PURCHASED AN '04 1200C A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO AND LOVE THE BIKE. I HAVE TO ADMIT, HOWEVER, THAT I'M A LITTLE UNCOMFORABLE WITH THE NARROW 21" FRONT WHEEL.. I MUST FREQUENTLY CROSS STONE ROADS WITH RATHER PRONOUNCED RUTS IN THEM AND I'M JUST WAITING FOR THAT FRONT TIRE TO FALL INTO ONE AND LAY ME DOWN.

I'M CONSIDERING REPLACING THE WHEEL WITH A 19" (PERHAPS A 60-SPOKE FROM AMERICAN WIRE) WITH A WIDER TIRE. CAN ANYONE TELL ME THE ADVANTAGES / DISADVANTAGES OF THE 21" VS THE 19" AND THE WIDER TIRE VS THE NARROW?

THANKS FOR YOUR EXPERIENCE!

 

TALON,

About all I can tell you is that the 19" vs. 21" wheel will give you more rubber on the ground, and that is always a good thing for the kind of riding you seem to be encountering. As an old scrambles and flat track racer, getting the most rubber on the ground was as important, if not more so, than sheer horsepower or the "perfect" gearing.

Personally, I would definitely go for the 19" wheel with at least a 100-110 or 120 tire.

Thumper26

 

That's backwards. A 21" tire has a larger diameter which means that there would be more on the ground. Kinda hard to explain, but the easiest way to look at it is to draw two circles w/ different diameters. Now draw a straight horizontal line about 1" (any distance, but make it the same on both) above the bottom of the circle. Now look at which circle has more under the line. That tells ya which would have more rubber on the road (because the line represents the tires compression from having weight on it.)

I'm sure this is "too simplified" for allot of ya, but I did tha tso anyone could understand it.


I do agree that a wider tires would definitely be a benefit though! I have the 21" on mine right now, and plan on going w/ a shorter wider tire at some point. I just need to see a bunch of them before I make a decision.

 

I think what thumper was referring to is the cross section of the tire giving you a bigger footprint. The 19 inch is significantly wider than the cross of the 21. I did this swap on my WG and it felt much more secure with the 19 on it, seemed to ride a bit better also.

 

Oh I agree that typically a 19" is wider, and that wider feels better. Was just pointing out that it was mis-stated, so that no one got the wrong idea.

 

In reality, the difference in height between the 21" with the lower profile stock tire and the 19" with the taller stock tire is about 3/8 of an inch in height smaller with the 19". This would greatly increase the contact patch with the 19" tire and rim on the same bike. I understand your theory as you explain it , but the difference here would be nill with only a 3/8" difference in height with the 19" winning out in contact patch hands down.

 

TCSTD,

Obviously you said it better than I did (as you always do!). I'll state more simply what I was trying to convey: "The 19" rim will put more rubber into contact with the ground than the 21" wheel, and the more contact you've got, the better off you are."

Thumper26

 

Is a 19" not offered in the same width as a 21" I assumed (yeah, my fault) that even though you typically see wider 19" tires than you do 21" tires, that about the same sizes were available in each. All I was getting at is that it has nothing to do w/ the diameter and puts more rubber on the road because of its width, which is the important detail here, so I'm not sure why we got hung up on the diameter anyway.

 

THANKS TO ALL FOR YOUR CONSIDERED RESPONES;

DRAWING FROM YOUR DISCUSSION, THE BEST AND LEAST EXPENSIVE WAY TO GO IS WITH A WIDER 21" TIRE. IN THAT ENDEAVOR I CONTACTED SEVERAL DEALERS IN MY AREA WHO INFORMED ME THAT DUNLOP DOES NOT MANUFACTURE A WIDER 21" TIRE AND THAT THEY (HD) DO NOT RECOMMEND OTHER MANUFACTURERS OR CHANGING THE WIDTH.

I INQUIRED ABOUT CHANGING TO A WIDER 19" WHEEL AND WAS INFORMED THAT TO DO THAT I WOULD HAVE TO CHANGE MY ENTIRE FRONT END! ($$$$) AND THAT "HD DOES NOT ETC. ETC."

HAVE I JUST MET "THE TAX MAN" OR IS WHAT THEY ARE TELLING ME ACCURATE??

THANKS AGAIN..

PS: SO THE ONLY ADVANTAGE TO THE NARROW 21" STOCK TIRE IS AESTHETIC?

 

sorry talon but i think you dealer is full of himself, i have a friend who just put a 19 inch wheel on his 05 sporty.