The Harley-Davidson Fat Boy 117 (2025) is a cruiser with 77 kW and a wet weight of 315 kg. That’s 244 kW per tonne, in the middleweight tier. MT-07s, Ténérés, big cruisers and tourers. Radial road tyres earn their keep here.
244kW/t
Not LAMS. Over 150 kW/t (or 25 kW for an electric bike), so learners and most provisional riders can't ride it. LAMS rules
For a mild, wet climate, ridden solo.
Commuting
Cruisers are heavy, long and torquey. A cruiser tyre's strong carcass, high load rating and long-wearing compound suit them better than sport rubber.
Touring & long trips
Cruisers are heavy, long and torquey. A cruiser tyre's strong carcass, high load rating and long-wearing compound suit them better than sport rubber.
Your owner’s manual, or the tyre sticker on the swingarm or chain guard, is the authority on sizes, load index and speed rating.
Cruiser & V-twin: character
Fit a matched pair
Run the same make and model front and rear. Tyres are designed as a pair, and mixing them changes how the bike steers and where it lets go. Rears usually wear out first; if you replace only the rear, match the front's model.
Scrub new tyres in
New tyres are slippery until the release agent wears off. Take the first 100–150 km gently, building lean angle gradually, and be extra careful in the wet and on painted lines.
Check pressures weekly, cold
Bike tyres lose air faster than car tyres and pressure changes the handling more. Check them cold, before you ride, against your owner's manual or the swingarm sticker, and add the pillion figure when two-up.
Two-up and luggage
Weight in the rear works the rear tyre hardest. Choose GT or reinforced (RF) versions where they exist, never go below the load index in your manual, and use the laden pressures.
Replace by age as well as tread
Rubber hardens with age even when there's tread left. Check the DOT date code and replace tyres older than about five years, sooner if they're cracked.
244 kW per tonne (328 hp per tonne), from 77 kW and a 315 kg wet weight. With a 75 kg rider aboard it's 197 kW/t. That puts it in ratio's Middleweight tier for motorbikes.
160/60 R18 front and 240/40 R18 rear as standard. Check your owner's manual or the tyre sticker on the swingarm for your exact bike, including the load index and speed rating, and never fit lower.
For commuting, cruiser & V-twin tyres. Good options include the Michelin Commander III Cruiser, Michelin Commander III Touring, Metzeler Cruisetec. Fit the same model front and rear.
No. It's well over the LAMS limits, so learner and most provisional riders can't ride it.