[Constant]

The fat ass V-rod is something really beautiful...
The cheapest way is to put a 260 tire on your stock wheel-swing arm.
The bike handles better than the 240 tire..

I am thinking of puting a 300kit tire on my rod...But what about the handling of the bike?As far as I know the the best handling of a v-rod is by putting a 280tire....The 300tire makes the bike really lazy and the hanndling is worse than the 280 and 260 tire....Is that true?

Any sugggestions?
Thank you

 

[Mommas Boy]

Can you explain to me how a 260 handles better than a 240? You mean cornering as well?

 

[Phatass]

I had a 240 and now have a 260 on the rear of my 2009 DX. The only difference, and it is slight, is going around corners. As an example, when I enter the traffic circles we have here (which I hate, BTW) I have to slow down even more now than I did with the 240. I can only surmise that the 300 would be even more difficult. I have not noticed any substantial change in straight line riding.


Phatass

 

[Mommas Boy]

Ya I thought the wider the tire the harder to turn, so Im not sure what he means. Hes basically saying the opposite.

 

[Bumbobee]

Yea I don't get it either. The fatter the tire the harder it is to corner...

The only bonus of a fat tire that I see is:

1. Looks
2. Good at dodging road irregularities like cracks and stuff, you don't really feel them with a fat tire
3. More stable in a straight line at high speed?

 

[Ruko]

On paper the handling should be affected. When going straight you ride in the center of the tires, but when you turn and roll onto the sides the larger the difference between the front and rear tires the more the alignment changes. The wider the rear tire the more the contact patch moves over to the side and actually slightly reduces the turning radius. Now with that being said...

I switched to a 300 over the winter and did not notice any negative handling. I talked to quite a few people who had the wider rear tire before I decided to make the switch and they all said there was little or no handling difference. When I got the bike it had the stock Dunlop 240 but I got a nail about a week after I picked it up so I switched to a Metzler 260. When going to the 300 I switched again to the Avon Cobras. I also added Arnott rear shocks and progressive front springs. If there was any negative handling affects when going to the 300 they may have been reduced or eliminated by my tire and suspension changes, in fact I find it sticks to the road much better now than it did with the stock shocks and Metzler 260.

 

[Mommas Boy]

How hard do you push your bike on corners Ruko.

another question ive wondered, how does switching to air susp affect handling and cornering, you think better?

 

[Ruko]

Can you explain to me how a 260 handles better than a 240? You mean cornering as well?

It may be due to the fact that the stock Dunlops suck ass... so by switching to a 260 Metzler even though it is wider it still handles better.

 

[Mommas Boy]

It may be due to the fact that the stock Dunlops suck ass... so by switching to a 260 Metzler even though it is wider it still handles better.

That might explain it. The dunlops scare me to be honest.

 

[Ruko]

How hard do you push your bike on corners Ruko.

another question ive wondered, how does switching to air susp affect handling and cornering, you think better?

Well I live in Alberta so most roads here are pretty boring and straight... When I do find some corners, while I have scraped my pegs on occasion, I don't make a habit of it. So I would say I am not very aggressive.

As far as suspension upgrades, air or otherwise... your suspension is what keeps your tires in contact with the road surface so any upgrade should improve handling. I found the stock suspension to be very soft and spongy. With the Progressives and Arnotts the ride is definitely stiffer but also seems more precise...

 

[Bumbobee]

^

The Dunlops are moody tires. I find they perform well if the temperature is hot outside and the pavement is warm. When it's cold the grip is very poor. I have heard stories from people here that they don't perform well in the rain, but from my personal experience they do well in it. I took a trip last year to the US and rode through a massive downpour at going steady highway speeds and they held up well.

Mommas boy, you should adjust your rear shock preload to the max setting, it gives it better handling and it doesn't feel as sloppy. Our suspension is very very plush, which is good for comfort, not as good for cornering. I personally don't really care as I don't ride hard anyways, but I think I will get some heavier weight oil in the forks when I am going to be doing the seals.

Arnotts/Progressive will def make your ride stiff...

 

[Constant]

On paper the handling should be affected. When going straight you ride in the center of the tires, but when you turn and roll onto the sides the larger the difference between the front and rear tires the more the alignment changes. The wider the rear tire the more the contact patch moves over to the side and actually slightly reduces the turning radius.

The handling of the bike depends on the corner of the side and the center of a tire. As far as I know the corner on a 300 v-rod tire is not so big and that's why the bike doesn't handle so well.
In contrary, the 280 and 260 tire, has a bigger corner and better handling....

P.S. I am trying to find the perfect...combination of a fat ass look and a well handling bike. Think this is a 280 tire on my V-rod....

 

[JSC]

I went from stock- to 200, to 280, to 300.

Keep in mind everyone uses different brands which have a little difference in crowns, compounds etc. Not to mention wheel widths. Plus changing from different wheels with different weights.

When I went to a 280, everyone said it was the worst handling (that was with the Metz) most said the 300 Avon was better. I went to a 300 Metz- a little lower tire than the Avon.

Can't say I could tell a diffrence in the 280-300.

Best handling was a 200.

Biggest thing is where I live here in Michigan- I made all my changes in the winter (where we might be off the bike for 6 months) after this period of time, the bike itself feels new, so when you put a new tire on or change the handle bars etc. - it all feels new and different. But, you get used to it all in just a few miles so it's not like putting 20,000 miles on in the summer and switching from a 200 to a 300 in July- know what I mean?

I am certain you will lose time going down the drag strip (or gain time I mean!) In the dyno shootouts tho- with the 280, I consistently put down numbers in the 160's (8#'s boost) and with the 300 I did a 185.something at 10#'s.

My 280 had a horrible flat spot that made handling bad- but, this was after way too many burnouts.

There is a difference going to that big a tire- I just don't really notice it after you have been on it for a few minutes. Going to a stock bike feels so different to me but, the seats, supension, bars, pegs- everything has been changed on my bike to fit me- so when someone else gets on my bike they feel ALL those changes, not just the tire. The only one who said they "felt" the big tire on it was a Fat Boy rider and the V to that bike are pretty different.

If you are a very aggresive rider- fat tires are going to give up a little handling.
If you are like me, lot of cruising, jump on it when it feels good, not too many winding roads here, the fat tire looks really good, didn't change anything or the way I ride.

I have seen guys with the fat tires out ride guys with skinny tires- only difference there is the rider.

 

[VrodPete]

Don't forget that if you are putting a larger tire on the same rim, the larger tire will be pinched more - just take a look at the 250 Avon on a 8" stock wheel and then look at that same tire on a 8.5" aftermarket wheel. Huge difference in profile, with the tire on the 8" wheel being much "rounder" and taller - which would make for a little better cornering but less of a contact patch when doing straight line. YMMV based on what wheel is being discussed IMHO.

 

[ElrodontheV-Rod]

If you pulled the front back to about 30degrees,a 300 should feel as nimble as the 180.
With the geometry of the front set up the way it is on the V-Rod,mine,and a 260 metz,handles fine between 90 and 130 mph in just about every manure I can make between these speeds.