130/80/17 on the front

[neatus]

What a bunch of bull crap!  You all answer next time, I'm not going to bother.

Jack, thanks for the help.  I just wanted to make sure it would fit with the stock wheel.  It is for a custom application and is going to look bad ass.  I have pretty much no experience with the GS500 so I just needed a quick answer.

[RichDesmond]

While a front/rear tire swap isn't something I'd recommend if you have a good alternative, I have done it a number of times. Both street and racing, and it's always worked fine. Have also run tires I accidentally mounted backwards with no ill effects. 

[Badot]

The main thing I don't see mentioned here... has a front tire of the size been sourced already? If so, it's a non-issue.

As far as I've seen there hasn't been any real scientific studies done on it either way. Of note, running tread in the reverse direction can also cause vibration issues (and presumably traction/wear issues due to vibrations). I know some Dunlop tires with identical treads have reversed front-to-rear treads because of this. Or maybe Dunlop is just being cheap and selling the same tire in reverse for the exact application being discussed. 

I guess that's the trade off for having low accident and fatality statistics 

Just curious, how many complete idiots do you guys have on your roads and how strenuous is your driver testing? A huge number of our 'motorcyclists' (and drivers as well) have just about zero skill. It's still largely believed in some parts of the US that your should only use your rear brake to slow down and that you should 'lay it down' to avoid having a bad accident. A large portion of the people I know who own bikes also consider 'going riding' getting on the interstate and doing 130+ around cars and can't even take corners at the recommended speeds. 

[gsJack]

hey Mr Engineer man!!.........................kiss my ass!!...................you saying you don't attack people is ankle deep in bullshit... headfirst!!

+1   

Enjoying my vacation and expect it to be an extended one.  I do look in daily and read a few posts so I don't loose my sense of humor but my typing finger needs a good rest.

[gsJack]

Thanks Mech!

[pliskin]

On my GS I would run bologna skins if I had to because it has no power. HeII, stretch a 10speed bicycle tire on if it's just for looks. But, I would be hard pressed to be anything but diligent about correct tire specs on high horsepower/high speed bikes. I don't want to go head first into a phone poll at 100mph because my tire went wall-eyed and 99.5mph.

[jaybee]

Hey folks.  I am doing some slightly odd stuff to an 06 GS500F I bought for 500 bucks.  Any ideas of what problems I might run into with putting a 130/80 tire on the front wheel.  This would be purley for cosmetic reasons.  Besides the fender/forkbrace hitting do you think the fact of it being on a skinny wheel would be bad?

Hi...did you fit the 130 on the front?...if so did you have any issues...rubbing etc..cheers, JB..Rochester, England

[RichDesmond]

Hey folks.  I am doing some slightly odd stuff to an 06 GS500F I bought for 500 bucks.  Any ideas of what problems I might run into with putting a 130/80 tire on the front wheel.  This would be purley for cosmetic reasons.  Besides the fender/forkbrace hitting do you think the fact of it being on a skinny wheel would be bad?

It's got to be more than "slightly odd stuff" if a 130 front will improve the looks. 

One thing that will definitely be odd is the steering. Probably not unsafe, but it will feel weird. Not something to do if you care about handling at all.