21" wheel on a baggger

[pj711]

Looking for input from those that have a 21" front wheel on an Electra Glide or Road Glide.  I like the look.

Wondering if any ride or handling is given up going to a 21" with a 130 tire.  I ride on the harder side and do quite a bit of hi-way riding and don't want to 'lose' anything in the comfort and performance area.

I currently, and have been for sometime, running an 140 on a 18" wheel.

Thanks.

[cardboard]

A 21 would be for looks to me.

You can't beat a pair of 16's for the ride and comfort.

[Ely]

  Put a 18" on the front of my Heritage with a Metzler 130x60x18 ME 880.  Ride all over 2 up last year to SD 4K round trip no issues.  Most of my riding is back roads here in the North West.  If any thing I think the bike turns in a little easier and is a bit more responsive. That might just be the tires.  As far as ride goes running 36 to 40 psi in a motorcycle tire you have almost no side wall flex and I see no advantage that a 16 or 18 would have over a 21 the ride comes from the shocks/forks. IMHO

[rigid71hd]

i put em on all the time some guys say they like it better and some dont. i have to say tho more like em then dont. be sure to enlongate the the rear fender mount holes so you can rock the back of the fender up .  the 21 will rub at high speeds and ruin your paint if u dont .

[Snaps]

I've got a 21" front with 18" rear on my Streetglide. Overall, I like the change. I get better ground clearance and it handles just as well, if not better, at slow speeds as it did with stock 16"s.

The only problem I've run into is a very slight wobble at higher speeds in sweeper turns. Used to be rock solid with the stock wheels. It could be that I have a minor alignment problem, though. My front brake drags some.

I just had a front end lowering kit installed and plan to pick the bike up today. Also, when putting the front end back together the installer was able to get rid of most of the front brake drag. I'm hoping that between the two changes that it will take care of the problem.

Like I said, this was a minor wobble to begin with and only shows up over about 80 mph in sweeping turns.

Edit: Forgot to mention about the front fender. I started out by wallowing out the mounting holes in the stock fender in order to raise it up a bit to accomodate the taller tire. Worked fine but I didn't like the look. I wound up getting a painted fender from FBI that is made for the 21" x 3" wheel.

Here's a pic of the wheel with the stock fender. I don't have one with the new fender.

[pj711]

Snaps, bike looks good.  Thanks to everyone for the input.

[fxstd_01]

I'm sure it'd look good but you can't beat those big fat FLH front tires if you live somewhere with a lot of steel grate lift bridges like around here in SE Virginia.

-jeff