Tire sizing

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Apinkston
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Tire sizing

#1

Post by Apinkston »

Hello, I’ve started looking for tires for my 77 gl1000, and I want to go with a wide rear tire but I’m not sure how wide I should go before I’m losing performance. I want to go with a mid-slim front tire and also need size recommendations for that. I was thinking a 110/90-19 for front and a 130/90-17 for the rear. Thoughts?
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Fred Camper
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Re: Tire sizing

#2

Post by Fred Camper »

Some brands of 140's can fit but many will not, even if you grind away at the swingarm. Most 130's fit and only a few take a mild grind on the swing arm.
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Apinkston
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Re: Tire sizing

#3

Post by Apinkston »

Thanks for that, if I continue with 130 on the rear, what width would compliment that best on the front? The tires i want to get are Skinko 230 touring master btw
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Fred Camper
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Re: Tire sizing

#4

Post by Fred Camper »

I run a 100/90/19 on the front along with a 130/90/16 on the rear (Lester 16 inch rim). They work well together. Keeps the speedo closer to correct and not sure if a 110 would rub or not.
Proud member of the NGW Cartel (Rochester MI)
1977 GL1000 BADDOG (April 2012 BOTM)
1976 LTD - '993 LTD...and so it begins'

You should remember that it's peace of mind you're after and not just fixing the machine. R.Pirsig
Apinkston
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Re: Tire sizing

#5

Post by Apinkston »

I have 110’s on my cb400 and they have about 3/4 inch clearance from the forks on either side, but I might go down to 100 is it’s that close. Not concerned about fender rubbing because my front fender is off a Kawasaki Vulcan so it already has a custom mount
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Re: Tire sizing

#6

Post by Whiskerfish »

The 110/90 on the front of both my bikes fills the fender well very nicely.

On the 78 (with a 76 front end) I am running
Front 110/90-19 ME880 Lester Rim
Rear 140/80-17 ME880 Comstar Rim

On the 75 (with a 78 front end)
Front 110/90-19 ME880 Comstar Rim
Rear 150/80-16 BattleAxe BT-45 on a Lester Rim
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Re: Tire sizing

#7

Post by Gowing »

I just had Shinko 230’s put on my 75 gl1000 w stock spoke wheels.
100/90-19 front
130/90-17 rear.
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Sidecar Bob
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Re: Tire sizing

#8

Post by Sidecar Bob »

Note that wider tires will usually have a negative effect on handling.

My first bike came with tires a couple sizes of wider than specified. I didn't know any better and thought that the handling pretty decent so I replaced them with the same sizes the first couple of times. Around the time I needed tires one spring I read a magazine article about tire sizes that described why wider tires are not such a great idea. While they may look good (if you like fat things, that is), they definitely do not help the handling in any way. Remember that at any speed faster than a brisk walk most of your steering is done by leaning and wider tires simply make it harder to lean. Also, if you install a tire on a narrower rim than it was designed for you will alter the profile, usually resulting in a smaller contact patch than you would have with the stock size (if you don't believe me try pulling the beads of a new tire closer together and see what happens to the centre of the tread). I figured it was worth a try so I bought the sizes listed on the decal. What a revelation!!! What I had thought was pretty decent handling was nowhere near what the bike was capable of.

There are, however, exceptions to the rule. The last tires I had on my 'Wing before I added the sidecar were Kenda K673 Kruz; The mounted profile of the front was triangular so when the bike is upright or not leaned very far it felt like a much narrower tire but as the lean increased the contact patch actually got larger.
Unfortunately, they don't make a 17" rear.

BTW: With the sidecar added my tire needs are completely different so I now run tires with a more square profile.
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