REAR TIRE QUESTION

[Sparky89gs500e]

HI GUYS,   I HAVE A MICHELIN 130/90-17 FOR MY REAR TIRE.   I HAVE BEEN RESEARCHING A REPLACEMENT, AS FAR AS I CAN TELL MY RIM IS 3.5 TO 4" .   I WANT TO PUT A BIGGER TIRE ON PROBABLY A 140/70-17 OR SIMILAR SIZE.  WHAT I WANT TO KNOW IS DO I HAVE TO SWAP WITH A DIFFERENT RIM OR CAN I GET AWAY WITH THE RIM I HAVE, ACCORDING TO SOME TIRE MANUFACTURERS I HAVE SEARCHED THE RIM SIZE I HAVE MIGHT WORK.   ANY INPUT WILL HELP   THANKS

[ben2go]

Your rim is 3.5 you can run 140 and some 150's.You need to check the tire manufacture to make sure it's rated for 3.5 rim.The 2 common wheel swaps are 98+ Katana easy one and the Bandit 600 hard one.I've done the Bandit 600 wheel and it's a pain.I'm running a 160 60 rear and 120 60 front Shinko 005 Advanced

[SIKDMAX]

What do you guys think about a 150/60 17 on the rear? Stock swinger and wheel

[SIKDMAX]

Looks like a 130/70 17 is:

Sidewall: 3.58"
Width: 5.12"
Diameter: 24.17"
Circumference: 75.92"

Versus a 150/60 17:

Sidewall: 3.54"
Width: 5.91"
Diameter: 24.09"
Circumference: 75.67"

Everything seems negligible except for the width - a lil less than .8" wider.  I think thatd be ok right?

[SIKDMAX]

After some searching looks like the brake torque arm needs to be bent to do it 

[AFMO]

The problem with too wide of a tire is that if it's put on the stock rim, it makes the profile have a very steep drop off, as the tire is squeezed to fit the small rim.  This is contrary to the rounded profile necessary for good handling, and will negatively affect stability.  While the bigger tire looks cool, I don't think it helps handling, and most likely hurts it.  I would go with 130 or 140 Sport Demons and call it good.  The GS isn't powerful enough to need bigger tires, and in this case, the contact patch of the 150 could even be less than the stock size.

Also, do a search on this, there are a ton of other opinions/ideas out there.  I'm personally very happy with the 140 Sport Demon.

[ben2go]

After some searching looks like the brake torque arm needs to be bent to do it 

Not on all.Tire manufactures sizes vary wildly.I can't fit a dunlop 208 160 in my swing arm but my Shinko 005 Advanced will squeeze in.Also I measured 3 different stock GS swing arms and the opening varied wildly.Anything from 8 and 1/8 inches to 8 and 3/4 inches.It took some reall work to make my 160 work on a Bandit600 wheel.I had dgyver do some machine work to the spacer to line up my brake caliper to the disc and make me an inner wheel spacer.I used a 98+ caliper bracket and I manually machined the swing arm side until it all fit in the swing arm.I also had to make a 3.5 inch spacer to fit between the sprocket carrier bushing and the wheel bearing.I also used washers to shim the sprocket out.All this was nessassary to fit the wheel/tire combo,make the caliper/brake pads line up,and give the chain clearance to keep it off the tire.I have less than 1/8th inch clearance between the tire and chain.

[gsJack]

I have run 130/70, 130/80, 130/90, 140/70, 140/80, and 150/70 tires on my GS's on the OEM 3.5" wide rear wheels with no problems.  Ran a 150/70 Lasertec without bending the brake rod and then had to bend it for the 150/70 RoadAttack.  No big deal, a few minutes and a BFH will do the job, I bent mine enough to fit any 150/70 tire in the future.

I wouldn't use a 150/60 unless you really need a supersport tire.  The 150/70 sport touring tires are apprived for fitment on our 3.5" rims by many of the tire makers.  None of them approve the fitment of the 150/60 tires on the 3.5" rims in this country but many GS500 and Ninja 500 riders are using them.  Pablo related some handling issues he had with the 150/60 on the 3.5 rim on the track way back when he was riding a GS500.

Traditionally a 140/70/17 tire was shaped for a 4.0" wheel but now the Avon Roadrider and Pirelli Demons are made for a 3.75" wheel so they are an equally good fit on both the 3.5 and 4.0 rims.  And the new Michelin Pilot Activ 140/70/17 tire is made for a 3.5" preferred rim width.  I'd use the 140/70 Roadrider, Demon, or Activ on the GS standard 3.5 rim and actually am running the 140/70 Roadrider now.

