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CVO Technical => Wheels/Tires/Suspension/Brakes => Topic started by: SDCVO on August 23, 2018, 02:21:04 AM
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Does the 21 inch front wheel effect handling when riding hard?
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My opinion FWIW is that the 21" seems a little more susceptible to road snakes and it is slightly harsher on bumps and highway imperfections than my previous 19". The upside is it looks killer and I would not trade it for anything. I even put off adding lower fairings for awhile because I thought they would detract from the looks of the front wheel. I have almost 10K on my bike and at almost 62 years young I am (physically) no kid.
So to answer your question, no, I can ride just as hard and confident with the 21" as the 19" and love the look, after all these particular bikes are factory designed to be "Hot Rod Baggers" and if you find a color combination that you like, as I did, go for it and start enjoying your new bike but watch out for all of the compliments coming your way!
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For what it it worth test rode one of the H.D. demo truck at M.B. Week back in Spring loved the overall feel, handling and ride better than my `15 CVO Street Glide. Not an expert but Idid not notice any negatives with the 21" front wheel plan to buy a used one this Fall.
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Alan the 21" front wheel may come with a lower profile tire thereby reducing the overall outside diameter of the tire? I know this is the situation on the Ford Super Duty with the 18" vs. the 20" option. Outside diameter is the same....the 20" makes it look less like a roller skate but the ride suffers. :nixweiss:
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I'm not certain what bikes you are trying to compare, but I made an assumption and looked at tires sizes of the 2017 CVO Street Glide and the 2018/19 CVO Road Glide to keep this as close to "apples to apples" as possible. Harley didn't take the usual route when they went from a 19" front to a 21" front, with a lower aspect ratio tire for the larger rim. The 21" is the same width and aspect ratio as the 19", 130/60. So in this case the overall diameter of the tire does increase by 2" but the width remains the same. I could be wrong, but I think I read somewhere that Harley made changes to the front end on the 21" bikes to compensate for the larger tire diameter.
D408 130/60 B 19 O.D. = 25.39"
D408 130/60 B 21 O.D. = 27.39"
Where I would expect a big difference in handling and ride is with those aftermarket solutions with the 26" and up rim and skinny low profile tires. When you get into the ultra-low profiles and narrow widths, you don't expect a good ride or crisp handling. At that point it is all about looks, not function.
Jerry
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Thanks all!
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I'm not certain what bikes you are trying to compare, but I made an assumption and looked at tires sizes of the 2017 CVO Street Glide and the 2018/19 CVO Road Glide to keep this as close to "apples to apples" as possible. Harley didn't take the usual route when they went from a 19" front to a 21" front, with a lower aspect ratio tire for the larger rim. The 21" is the same width and aspect ratio as the 19", 130/60. So in this case the overall diameter of the tire does increase by 2" but the width remains the same. I could be wrong, but I think I read somewhere that Harley made changes to the front end on the 21" bikes to compensate for the larger tire diameter.
D408 130/60 B 19 O.D. = 25.39"
D408 130/60 B 21 O.D. = 27.39"
Where I would expect a big difference in handling and ride is with those aftermarket solutions with the 26" and up rim and skinny low profile tires. When you get into the ultra-low profiles and narrow widths, you don't expect a good ride or crisp handling. At that point it is all about looks, not function.
Jerry
Yep, Harley lowered the front suspension 1" for the 21 wheel. Same thing bike builders have been doing for years, 1" shorter springs in forks.
Alan,
I do not notice a difference in how hard I can push the curves with the 21. You will feel a little more of the road. It did not slow me down on Bearthooth pass two weeks ago. I run the roads around home the same way I did on the 17 SG.
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Yep, Harley lowered the front suspension 1" for the 21 wheel. Same thing bike builders have been doing for years, 1" shorter springs in forks.
Alan,
I do not notice a difference in how hard I can push the curves with the 21. You will feel a little more of the road. It did not slow me down on Bearthooth pass two weeks ago. I run the roads around home the same way I did on the 17 SG.
thanks Dave
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Does anyone know if the Ohlin front suspension from Howard on my 17 will fit in the 19 with the 21 inch wheel?
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Does anyone know if the Ohlin front suspension from Howard on my 17 will fit in the 19 with the 21 inch wheel?
Not sure with Ohlin, I would ask Howard.
I do know with Legends the front Suspension has a different part number for the 18 CVO road glide, compared to the 17-18 CVO Street glide. According to legends that is due to the shorter spring for the 18 CVO Road glide
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I noticed the other day heading out of town, there is a nice sweeper curve, I hit 100 mph and felt a little (very little) front end weave. Left the guy in the F350 diesel like he was sitting still. :coolblue: