The Pros and Cons of Installing a Wide Tire Kit on Your Harley-Davidson

close-up of harley davidson logo on motorcycle
Photo by Frans van Heerden: https://www.pexels.com/photo/graysacle-photography-of-black-harley-davidson-motorcycle-674048/

When considering upgrading your Harley-Davidson, you get tough and bad tough. However, upgrading the motorcycle to a wide tire kit can help amplify the toughness in a major way to give you solid street cred. 

A fact is that fat wire tires are nothing new and have come a long way. Tires with a 150mm size are no longer the biggies or baddest. No, now you can get 330 mm tires at the top of the fat tire chain. 

Still, equipping your Harley-Davidson with a fat tire kit does not only enhance the bike’s look, as there are many other reasons to upgrade your tires. Keep reading to find out what benefits these tires offer. 

Pick The Poison For Your Ride 

With a wide tire kit, you can add it to the front axle or on the back of the bike, or both ends. Each of these options provides you with distinct advantages and disadvantages. We spoke to Deadbeat Customs to find out what they are. 

You can handle corners better when equipping your motorcycle with a wide front tire. If you like to live on the edge, this option is the best, as it can make your bike twitchy. Still, your motorcycle will remain responsive around the corners. 

When you upgrade to wide rear tires, you get better alignment. But there is one drawback: it tends to push you forward through turns instead of taking them agilely. Yet, equipping the front and rear with a wide tire kit gives you the best of both worlds. 

Pros and Cons of Upgrading to Fat Wide Tires

When upgrading your Harley-Davidson with a wide tire kit, you have your benefits and drawbacks. Hence, you can expect the following:

Pros of a Wide Tire Kit

  • With a wide tire kit, it excels on the road absorbing bumps to give you a smooth, comfortable, and powerful ride. 
  • Equipping the back of your motorcycle with a wide tire provides safety when riding in rainy and wet conditions as it guards you against slippage.
  • Fat tires will help you manage power transfers if you have a strong motorcycle engine.

Cons of a Wide Tire Kit

  • Your bike handles better when you have standard tires than fat tires.
  • The tires’ flat shape makes it more difficult to turn and lean into corners when riding your bike. 

Why Invest in Wide/Fat Tire On Both Ends of Your Bike

  1. With a wide tire kit on both ends of your Harley-Davidson, you get better traction as there is more surface contact on the road. 
  2. You get more protection in wet conditions against slippage.
  3. The absorption of bumps on the road is better for giving you a smoother ride. 
  4. You get effective handling when riding bigger engines as it distributes power better. 

So, if you want a wide tire kit without the fat wallet, Deadbeat Customs can help. You will surely leave other bikers eating your dust when upgrading your Harley-Davidson with a wide tire kit.

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Steven Weissman
I grew up working on my family's small farm in western New York state. We did a lot of projects ourselves, which taught me not to be intimidated by DIY projects. So now I like to write about DIY topics to help others gain confidence to try to do things on their own.