[SIKDMAX]

I was trying to run a Pilot Power.

I keep trying to upgrade my bike to a modern 600cc sportbike......... Im foolish in trying as its never gonna happen 

This just means its about time to sell the GS and upgrade to a new bike I guess. 

[ben2go]

I was trying to run a Pilot Power.

I keep trying to upgrade my bike to a modern 600cc sportbike......... Im foolish in trying as its never gonna happen 

This just means its about time to sell the GS and upgrade to a new bike I guess. 

Yea I'm feeling the same way.Maybe an SV650SF.

[SIKDMAX]

Either 05+ CBR600RR or Ive been thinking Ducati 848 lately.......SOOOOOOOOO sexy in white 

[pbureau69]

This just means its about time to sell the GS and upgrade to a new bike I guess. 

Yea I'm feeling the same way.Maybe an SV650SF.

I was thinking of the GSX650F or The Yamaha FZ-6

[ben2go]

This just means its about time to sell the GS and upgrade to a new bike I guess. 

Yea I'm feeling the same way.Maybe an SV650SF.

I was thinking of the GSX650F or The Yamaha FZ-6

I looked at the GSX650F.It's a fat pig.Heavy,even lifting it off the side stand.

[DoD#i]

Stop shouting - ie, take off the caps lock.

Other than "you think fat tires are cool", what do you actually find to be the problem with your current tire? Do you have a problem with it spinning out from too much power? If not, what benefit do you expect to get?

If no problem, why change it? Mine came with a nearly new Pirelli sport demon in the stock size, and it works nicely. I'll probably look for an Me88 (whoops - I see those are obsoleted now) when I wear this out, because I ride in the rain a lot, but I don't see any benefit (except to someone on the receiving end of your wallet) to a bigger tire on this bike. Save up your pennies and buy a big fat bike (motor, particularly) to go with your big fat tire.

[ben2go]

Ohhh crap.The tire fight,,,,again.The 110/130 combo will turn faster and give better cornering than a wider tire.The 110/130 has to be rated as a sport tire to deliver good performance.Shitty thing is there are vey few companies making 110/130 sport tires.I went 120/160 in a 60 sieries tire because that is the standard sport bike tire or very close to it.

[Ronin]

I went from a 130 stock to a 150/60 and love it.I belive it helped handling not hurt it.It's a radial so maybe thats the reason.It's a Pirelli demon. i am running a Katana rear shock now.Don't know if thats a factor.

[svttuckf100]

forgive me if I am just missing the obvious that has been stated, still a little green when it comes to bike, but...

I was wondering if I could do a 150/70-17 on the stock rear wheel without fitment issues?
I was looking at the Conti RoadAttack or Conti-Force 150/70-17..since I am in the market for a new tire and would like just a little bit wider for the 500 cuz the 130 just isn't doing it looks wise for me(I know performance is more important but I like it to look good too).

thanks in advance guys and gals 


PS: in 2 months I've got over 4k on the odometer 

[ben2go]

forgive me if I am just missing the obvious that has been stated, still a little green when it comes to bike, but...

I was wondering if I could do a 150/70-17 on the stock rear wheel without fitment issues?
I was looking at the Conti RoadAttack or Conti-Force 150/70-17..since I am in the market for a new tire and would like just a little bit wider for the 500 cuz the 130 just isn't doing it looks wise for me(I know performance is more important but I like it to look good too).

thanks in advance guys and gals 


PS: in 2 months I've got over 4k on the odometer 

Check the tire manufactures website to see if the 150's rated for a 3.5 inch wheel.

[svttuckf100]

i was on continentals website but i could not find where it said the fitment(at least the rim width rec.) i think gsJack is running the 150/70-17 Conti's...i found another thread after i searched again(I missed a few of them the first time)

[gsJack]

I ran a 150/70 RoadAttack for 10k miles and have since replaced it with a 140/70 Avon Roadrider which I'm currently using/testing.  The RoadAttack was the stickiest and probably the best handling of the rear tires I've run and I've run a lot of sport touring and touring tires but no supersport rear tires on the GSs. 

The RoadAttack and the Contiforce tires are both the same width and diameters in the 150/70 size and both were approved for fitment on our 3.5" wheels by Conti by e-mail to me when I questioned them.  This fitment on the 3.5 wheel is not shown in their online guide.  They are also the same width as the 150/70 Lasertec I ran according to published dimensions but I ran the Lasertec without bending the brake rod with a very small but adequate clearance but I bent the rod for the RoadAttack which just touched it.  My RoadAttack:



Tires I've used:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/jcp8832/GS500tirelog.jpg