Vulcan Classic 1500 bigger rear tire!

[Kenny]

How many of you guys have ever noticed how small the rear tire looks on a 1500 classic? I mean,its a 150/80/16 and its the size that comes on the bike,but to me it looks too small and narrow under the fender on the vulcan classic 1500! My other bike is a 03 Honda Shadow Ace Classic 750,just half the size of my 1500 classic and has a bigger rear tire than the 1500 that fills up the space under the fender! I have been looking and studying this thing,and there appears to be about a 1/2 inch or so between the swing arm and the tire on each side. So what other size could i go to bigger, that would'nt rub the swing arm and be a good fit without problems? Thanks,from someone who hates that little bitty rear tire that comes on the 03 1500 Vulcan Classic!!!!!!

[oldodge]

Oh, that's it, the tire is too small! I was thinking the fender was too big. Just kidding, there does seem to be too much unused space in there. Will be interesting to see if anyone has tried a bigger tire.

[Kenny]

Yeah oldodge,For such a big motorcycle,that little bitty rear tire just don't look good on a vulcan classic! Just what is the next size up from the stock 150-80-16 tire? I'll "sure nuff" put me one on that rascal!!! Might go 2 sizes up if i can!!

[jukief]

I'm going to be replacing my stock tires before too long. Kenny, let me know if you put a bigger rear tire on your bike and how that works out. I'll let you be the guinea pig. LOL

[woodchucks800]

Kenny ,the next size up will be a 160/80/16. With that said you'll need to check the width of your wheel. I think it's the same as the 800 rear ,which is 3 1/2" wide. there are some guys running a 160/80 on the back of there 800 without any problems, but some of the tire manufactorers don't recommend it.

[Phatboy]

Originally Posted by Kenny

How many of you guys have ever noticed how small the rear tire looks on a 1500 classic? I mean,its a 150/80/16 and its the size that comes on the bike,but to me it looks too small and narrow under the fender on the vulcan classic 1500! My other bike is a 03 Honda Shadow Ace Classic 750,just half the size of my 1500 classic and has a bigger rear tire than the 1500 that fills up the space under the fender! I have been looking and studying this thing,and there appears to be about a 1/2 inch or so between the swing arm and the tire on each side. So what other size could i go to bigger, that would'nt rub the swing arm and be a good fit without problems? Thanks,from someone who hates that little bitty rear tire that comes on the 03 1500 Vulcan Classic!!!!!!

150/80/16?? That's a front tire for a nomad or 2000 =P
Go too wide and you mess up the cornering capabilites. Go to a few tire manufactures websites and they list tire by rim size. Measure the width of your rim go from there. I doubt one size up will make much of a difference.

Going from a 150/80 to a 160/80 would drop the rear of the bike a small amount due to the shorter sidewall. Hopefully some 1500 tire swapping fools will be along shortly

[NY_Guy]

Originally Posted by Kenny

How many of you guys have ever noticed how small the rear tire looks on a 1500 classic? I mean,its a 150/80/16 and its the size that comes on the bike,but to me it looks too small and narrow under the fender on the vulcan classic 1500! My other bike is a 03 Honda Shadow Ace Classic 750,just half the size of my 1500 classic and has a bigger rear tire than the 1500 that fills up the space under the fender! I have been looking and studying this thing,and there appears to be about a 1/2 inch or so between the swing arm and the tire on each side. So what other size could i go to bigger, that would'nt rub the swing arm and be a good fit without problems? Thanks,from someone who hates that little bitty rear tire that comes on the 03 1500 Vulcan Classic!!!!!!

The front rim on my Nomad is 3" wide and the back is 3.5". The widest Avon tire for the front is 150/80 and the back is 160/80 for a 16" rim. You can check the chart at: http://www.avonmotorcycle.com/us/en/...CruiserTouring. If you go too wide, you'll actually lose contact area with pavement (the tire has to be crammed into the rim and pulls the sidewall up). Good luck!

[VNgeezer]

I agree, the rear tire looks little. I have been checking on different sizes and Bridgestone specs show the 140/90 16 to be a half inch taller and the same width as the 150/80 16. The 160/80 is slightly taller and wider and has more load capacity than the 150/80 . The rim width is 3.5 inches for these tires.

[Donald Branscom]

I know a 200 WILL work. You have to put a small dent in the swing arm.

[brother]

Yea break out the sledge hammer baby!

[cleanflix]

is there much pressure on the swing arm? I would be willing to put a dent in mine to fit a 200 mm tire if it doesn't compromise the strength or what it is intended to do. Seems like the swing arm is more of a stabilizer and that most of the pressure is on the shock.

[Z-In-Jax]

160 works fine,... don't dent the swing arm, the rim won't take a 200... good god people, don't go telling others to "dent" their swing arm so they can install a tire that won't fit the rim...

remember, your bike had that little tire on it when you bought it, you didn't care then and it hasn't shrunk since you brought it home....

[smokey_243]

I put the 160/80-16 on my 1500 classic. It raised the rearend up enough that I had to readjust the headlight. The tire has 8000 miles on it now and still has good tread. Go to metzlers site and look at there upgrades. Handles fine.

[cleanflix]

The metzler 160 ended up being shorter and narrower than the offbrand 150 that i had on there before. The exact opposite of what I was trying to accomplish. I am completely frusted that 160mm for one company is not 160mm for another company.

[Grumbler]

I replaced the 150/80 Dunlop Elite II in my 1500 Classic FI with a 160/80 Dunlop Elite 3. Recommended rim is 3.5". Tire has 26.10" diameter and 6.10" width. It also made the speedo more accurate.

You could always add a mudflap on the rear fender to hide the tire.