So, I've been wanting to do this for a while, but I'm finally getting serious.
I've seen this mod a lot on Suzuki M109's, but never on a Fat Boy, I'm guessing because the 140 front is plenty big for most.
Does anyone know if it's been done before?
I've scoured the internet and haven't seen it done. I've already got a tire in mind: Michelin Commander II Motorcycle Tire Cruiser Rear - 160/70-17 73V and I'll be buying a matching 200 rear at the same time.
I know I'll have to "oppose" the treads, but I'm just not sure it'll go on without any other mods.

 

Following

 

Go big or go home.
Put a 180 on that bad boy or don't waste your time!
Yeah, it can be done!

 

He is talking a FRONT tire. Some of us like to ride a motorcycle around curves and turns.


To the OP, the 2018 Fat Boy has a 160 on the front and a 240 on the rear. That might be a place to start.

 

I've seen the 180 kits out there, but I'm trying to see if anyone knows if a 160 will install in the front with no additional mods. I'm also curious, if anyone has done this mod, if the handling is adversely affected.

I know that front tires often have rounder profiles to provide better turn-in, compared to rears, which are more flat to provide more stability, at least as far as cruisers are concerned.

I've checked standard fitment guides and a 160 is generally considered "too wide" for a 3.5" front wheel, like on the Fat Boy. However, I've seen plenty of others with different brands, namely the Suzuki guys putting the 160 on the front, which also comes stock with a 3.5" front wheel, albeit in an 18" diameter.

In all, I feel like the actual fitment of the tire to the wheel will not be an issue, but rather the clearance of the front fender and forks. We're only talking about an additional 10mm on each side. Having said that, my bike is in Colorado and I'm in Michigan, so I haven't been able to measure.

I think the only thing to do, considering the fact I haven't come across any info from someone else who's done it to this exact model, is to mount it and go from there. It'll probably be another month until my bike gets shipped out and I'll post an update with measurements and, eventually, the tire mounted.

In the meantime, here's a (not too helpful) picture of the front end to illustrate the current clearance for the stock front tire to fender and forks.

 

Um.... I know. What made you think anyone's talking about rear tires?

To the OP. You might start here. These guy might be the right place to start. Especially thier budget kit. It might be easy to adapt to a Softail. Yes, I think a 160 is too big for a 3.5 wheel. But plenty of wheel options. Native offers a few as well.

https://www.nativecustombaggers.com/...r-baggers.html

Whoops. We posted at the same time. But Native sells a bolt on fender for a wide front tire that's notched. It comes raw. I would think that would be able to be cut and modified to fit the more narrow forks on the Softail to accommodate a 160.

 

Also, here is the tire fitment guide I've been consulting:

http://www.hdwheels.com/product.htm

You'll see that there's 150 rear tires mounted on 3.0" wheels and 160's mounted on 5.0" wheels, with 16" to 18" diameter wheels, respectively.

That 2" wheel width difference is pretty big considering only a 10mm difference in tire width.

There's nothing for the 2018 Fat Boy on there yet, and I haven't been able to find any specs on the wheel width on the internet either. This is kind of irrelevant anyway as I'm sticking with the stock 17 x 3.5 inch wheel on my bike and like a smaller diameter relative to width, giving the impression of an even wider tire.

This is probably all a lot more thought that's going into this than probably needs be, but it would be very easy to have someone come out and say "Yeah, I've done it and it works fine just putting the tire on there".

 

It's only compatible with touring models, the lower forks are different than fatboy's lower fork.
HHI has a similar kit, same thing not compatible with a softail.

 

It can be done. I put the Michelin Scorcher front from FatBoy on my Street Glide. I emailed Michelin first, who confirmed it fits a 18x3.5 rim. I used stock fender but lowered it with a kit. 2010 Glide uses a 18” rim which is perfect. Side note: it’s a radial so I switched rear to radial also. Handles great.