Tires???

jdbutler13 · April 13, 2011, 07:48:04 AM

I know there are tons of tire postings, but i was wondering you you guys have found anything recently. -I live in Canada so some sites don't ship here
I want to get a bigger back tire; how fat can I go?

gsJack · April 13, 2011, 09:45:50 AM

Quote from: jdbutler13 on April 13, 2011, 07:48:04 AM
.......................I want to get a bigger back tire; how fat can I go?

A 150 is the largest you should run on the stock 3.5" wheel. Might be necessary to bend the brake torque brace a bit depending on which tire you use, a little bend in it will accomodate any 150 tire. Conversion to a 160 tire on a wider rim is covered in the wiki.

burning1 · April 13, 2011, 10:47:36 AM

140 is the widest you should go. :p

But yes, some crazy buggers have gone 150 on the stock rim. I wouldn't recommend it, and I'm saying this as a guy who does push his GS near it's limits.

gsJack · April 13, 2011, 01:43:43 PM

Well this "crazy bugger" has used several 150/70 both bias and radial tires on his GS500 on the stock 3.5" rear rim. As a matter of fact I still think the best handling tires I've used on my 02 GS500 so far have been the 150/70 radial rear RoadAttack with a 110 bias front Lasertec. But I use my bikes on public roads and have never done any track days. All of the tires I've used on my GSs so far in over 160k miles of GS500 riding have been fitments approved by the tires maker.

tykho · April 13, 2011, 02:14:11 PM

140 Pirelli Sport Demon!

Lukewarm Wilson · April 13, 2011, 02:52:47 PM

Quote from: tykho on April 13, 2011, 02:14:11 PM
140 Pirelli Sport Demon!

+1

jdbutler13 · April 13, 2011, 02:59:14 PM

I love the Pirelli's. I'm just fresh out of school and looking to see if I can find a good deal online for some tires...hopefully the Demons.

burning1 · April 13, 2011, 03:00:29 PM

Quote from: gsJack on April 13, 2011, 01:43:43 PM
Well this "crazy bugger" has used several 150/70 both bias and radial tires on his GS500 on the stock 3.5" rear rim. As a matter of fact I still think the best handling tires I've used on my 02 GS500 so far have been the 150/70 radial rear RoadAttack with a 110 bias front Lasertec. But I use my bikes on public roads and have never done any track days. All of the tires I've used on my GSs so far in over 160k miles of GS500 riding have been fitments approved by the tires maker.

I know, I know. Teasing a little.

There are a number of guys racing using 150s on 3.5 inch rims. But there are great options in a 140, so I generally advise people to stick to that.

gsJack · April 13, 2011, 05:38:26 PM

This is the General GS500 Discussion not the Track & Racing Tech section.

When the 150 wide tire discussion came up here again it reminded me of the 250cc sportbike comparo in the April issue of MCN (CBR250R, Ninja 250R, and GT250R). The Ninja 250 got the same size tires and wheels as the Ninja 500 and GS500 when it was updated in 08, 110/70/17 and 130/70/17. But the all new CBR got a 140/70/17 rear even though it weighs about 20# less and has a few less HP than the Ninja. The GT250R (Hyosung) has a 150/70/17 rear and it too has less HP than the Ninja although it weighs about 30# more.

So if that little GT250R needs a 150/70 to manage it's 23 HP the GS500 probably should have a 160/60 to manage it's 40 HP.

Or could it just be that the Koreans know that wide tires sell here?

burning1 · April 13, 2011, 05:56:27 PM

Dunno. I wish the GS500 had 4.0 or 4.5 inch rims, simply because tires for those rims are much more readily available than for 3.5 inch rims. If I could find modern race rubber in my size, I wouldn't bother with a wider wheel.

With that said, the BT003RS 140/70/17 rear worked unbelievably well for me. The damn thing last 8 trackdays and 7 race weekends before I finally replaced it, and it only slid when I did stupid stuff with it.

jdbutler13 · April 23, 2011, 07:24:45 AM

Will these fit; 140/80B17 69V SPORT DEMON REAR?
They were under the sport touring section, but are they really sport touring? I'm no track rider and most of my riding is in the city.
But they do look REALLY NICE!

gsJack · April 23, 2011, 02:12:02 PM

Quote from: jdbutler13 on April 23, 2011, 07:24:45 AM
Will these fit; 140/80B17 69V SPORT DEMON REAR?
They were under the sport touring section, but are they really sport touring? I'm no track rider and most of my riding is in the city.
But they do look REALLY NICE!

The 140/80 tires will fit with no mods required and they are sport touring bias ply tires. The 140/80 tires have a preferred rim width of 3.5" which is our stock GS rim size. I've run a couple Avon radials in that size.

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Tires???