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[Diamondback]

 

Was told by an independent repair shop that a 200 width tire works fine on the new touring models with 16 inch wheels.

Anyone else have any thoughts???

 

[grc]

Was told by an independent repair shop that a 200 width tire works fine on the new touring models with 16 inch wheels.

Anyone else have any thoughts???

 

I haven't seen any 200 x 16 tires suitable for a Harley touring model.  What brand and model tire was he talking about?

The stock tire is a 180/65B16  81H.  The recommended minimum rim width is 5.00", and the tire measures 25.33" in diameter and has an overall width of 7.19".  The load rating is 81 (1019 lbs.) and the speed range is H (130 mph).  It is belted bias construction.

You need to compare those numbers to any replacement you might be considering, especially the load range and speed range as well as the recommended rim width.  Each tire manufacturer should be able to give you the specs for their tires.  You don't want to put a tire on your stock rim that calls for a wider rim width for instance, and you definitely don't want a lower load rating.  It's also not a great idea to mix radials with the stock bias front.

In other words, there is a lot more to this than just having some shop tell you "Oh yeah, you can put a 200 on it".  I'd suggest if you really are interested in doing this that you contact the major tire companies (Dunlop/Metzeler/Avon/etc.) and see what they have to say.  


Jerry

BTW, I assume you are talking about the 2009, not the 2011RG Ultra.  The 2011 supposedly comes with 180/55B18 tires, not the 16 inchers you mentioned.

[spydglide]

Great advice Jerry.  I wish you'd been around with that advice when I was mounting anything & whatever would fit on my chopper in the old days. Still can't believe what we use to ride.    har.  spyder

[Diamondback]

 

I was not aware of any for the 16" either and I do have the 18' on the Ultra Glide.

Good advice.

 

[mandm1]

I put an Avon 200/55-17 on the rear of my 2009 Ultra and it fit fine, although the drive belt to tire clearance was reduced to approx. 3/16".

However, at least with the Avon Cobra, the tire was not that much wider than stock. The original Dunlop 180 actually measured about 184 mm wide, and the Avon 200 measured about 192 mm wide after mounting to my 17x6.25 rim. As Jerry mentioned earlier, the load rating will change, too. The 200 Cobra load rating was 78V, down from 81H.

If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't bother. The only advantage (in my opinion) is that you can see a bit more of the rim and a bit less of the tire when going to a 17 or larger on the rear. I didn't really notice much difference in handling between the Cobra radials vs. the Dunlop bias-ply OEM tires either.

Maybe Metzelers would be a different story ... your mileage might vary ... and all the other usual disclaimers 

Mike

[ice6900]

There is no point in putting a wider tyre on your touring bike, lets face it most of your mileage is done in a near upright riding position, not carving up the curves, the wider tyres just show a flat surface in the centre line while the other  70% of rubber on either side is unused, to put it another way you will get less mileage from the wider tyres, you even see much of the wider tyre under the fender anyway! 

[FAST380]

On my '09 RG I put a 200 on a PM 5.5" wheel, the tire moved around to much at speed. First ride out was like WTF is the tire flat, just turns out the 5.5" was not wide enough. Went to a 180 on the 5.5 and it was a completely different ride.