Who likes “fat“ things?
Wide tires, narrow tires, large or small slats?
There are said to be customizers who specialize in conversions with wide tires. One thing should be mentioned at this point: please refrain from any comments about stands that can be dispensed with or any remarks about the rideability and cornering ability of such a bike with XXL tires.
From my own experience, I can say that if the conversion has been done correctly, the scrubber will ride well, even in curves and at an angle. However, it must be said that a 360 tire is not comparable to a 180 tire.
If you want to race up and down mountain passes with your knees scraping the ground, wide tires would actually be a very bad choice. Next time you watch Moto GP, take a look at the widths of the tires used in the race.
They're not stupid and know what they're doing. It's true that tire size is primarily responsible for subsequent driving characteristics.
I realize that someone who scrapes their knees doesn't understand why Harley riders, in particular, place such importance on fat tires. Most bikes from Milwaukee are not designed for such sporty escapades.
The knees of the average Harley rider touch the ground at most when cleaning their bikes on Saturdays. Don't get me wrong, the same applies to most Japanese sports bike riders, by the way. Just because your bikes could theoretically lean at such angles doesn't mean that the rider's skills are sufficient to perform such maneuvers.
For my part, I rarely encounter such skilled riders, at least on German roads. The Japanese rider can at least pretend to be one when stationary, while the Harley rider is likely to find it completely incomprehensible why anyone would want to ride like that at all.
Be that as it may, „to each his own.“.
So why on earth would anyone deviate as far as possible from the optimal width of a tire? The answer is very simple: because you can, and because there are still enough people who think it looks good. I don't expect everyone out there to share my taste, and personally, I couldn't care less who likes my bike and who doesn't.
If you were to build a bike that appealed to the tastes of as many motorcyclists as possible, was super easy to ride, and offered all this at an attractive price, the result would be something like a Yamaha XJN 600. A great bike, highly recommended for novice riders, but an emotional experience looks very different.
Don't get us wrong, you're entitled to say that you don't like the Softail with a 360 engine. Personally, I wouldn't want to own a bike like that either. But I, and every customizer, would be very happy if, instead of making stupid comments, you focused more on the technical implementation.
Without moving the bike even an inch, you can see at a glance whether and how well the bike can be maneuvered around corners. Just look at the tire from behind—is it centered on the frame, or is it offset?
Was an offset kit installed to move the drive belt to the outside so that it can be routed past the tire? In this case, the tire would run almost centrally, but the weight would be shifted too far to the left and the driver would have to counteract this by shifting their body weight.
Only very few bike builders can offer a technically perfect solution.
To be honest, I can only think of one that has mastered this perfectly. Rick's Motorcycles has developed its own swing arm kit for this purpose. The single drive belt is replaced by two shorter belts.
At approximately the height of the swing axle, the second belt is guided outwards past the tire via an additional shaft. This allows the wider tire to be guided centrally in the frame without any problems. Of course, this is only a simplified description of the principle, which is much more complicated in practice.
The fact is that (probably also because of the patent) there is only one supplier worldwide that has found a truly perfect solution for this, and it also has the blessing of the strict TÜV authorities.
However, it is also true that every change made to a bike has certain consequences. And these do not necessarily have a positive effect on riding characteristics. Those who know their craft can often assess these consequences and counteract them.
For touring bikes, oversized front wheels are currently all the rage. As with wide tires, you should pay attention to the technical implementation rather than making silly comments. Simply installing a larger wheel is definitely not the best idea. The bike would be raised at the front, which would affect the legendary trail.
Above a certain size, even a triple clamp designed to counteract this with a different angle is no longer sufficient. The customizer from Baden-Baden mentioned earlier adapts the entire frame, including the steering head angle, to the larger front wheel.
This approach has resulted in touring bikes with front wheels up to 32 inches, all of which are highly maneuverable. However, this is only possible because they have been designed and manufactured with consistency and expertise.
Finally, however, it should be pointed out that extreme wheel dimensions always affect handling. It must be admitted that some bikes are simply created for one purpose: to be beautiful or to demonstrate the technical skills of their builder.
They are purchased by individuals who appreciate the design and admire these masterpieces of craftsmanship. The fact that they can even be driven is almost secondary for this clientele.
There are simply different types of motorcycle and custom bike enthusiasts, and just as often different tastes.
Personally, I enjoy the diversity of this colorful scene, even if I don't like a lot of what I see. But why should I? If all bikes out there were built to my liking, it would be boring, to say the least.
With this in mind, best regards,
Yours, Peter
Text and photos: Peter Schulz
Column: Guest author Peter Schulz / Motorcycle editor, author, photographer, and filmmaker
