Very close to purchasing a Road King Classic, I do not care for the wire wheels especially the white wall tires.

So I have been researching different wheel tire option to replace the wire wheels with. What are the advantages/disadvantages among the 17 18 or 19 inch front wheel choices? The tire outside diameters and widths are about the same, but the tire sidewall profile gets shorter as the wheel diameter increases. Is the 17 inch tire-wheel going to ride smother than the larger diameter wheels, and is the 19 inch tire-wheel going to handler better than a smaller diameter wheel? I am more interested in function over form and appearance.

 

Interesting reading this I have a RK that has the 17" front wheel and since I want the WWW tires I just ordered a 16" wheel and WWW tire. Can't get a 17" WWW in the proper size.

 

How can you not like the wire wheel and www tire on a road king classic? Maybe you should buy the road king standard and be done with it.

 

Initially my first choice was a standard RK, but I found a black 2012 RKC low mileage garage queen in mint condition for a good price that is really growing on me. I could live with the wire wheels if they were the tubeless type, but I have never liked white wall tires on anything, do not even like the thin white stripe on the sidewalls that come on most of the touring lineup. But that is just my preference and I do respect other people opinions.

 

I just went from a stock 17" front wheel to a 19" agitator and I notice no difference in ride quality.

mikebaby

 

Don't forget the 21, 23, 26, and 30

 

There's no easy answer to your question! Rather like shorter shocks, for a lower sidewall to work well it needs to be a top quality tyre. My own choice would be to use the smaller rim size, just for that reason. On the other hand there are 130/70 x 18 front tyres available with a better load rating than the correct 17", so if you ride 2-up a lot or are very heavy, that might be a better alternative choice. The larger sizes are what I would call custom sizes, rather than practical. I would be happy to cross Continents on 17" or 18", on that grand tour, but not any larger than that.

 

I went from the 16 inch front wire rim to the 19 chrome agitator and didn't notice any ride difference. I did get a whole bunch of compliments. I would of got a 21 if doing it over again though.

 

The 17" on my RK standard handles just fine. However, I am just the opposite, I want the spokes and white walls lol.....

If you end up getting it and want to sell your rims and / or tires, I'd be very interested!

 

I had a 17 on my 09 and I have a 19 on my 12 there is absolutely NO DIFFERENCE ride wise PERIOD... The only difference is the 19 looks a bajillion times better. If that bothers the OP, then go with the smaller wheel.