Photo: Fredy Jaates
Unlike cars, which generally use the same width for the wheels they pack, no matter where they’re positioned, motorcycles do the opposite and usually go for thinner and, at times, larger-in-diameter wheels up front, for better steering, and thicker ones at the rear, for better grip.
In the custom motorcycle world, one way to make your project stand out is to fit a large wheel in there. Anything from 260 to 300 mm generally goes, but we’ve come across builds that use 330 or even 360 wheels. So, when it comes to rear wheels, we expect them to be fat.
As far as front wheels are concerned, custom shops have just two ways to about their job: either they keep the native part, which is generally thin and perfect to contrast the rear one, or go for custom bits with pretty much the same attributes.
But what if someone decided to fit up front one of the wheels that usually go in the back, like say a 260? I know, it’s a strange thing to phantom, but someone did exactly that a while back.
It’s Fredy Jaates we’re talking about, an Estonia bike builder we’ve featured quite a lot here on autoevolution. He likes going places with his projects, by turbo or supercharghing Harleys or by slapping humongous wheels at the rear. This time, Jaates outdid himself with this here monstrosity.
You’re looking at a 2009 V-Rod, gifted, in the usual fashion, with a 360 mm wide rear wheel. Up front, however, instead of a normal, under 200 one, we’re confronted by a nasty, 260 mm wide piece, that makes the entire thing look like a beefed-up dragster, a mutant bike you’d have real troubles properly handling on public roads.
The thing looks so unsettling that all the other modifications made, like the Sprintex supercharger or the absence of a seat and rear fender in the photos Jaates provided, almost go unnoticed.
For reference, the gallery includes a pic of the original V-Rod and its wheels.
As far as front wheels are concerned, custom shops have just two ways to about their job: either they keep the native part, which is generally thin and perfect to contrast the rear one, or go for custom bits with pretty much the same attributes.
But what if someone decided to fit up front one of the wheels that usually go in the back, like say a 260? I know, it’s a strange thing to phantom, but someone did exactly that a while back.
It’s Fredy Jaates we’re talking about, an Estonia bike builder we’ve featured quite a lot here on autoevolution. He likes going places with his projects, by turbo or supercharghing Harleys or by slapping humongous wheels at the rear. This time, Jaates outdid himself with this here monstrosity.
You’re looking at a 2009 V-Rod, gifted, in the usual fashion, with a 360 mm wide rear wheel. Up front, however, instead of a normal, under 200 one, we’re confronted by a nasty, 260 mm wide piece, that makes the entire thing look like a beefed-up dragster, a mutant bike you’d have real troubles properly handling on public roads.
The thing looks so unsettling that all the other modifications made, like the Sprintex supercharger or the absence of a seat and rear fender in the photos Jaates provided, almost go unnoticed.
For reference, the gallery includes a pic of the original V-Rod and its wheels.
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