What Are The Benefit of Larger Wheels on a Motorcycle?

If you’re the kind of a person who pays attention to detail, then you might have already noted that the two wheels of motorcycles tend to vary in tire size.

In most cases, you’ll notice the motorbikes featuring a thinner or narrower tires in the front and a wider rear wheel.

In some cases, you’ll notice the front tire is smaller and the rear tire is larger. In other cases, the front tire has a larger diameter than the rear one.

These indifferences in wheel sizes aren’t some kind of design flaws. They’re a well-thought-out part of motorcycle engineering to ensure it offers you even better riding experience.

Let’s look at some of the key benefits that come with a larger wheel on your motorcycle.

Benefits of Having Wider Motorcycle Tires

Before we get into the benefit of larger wheels on a motorcycle, you first need to understand the function of each of the wheels of your motorcycle.

The Front Wheel:

The front wheels play the role of taking in impact and steering your motorcycle. That said, making the front wheel larger in diameter and thinner in width will greatly help improve its functionality.

That is, the skinnier the front wheel looks, the more sensitive it becomes to turning—enhancing your bike steering performance. Making the front wheel larger in diameter enables it to take in and manage impact better.

The larger diameter gives your bike better stability and handles when riding on rough roads. Needless to mention, this will help protect the rest of your motorcycle and make it last longer.

The Rear Wheel:

All the power produced by a motorcycle is fed to the back tire, and it acts as the moving force behind your motorcycle.

When it comes to the back wheel, you’ll often find them being shorter and wider than the front wheel. Again, this has its own advantages…

By making the back tire wider, you simply increase the surface area that comes into contact with the road. This translates to more traction which means enhanced road grip and handling. The wider wheel also dramatically reduce cases of slippage when riding on wet, rainy conditions.

Wider rear tires also offer you a smoother and more comfortable ride. The increased surface area of a tire in contact with the road increases room for absorption of the little bumps and gravels along, making your long-distance trips comfier than ever before.

Since most of your motorcycle weight is put on the back wheel, having a wider rear wheel also helps better stability to handle your motorcycle and enable it to maintain the weight it’s holding.

Above all, having, having a wider rear tire n your bike enhances it looks. The tire flows with the style of a bike with a beastie look or the chopper look.

It makes your bike look tougher and more appealing to the eye. A wider tire at the rear will make eyeballs turn!

Can you use other wheel sizes than what the manufacturer recommends?

If you wish to make modifications on your motorcycle tires, you might be wondering if it’s necessary to stick to the tire sizes recommended by the manufacturer.

We advise you against using different tire sizes than what the manufacturer recommends.

Most motorcyclists have gone against rule before and suited their bikes with the same tire sizes (both front and rear) or swapped the front and rear tires or even replaced the stock wheels with smaller or bigger tires.

While they have been able to get away with these changes, it’s worth noting that such modifications can end up ruining your bike.

For instance, if you fit your bike with bigger tires than what the manufacturer recommends, they’ll end up rubbing on your motorcycle’s frame and wiring.

And if you fit it with smaller tires than the stock ones, they may not be able to handle the wright as well as the maneuvering of your motorcycle well. They are likely to burst and cause a safety risk to you as well as your motorcycle.

Perhaps the only tire modification you should consider making is changing the back tire with a wider one. In this case, however, you’d want to ensure you change the rim size as well to enable it to perfectly accommodate the new tires.

Using tires wider than the rim can end up reducing the amount of contact path, and cause rounded beaded tread. Some bikers might try compensating the bigger tire width with a regular rim by reducing the amount of air pressure. Again, this can lead to reduced stability which poses a safety risk to the motorcycle riders.

If you want to enjoy the best handling, stability, and safety experience, just use the correct rim width for the new tire.

And don’t forget to use the best motorcycle wheel chocks to help you safely work on your motorcycle when replacing the tire. Your safety comes first!

Final Verdict

We have just solved the mystery of a larger wheel in a motorcycle. If you’ve been wondering why different motorcycles have wheels of varying sizes, then this post has answered your question.

Making the front wheel larger and thinner enables it to take in impacts and handle them better while enhancing your overall steering experience.

Making the rear wheel shorter and wider improves handling, stability, and makes your rides smoother and more comfortable.

Not to forget, a wider rear tire gives your bike a tougher, more appealing look!