dark side

No stock tire really fits or works well. There are some antique tires that will fit but are not really worth the effort. If you really want a car tire then you will want a custom wheel with an automotive 15 inch rim. Not a 15 inch motorcycle rim as they are different. With a 15 inch automotive wheel you can run a 135 15 tire. Or you can change to a 2009 or newer bike as Harley went to a wider rear end and as such you can now fit a car tire.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
866-638-1793
www.dmcsidecars.com

I run a 175r16 Austone taxi tire on my Sporster, from www.universaltire.com ! No problems, great milleage, don't know if it will fit under the bigger bike!

Dwight, why don't you get a real bike. lol. Have you tried calling Spalding for suggestions?

Britt,
your sister wears combat boots...and likes my bike better than yours.
That being said, do you have any other suggestions for a better rear tire for our bikes.

Thank you for the suggestion. I will look in to the Auston Taxi Tire.

Were you able to fit the 175r16 Austone to your standard sporty rim? I like the look of the tyre and the flat profile would suit an outfit well. I have a 2005 custom 1200 sporty that I run an Avon 500r16, I don't get great mileage. I understand the later 2009 and up Harleys have wider rims and presumably swing arms, however I think you could buy a lot of tyres for the cost of a new wheel and swing arm if it could be retro fitted to the 2005 frame.

Thanks

Sean.

2007 1200 sportster standard cast rim! No modifications to anything!

Couple of things I have learned from going the dark side. I have a Kwaka Vulcan 2000 Classic LT. I searched high and low for a tyre that would give a good ride and fit the rim properly. I settled for a 195-55-16 ( in stead of normal 200-80-16 ). The reasons were to drop the rear wheel rpm to get just that little smoother cruise at low speed in higher gears, also better pulling power with the chair on. It's kind of like dropping the final drive down half a notch. The other reason, and my tyre man insisted on this, to get a tyre the same width at the bead as the rim. This prevents that balloon effect of a tyre too wide for the rim which kind of rolls side to side in the corners ( makes your back end feel like it's sliding but it's not ! ) I have heard of a lot of Vulcan riders fitting 215-60s and there is no problem with the fit but they sure do balloon out. The other thing is when you get to this size tyre you are getting into heavy vehicle and light truck type tyres, very rough ride !
Now on reflection, good idea at the time. What this has brought about is that as the Vulcan is rather low slung to begin with it is now even lower. Then I fitted the raked triple trees ( simply because unless your are superman you can't steer the beast ! ) and this again has lowered the front end ! I now have about 4 inches of ground clearance. result = hit a hump in the blacktop= hole in oil pan !!!!!!! Fortunately she does have a removable oil pan, otherwise it would have been a very very expensive fix !
I don't know yet if the tyre will last forever but it does ride very smooth, grips well ( not quite so good in the wet ) and does not have that wallowing feeling in the corners.

Anyone got any ideas on how to lift a Vulcan 2000 up about 2 inches ?

Thanks for the info Smith 8833, much appreciated. Kimbo where in NSW is Quirindi? I'm in the southern suburbs of Sydney.

Sean.

Kimbo, can you get 2" over forks for the vulcan? For the Harley that is just longer lowers! For the rear I think custom, longer shock would be the only way! Don't know how it is mounted under there but could you put a spacer/bracket on the shock or mounts? That is what I did on the twin shocks on my Sportster to replace their crappy ones with air shocks, 2" risers/spacers!

Check out Forking by Frank. Lots of extended fork tubes.

And not to state the obvious but how's about a skid-pan for oilpan protection, maybe a piece of heavy gauge sheet?? Doesn't take any great magic to fab up and could save a whole bunch of grief.

Sean Hogan - 2/10/2013 7:22 PM

Thanks for the info Smith 8833, much appreciated. Kimbo where in NSW is Quirindi? I'm in the southern suburbs of Sydney.

Sean.

Quirindi is 62k south of Tamworth which is 400ks? north west of Sydney.

Thanks for the tips guys. I haven't been able to find anything for the forks yet but will keep looking. I have just fitted a new rear shock, Progressive, with remote. Just need a higher profile tyre for the rear to lift it back up, if there is such a thing. I have already started planning a bash plate to protect the bottom. Just need a piece of 1/4 inch plate with 4 mounting points.
We're off on a ride this weekend, the leader has picked a few suspect roads though, might have to pick our skirt tails up to get over some of the humps !