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21"+ front wheel on a Bagger

Grillfish

Junior Member
Ok.. seeing alot of folks going to 21" wheel tire combo on baggers. I just saw a 23" combo in a new magazine.

Other than looks, what are the benefits on a big touring bike, if there are any?

I had a nice 21" HD wheel on my Sporty, but that was half the weight.

Thanks for your thoughts and comments.

Ride safe and have fun.
 
I've had 21" wheels on a couple of my bikes, but not on a bagger. IMO the benefits of the 21" or 23" wheel are; you can feel the rain grooves on the highway better, less friction with the road for better gas mileage, a firmer ride due to less cushion between the road and rim, longer stopping distance in an emergency and they look nice! :laugh
We have one in town, and the guy didn't pop for a narrow fender to go with the 21" tire,, looks way silly from the front. Just MO again.
 
Not to mention the bike will flick from side to side and steer quicker on the narrower tyre
got a dirty great wide tyre on the back to grip the road for breaking
well it is in comparison with the skinny 21" on the front

ive got a fat 16" tyre on the front of wide glide it handles like a boat very slow to change direction but will grip when heavy breaking

so if your roads are straight and you need a lot of breaking power small fat front tyre is better
if you are on twisty roads and need to change direction quickly big skinny tyre is better
you know your roads and your riding style

Brian
 
I put a 21" on my bagger and it does ride a little different but after a while you don't hardley notice and they look great.
 
I run 18 x 3 1/4in front and 18 by 41/2 in back. I just put on a pair of the new pirreli nightdrangon,s so for so good 3500 don't even show any where. I have to ckeck neck bearing ofton lots of curves any like to drive to the point of having fun but not trying to kill us.:bigsmiley11:
 
I have the 21" on my SG and it does look good, the only benefit is lighter steering. I have not had any problems with tracking or anything else. I would not do the 23", it does not appear rideable.
 
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