires and one small comprimise here and you are in trouble

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glider

Good points and one more to think about is a bigger tire will grow more at higher speeds and can contact bike parts. Not an ideal situation. One size bigger will usually be OK. I've done it when replacing tires on a previous bike and it rode and handled a bit better.

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