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Needing your expertise on tires (and wheels)

5K views 34 replies 17 participants last post by  motorcoacher 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
**NEW Question****

What are you all's thoughts on rim weight for ride quality. I can get a 80 spoke rear wheel that is heavy or the Harley Ultima Solid chrome polished Billet rear that is very light weight. Both are for 250 tires, so im wondering if a lighter rim or heavier rim makes a difference. Thanks for your thoughts.

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I need to buy a front tire for my warrior and I might go ahead and get a rear as well. I recall seeing somewhere that I can go up to a 240 on the stock 17 inch rim and swing arm, but gotta go to and 18in rim in the back to go bigger. First off, is this correct?

Second, I want to give my bike a kind of lean forward feel. I want to go fat and high in the back and small and low in the front, so something like 240, 50+, 18 in the back and 120 or 130, 60, 17 or lower. does this sound wise, safe, and feasible?

I also want to throw on the straight handlebars to make steering easier. What are you experts thoughts on this? any advice is greatly appreciated.
 
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#3 ·
Like Rob said, you'll need to widen both the rim and the swingarm to fit anything wider than a 210 mm rear tire.

If you want the front end lower, you can lower the forks in the triple clamps. Or go the whole distance, with R1 forks & the 17" R1 front rim.

Nothing wrong with drag bars, but just make sure they're comfortable... Lol. Wider bars should give you more leverage. But to go along with that, lowering the front of the bike is going to make it turn in easier too.
 
#6 ·
A 240-280 tire is usually mounted on an 18" rim, so the rear rim is taller, but the tires that fit it are low profile so i do not know if it will raise the rear much, try the adjustable lowering links to raise it more. To lower the front end, loosen the fork clamps and slide the fork tubes up 3/4", any higher on the stock stuff and your fender will hit the front brake connections on the bottom tree when hard braking.
 
#9 ·
Fat tire/increased ground clearance here.

When going to a 250 in the rear, you'll pick up just about 1.2" of ground clearance just by changing the tires, and yes, you need to have the rim widened and re-hooped to an 18".

There are site vendors here that do that. I had mine done by KyleNV and couldnt be happier.

As for the Front - if you do a 250 rear and leave the stock size front, you will get a little rake leaving the suspension alone.

I just put a 130 on the front and picked up about 1/2" more clearance there.

Pics are in my gallery.
 
#12 · (Edited by Moderator)
Does Rim weight affect Warrior Ride Quality?

What are you all's thoughts on rim weight for ride quality. I can get a 80 spoke rear wheel that is heavy or the Harley Ultima Solid chrome polished Billet rear that is very light weight. Both are for 250 tires, so im wondering if a lighter rim or heavier rim makes a difference. Thanks for your thoughts.

Duplicate Threads Merged [ArizonaWarrior]
 
#14 ·
I have only rode with the stockers on mine so I can not give an experienced answer. But if you read a lot of articles in magazines, the opinion is that lighter means less unsprung weight and better handling. How much would a few ounces or maybe a pound or two affect the warrior which is a cruiser and heavy to begin with when compared to a sportbike? I don't have the answer.
 
#17 ·
I'm curious about the actual wheel weights for the wheels you mentioned. Going 250 over the stock 200 will already add tire weight, not many here complain about their Warrior's change in un-sprung weight although a number do complain about the change in handling characteristics due to the wider tire. I'm guessing that for most it'll all be a non-issue and who doesn't love the look of a phatty out back on a Warrior!
 
#19 ·
I'm curious about the actual wheel weights for the wheels you mentioned. Going 250 over the stock 200 will already add tire weight, not many here complain about their Warrior's change in un-sprung weight although a number do complain about the change in handling characteristics due to the wider tire. I'm guessing that for most it'll all be a non-issue and who doesn't love the look of a phatty out back on a Warrior!
there is about a 15lb difference in the rims. Here are pics of the 2. The 80 spoke is the heavier one, but I acutually like the look of the solid.


Auto part Metal


Tire Alloy wheel Wheel Automotive tire Rim
 
#20 ·
15lbs is a lot if you're an aggressive rider, but not bad otherwise . . . depending on the actual wheel weights with tire fitted versus the stock set-up. May I ask the actual weights, just curious. BTW there's at least one member here with 80-spokes and I don't think he ever mentioned un-sprung weight issues but not sure.
 
#22 ·
I went with the solid instead of the 80 spoke. awesome price of 250 with the tire on it. Also gonna go with harlery black and chrome road glide on the front. Now just gotta find someone to put in on for me with the stock swing arm. I may try it myself so are there any suggestions for the brake caliper. looks like that may be an issue inside the wheel.
 
#26 ·
Hello guys. I'm looking to go with the R1 front end. What all does that entail and what years will swap easily with an 06 midnight? I know I want the forks and a 17in rim, but do I need the front wheel cover fender and the brake calipers as well? Thanks for any assistance.
 
#29 ·
Had to put the project on hold, but ready now and looking at my options. Im trying to stay between 1500 and 2k for complete R1 swap with 17in rim with the back 250 Harley. I got a guy in town that can do the Harley machine work and everything, but just for the back tire he wants 15-1800. If I get the swing arm done on here, im still gonna be a few hundy more for bearing and Harley hardware to make it work. Hoping to find something cheap. Either swing arm or R1 kit. I gotta do something quick because my tires need replacing and I'd hate to buy new tires that when Im changing both out.
 
#30 · (Edited)
*** Update ***

I finally got the job done. I went to a Harley douchebag, and he learned a life lesson. He insisted that the job would take only two weeks and would not be a problem. I tried to explain that it's not easy conversion and Harley and Yamaha don't mix but he insisted on his expertise over what I was saying. It took him nine freaking months to do the job. Then of course, he tried to hike the price of, but that was a no-go. I like the result, he ended up using the stock stretch arm so he pulled the tire back a little so I have a mini stretch. He had all kinds of problems because he kept ordering different parts and bearings he expected to switch in and out against my advice. I also advised him to come check out this forum which he refused to do, so after all that time he ended up having to cut the sprocket out of the warrior and weld it onto the Harley axle so that the belt would line up and match perfectly. The good thing is I can now use any Harley Tire I want on it and I have a wider selection versus The Limited selection of the Warriors. I also got him to throw on my R1 conversion front end that I purchased for 350 bucks on Craigslist off of a 2003 R1. So, I got him to do the back tire 250 conversion with a Harley set up and a r1 Sport front end. After that, I took it to another guy to get the mini fairing put on it and sprayed black, the emblems removed from the gas tank and that smooth out with black, the gold Forks Painted Black, and the rear fender cut and custom shaped with integrated LED turn signals and brake lights. After all of that, I present to you "Black Stallion" . Let me know what you think, if I missed anything or any ideas to make her supa hott.
 
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