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Hello folks. I've got a 2009 night train I'm mounting a breakout front wheel on to, and I'm trying to decide which tire to mount.

I'd like to stay as close as possible to the overall diameter of the stock NT tire, (planning on splitting and adding to the stock NT front fender) but with the limited options in 130/60/21 size (factory Dunlop on breakout) I'm looking at running a 120/70/21 instead.

The problem I'm running into is that not all /70 sidewall heights are created equal amongst various manufacturers. Does anyone have a resource that lists the actual real world diameters of tires?

Dennis Kirk lists the Avon Cobra @ 27.9 inches inflated diameter, and the Dunlop Elite 3 @ 27.61 inches inflated diameter, but nothing for the Michelin Commander, Pirelli Night Dragon, or the Metzler ME888. If anyone has a source for the diameter of those tires I'd really appreciate the help!

 

Just in case anyone else runs into issues making the swap, I'll post what I found out

I'm currently running a Michelin commander 2 89/90/21 on my factory (09) night train wheel, it has an inflated diameter of 27.05 inches.

I ended up ordering the Avon Cobra av71/2 (front and rear, 200/55/17) 120/70/21 with an inflated diameter of 27.9 inches, I really wanted to stick to a 120 tire and by my measuments everything should clear fine, but not by much. This tire suited my application the best, I'm less concerned with treadwear and more concerned with grip, hence the wheel swap in the first place.

The 120/70/21 Michelin commander 2 has an inflated diameter of 28.1 inches (according to the lady on the phone with Michelin) and was a little too tall for me. I was looking for something a little stickier anyway, so I wasn't too upset. I do have experience with this tire on multiple bikes, in multiple sizes, and it's a good combination of handling and treadwear.

The 120/70/21 Dunlop elite 3 listed an inflated diameter of 27.61 inches, but was probably the farthest from what I was looking for in a tire so it was out of the running. Fitment would have been ideal though.

The Pirelli Night Dragon was an interesting option. It's designed for grip over mileage, but I just couldn't find measurements for anything, anywhere. No response from the company and I was running out of time to get my order in, and I couldn't risk them not clearing the fender/fork brace on my application. If I don't end up liking the Avons for whatever reason, assuming no fitment issues, the night dragon will be the next tire I try.

​​​​I never did hear back from Metezler about the 888, but it sounded like another high mileage designed tire anyway. I'll continue to update the thread as I progress with the build.


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Heard back from Metezler and Pirelli, both the 888/880 and Night Dragon in 120 70 21 have an inflated diameter of 28.07 inches (713mm).

Kinda feel like I'm talking to myself here, but hopefully this helps anyone who is running into clearance issues as well!

I'll post up after my wheel/tire install are done and post some pics of my fitment. Wheel should be back from powdercoat this week.

 

Thought of doing this myself on my '06 Softail Standard. Is it pull and swap or is there adapters involved?






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On my 09 night train, according to the master tech and my local dealer, it's a direct swap (other than the fender). We thought that we may have to use different wheel spacers to make sure the caliper/rotor line up perfectly, but he's convinced the stock ones will be the right fit. Hopefully he's correct and I didn't powdercoat them for no reason haha.

I can't comment on your softail slim, but if you have the wide glide front end and the correct axle size, I can imagine you would be in the same boat with fenders and possibly spacers being your only potential hangups. I'll post a wheel compatibility chart if you want to look into compatibility for your application.

 

So finally got everything back from powdercoat, it all fit up perfectly as planned. Good thing I was paying attention to tire clearances, she was close!

 

Thanks for taking the time to post this. I really want to do this to my Softail Custom one day.

 

Your bike looks great , I'm running a shinko advance 005 in the 120/70/21 on my breakout.

 

I did this a few years back - might go with a 120 tire next.

Breakout front wheel 21" X 3.5" on 2008 Night Train

 

I really like the drag bike look with the skinny tire up front. Now what I really like on a Breakout is the rear tire. I loved it on my old Breakout. Too bad that is such a pain to switch.