Belt touching Tire?

I recently bought a 95 Dyna Wide Glide that the previous owner had put a wider tire on the back. It now has a 140/90-16 tire on it.I believe it came out with a 150/80-16?

My problem (if its a problem) is that the Belt brushes against the tire. Not really hard,but it touches it enough to leave a mark on the tire.How much brushing is too much?

Is there an after market kit to narrow the belt? (like the newer bikes are using) or do i have to sell one of the kids to have Harley do it? or can it even be done on a 95?

I do realize i could put a narrower tire on it and cure the problem,but i like the look of the wider tire.

I believe that stock was a 130 not 150. A 140 will fit depending on tire brand and making sure the wheel is perfectly aligned. Some brands of tires are wider or narrower than others. For example, a 130 Dunlop 402 is narrower than an Avon or Metzeler 130. Huh, what? Remember, it is the tread width not the profile or aspect ratio of the tire. From end to end, you have 130mm of tread. The Dunlop is much more rounded than the Avon or Metzeler is and a 140 Dunlop will quite often fit where an Avon or Metzeler has no chance of fitting.

Also it is quite common for the rear wheel to be slightly out of alignment so check it carefully. If the leading edge of the wheel is slightly pointed to the left you can get rid of some or all of the rub. We have also used thin pulley spacers to get a tick more clearance but caution is the word......

yes, caution IS the word.

Of course, you're right, Harley Rider, you COULD sell a kid and have it done. That might be the best route to go after all.

scoot

My tire is a Dunlop. I didn't realize the make of the tire made that much difference.

Also CD, You said i could get rid of the brushing maybe by having the leading edge of the tire slightly pointing left? Did you mean right? As left will turn it into the belt.

So does anyone know of a narrowing kit? Maybe front & rear pulleys & a belt?

Could the front & rear pulleys both be spaced outward slightly?

No, I meant that IF the tire was misaligned and pointed to the left, you may be able to get rid of most of the scrub when you align the wheel.

Like I said above there are very thin spacers that can go behind the pulley. Remove the top belt guard and eyeball the front pulley to rear pulley and usually you will see there is about a 1/4" difference where the front pulley is a little wider.

I have a92 lowrider that had a Dunlop 130 on it and I changed to an Avon 140. all you have to do is put a pully spacer between the pulley and the hub, this way the pulley stays in the same place, and the wheel assembly moves to the right the thickness of the spacer. Line up the wheel with the frame, and your all set.

Your right,but you don't ask questions,you won't learn.

Well i did exactly nothing and my have fixed my problem. Just goes to show you how much i know about Harleys.

Was talking with a Harley shop mechanic about my problem and he said that they do have shims to move the back pulley away from the tire.

He also said that the front pulley is slightly wider then the rear pulley. Asked me if i knew for sure that it was touching when moving forward?

He went on to tell me that the belt will run towards the inside of the front pulley in reverse,and towards the outside when traveling forward.

Sure enough! The belt only scuffs the tire when pushing it around backwards in my shop. When going forward there is about 1/8" clearance between the two.


Just thought i would pass that information along in case there was one other person on here as dense as yours truly.

Just thought i would pass that information along in case there was one other person on here as dense as yours truly. [/QUOTE]

I don't think that's dense at all. I would be real concerned seeing the belt rub my tire.