Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Accessories what white wall tires will work on a 07 Speedmaste

Got a set and the front tire rubs. My wife gottem for me and had them ordered from the local Indian store...I can return them BUT I really like them. Anybody have any thoughts?

There's no whitewall that works on our front wheels without modifying the bracket for the guard. You can either cut the middle out of it (a less than perfect solution as the bracket is supposed to stop the fork legs flexing) or make up some extensions to lift the bracket & guard up 1/2 inch.

I cut the middle out of the fender bracket and have noticed no ill effects

I had a couple pieces of steel flat strap welded to extend the bottom of each side of the bracket then redrilled the holes.

I also used some scrap flat stock @ 1 -1/2" or 2" width. I cut the flat stock slightly longer than the mounting hole width, and ground off the corners to prevent sharps. With the flat stock oriented horizontally, I drilled 4 holes, sprayed on some black paint to make 'em purty, then used button head bolts to make for clearance at the tire side and acorn nuts on the outside.

Note - your crossover brake line and its ability to snap back into the fender mounted holders* is an important consideration in this project, and the stock length line may require replacement. Spiegler makes custom sized brake lines. http://www.spieglerusa.com/cfm/customline.cfm?type=std&email=yes&nlines=1. Their advice to measure with a piece of stiff wire is a good idea, for once the hose ships, it's yours. No returns on custom lines.

Someone on this web site had a very easy way to do all this with minimal work and modification, but I can't recall who or what the deal was. Hopefully they'll jump in and post their remedy.

*without these holders, the crossover brake line will likely chafe the paint on the fender. If chafed paint is not a problem, the stock line might(?) be used.

Pictures of fender mount mod
For the sake of my frail ego:
The lockwasher in the wrong location is in service as a spacer. It was thickerer than a cut washer.

Edit
I just recalled - the factory fender bracket on mine needed to be at the full width of the forks to prevent rubbing the tire.

I'm glad you brought this up about the crossover line. Coincidentally I'm going from a 120/90 to a 130/70 when I switch to my TBS dual disc wheel, and I have a stock fender bracket to replace my extended one. I hadn't thought of clearance problems with the crossover line and an extended fender bracket.

Not fatter - faster! No, really. The WW ones that we can use are 120/90-18 instead of 110/80-18. They might rub your fender being "higher".

My 120/90 Avon didn't rub until I got to about 35mph or until I braked hard.

Fast enough for it expand enough to rub.