- This 19 inch wheel looks as good as a 21 but its much stronger
The first time, the change was motivated by economics. A customer had a Sportster Custom which, of course, had a 21 inch laced front wheel right from the factory. Many years and many miles of rough roads and potholes had taken their toll on the front wheel. Llots of the spokes were loose and the rim looked more like an octagon than a circle. To top it off, the front tire was nearly bald.
The cheapest way to go was a new(er), gently used 19 inch cast front wheel from Harley-Davidson, which we picked up for less than two hundred dollars. We installed a new Metzeler ME880 tire, and returned the motorcycle to the customer. We hoped for a more sturdy front wheel, but we got much more. The customer was back in a couple of days. “What did you really do to my bike?” she asked. “It feels lighter. It turns easier, it tracks better, it’s totally happy going around corners…it even stops better. Really, what did you do???”
Honestly, all we had done was to replace that skinny 21” laced wheel with a nice, sturdy, tubeless 19” front wheel. Her old tire was a 21” Metzeler; we installed a new 19” Metzeler to go with the 19” wheel. The only difference was the wheel itself, but dropping 2 inches of diameter and picking up a little bit of width really transformed the handling of that Sportster.
Since then, we have converted three more Sportster Customs from 21” front wheels to 19” (upgrading them from Dunlop to Metzeler in the process) and the customers are raving about the transformation of their rides. “You told me it would be great,” said one of our more recent ‘converts,’ “but it’s like a whole new motorcycle. It feels better now than it did when it was new.”
It’s very hard to believe, I know, but having ridden “before” and “after” bikes myself I can testify that it’s true. A Sportster with a 19 inch cast front wheel handles much better than one with a laced 21 inch front wheel. And a 19 inch front wheel is going to hold up much better to the slings and potholes of outrageous fortune (or our outrageous roads). With that meatier tire and a sturdier construction, it would take one heck of a whack to damage a typical cast 19 inch wheel.
”Oh,” they cry, “but a 19 inch front wheel is so ugly! The 21 looks so much better!” Well beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but if you stop by our store you can have a look at Chuck’s Sportster, which is graced with a beautiful, chromed, 19 inch billet wheel. It looks as good as a 21, but it has the strength of a 19.
If you just want to sit on the curb and look at your Sportster, fine. Keep that “pretty” 21. But if you want to ride the beast, consider upgrading to a 19. The view from the saddle is much better than the view from the curb any day!
For those of you with ADD we’ll start with the end: it’s Metzeler. If you’d like to know why we think that way, read on.
If you’ve been to Bikes Built Better you may have noticed that Chuck and Joe and I all have Metzeler ME880 tires on our bikes. Chuck and I ride Harleys, and Joe’s Yamaha Warrior is always on display in the showroom. ME880s are nice-looking tires, but that’s not why we ride them. Having tried other brands like the OEM Dunlops, Continental, Avon etc, we’ve all decided that the Metzeler ME880s are simply the best tires available for our cruisers and touring bikes. The dry handling is unbelievable, the wet handling is the best out there, and those ME880s barely even notice scarified (milled) roads or steel grate bridges. Some of the local guys have nicknamed the ME880s “spiderman tires” because they grip the road so well. The ME880s usually last at least as long as the OEM Dunlops, though I usually get about an extra 5000 miles out of a set of Metzelers. And that’s repeatable. I’ve ridden over 100,000 miles on Metzelers and I keep good records.
On top of riding Metzeler ME880s, I’ve been selling them through various Harley dealers and independent shops since they were introduced. Whenever somebody’s looking for a better tire, we recommend Metzelers. And in about 20 years of selling these tires, I’ve only known one customer who decided he didn’t like them. He wasn’t a very good rider, and he declared that the Metzelers scared him because after they were installed the bike “turned too fast.” Aside from that one guy, riders love these tires. We hear comments like “I know you said they’d be good, but the difference is amazing!” and “The bike feels like it lost a couple of hundred pounds, just from installing those tires!” and of course “I rode over a steel grate bridge that used to scare the hell out of me, but now the bike hardly wiggles.” Occasionally someone will say that they’re not too impressed with Metzelers but, when we check the bike, we always find that the tire pressure is too low. Every time! We have bikes come in with as little as 10 psi. ME880s are designed to be run with relatively high pressure, usually 42-45 psi depending on the tire. Dropping the pressure by a mere 5 to 10 psi will adversely affect the way the tires feel, and shorten their life by quite a lot. When we correct the pressure in the tires of a non-believer, they always come back and thank us and swear to be good about their tire pressure in the future, because they have become fans of Metzeler tires, just like us.
I’m sure that some of you will scoff and say “you’re just hot on Metzelers because you make a lot of money on them.” Actually, we have better profit margins on Dunlops. We recommend Metzelers because we love them, and we know that our customers will love them, too.
January 22 to 24 2010 We have discount cupons available here at the store that will get you tickets for $9.00. We will be closed on the 22nd to attend the event hope to see you there this is a great show only wish they would come to philly but this make a good winter excursion to the big apple.
Show Hours
Friday, January 22 Noon – 9:00pm Saturday, January 23 9:00am – 9:00pm Sunday, January 24 9:00am – 5:00pm
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
655 W. 34th St.
New York, NY 10001
Adult: 1-day $15 (online advance) • 1-day $15 (online general admission) • 1-day $18 (box office)
Purchase tickets online in advance and save $2 off the box office price!
Adult Multi-day: 2-day $25 (box office only)
Children 6-11: 1-day $8 • 2-day $15, Children 5 & under: free
Child Multi-day: 2-day $15 (box office only)
