I installed Arlen Ness Flare 5 wheels, 21” front and 18” rear (stock rear is 16”) on my 2017.

 

Just curious as to why you would want to go smaller on the rear?

The rear is now an 18". How much of the rake and trail are you willing to change with the wheel combo you are considering and how will that change the handling?

You might want to consider the diameter of the CVO bike's wheel/tires when making your decision.

TIRES, FRONT SPECIFICATION BW 130/60B21 M/C63H TIRES, REAR SPECIFICATION BW 180/55B18 M/C80H

 

My current rear is 180/65B16. I’m trying to find out which wheel rides better on the m8. It’s a few guys that have the twin cams that did the 23”/17” combo. So wanted to know who experienced 23/18 or 23/17 combo on the Milwaukee bikes.

 

OEM Rear wheel / tire:

The 180/65B16 MT on the Road Glide and Road Glide Ultra has a diameter of 25.31"
The 180/55B18 80H on the Road Glide Special and CVO has a diameter of 26.18"


OEM Front wheel / tire:

The 130/60B19 61H on the Road Glide and Special has a diameter of 25.39"
The 130/80B17 65H on the Road Glide Ultra has a diameter of 25.20"
The 130/60B21 M/C63H on the CVO has a diameter of 27.39"

So, you can see that the diameter difference between the 16 and 18 on the rear is less than an inch at 0.87 greater for the 18"
I went from a RGU to the Special and will say that the ride on the lower sidewall tire is definitely harsher so I bought the Ohlins shocks within 60 miles of owning the Special.

If you leave the suspension settings the same, the difference in handling will be more noticable with the 23" front wheel because you can't go much if any shorter on the sidewall on the 23 verses the 21 CVO.

Sometimes we sacrifice function for form which is how I feel about many of the Harley models. I found that the more I found a bike to be good looking the worse it rode and handled.

 

So, you can see that the diameter difference between the 16 and 18 on the rear is less than an inch at 0.87 greater for the 18"

don't forget, when you're talking diameter, you have to half that amount for how much it will raise or lower your bike. so, you're looking at less than 1/2'' difference in height.

 

Finished product I’m very happy and excited.

 

I went from the 16 to the 18 on my Special when I put the contrast agitators on. Strangely enough I see the height difference. but I surely dont feel it sitting on it. Riding it. I do. Less sidewall makes for a little harsher ride. I do long trips. So I didn't want to sacrifice too much for looks. But honestly if we all wanted the best ride. You would see all 16 x 16 wheels. When I had to leave my bike for warranty work I got a 16 RGU. To me the ride sacrifice was not that big of a deal.

But anyhow. Your bike looks great. 23" is about my personal limit for looks. But that's just my opinion.

 

Thank you. I went 23 and 18. I don’t feel any difference in the ride but this is also my first Harley and coming from sports bikes.

 

The benefits of a 17” rear is going to a 200 tire, there’s no issues as some have had with the 18” with wider tire. My 200-55-17 is pretty much the same ride height as stock and tire availability is good since lots of Softail models came with a 200-55-17