http://www.dunlop.eu/dunlop_uk/mc/tyres/on_off_road/K180.jsp ...
So the 18" I see there will be available UK/EURO and JP only
as they say , krap .
I suppose I could try for a hard rain tire in 18" but the issue is , well , a longish story.
Several years ago Harley Davidson America decided to pitch in and do what it could to help out waning interest in AMA sanctioned flattrack racing by supporting essentially a spec class based on it's 883 Sportster . Here is where the tire comes in . In a deal with its accessory arm Screaming Eagle and Dunlop , H-D offered an affordable race spares including the K-180 in 18" . The rest of American flattrack had long since moved to 19" front and rear so the 18" was a bit of an anachronism made possible only by the support of HD . Fairly good support it was however as the Screaming Eagle catalog listed the tire for all of $75 for several years .
Now onto the RED BIKE . Yes the infamous is it done yet , decades long rumored motorcycle project . i have over $600 tied up in the decision to lace up an 18" rim out back . At 18" I can fit a near 4" width , at 19" I can't . Only mildly ironic that the rim came off a mid '70's Sportster . I suppose that a alloy dirt bike swing arm and slightly longer wheelbase could accommodate a 19" rim but really by the time I was done I'd be scrapping the $600 already in plus the near $1000 needed to acquire the alloy swinger , modify for twin shock , new hub , spokes , rim , tire , brake ....
I may just buy 18" slicks and groove my own ...
~kop