Ok, so i was reading Pablo's GS500 page about tires... and here are a few unanswered questions that i came up with after reading his site :dunno: . I guess these questions come because i used to ride a cbr and it ran with a 160/60/17 tire and looked SICK :mrgreen: . I suppose i'm more interested in cosmetics of a tire than functionality, but i don't want to die because of bead failure or sluggish turning or anything.
1. What is the biggest tire size that is SAFE to ride on with the stock rear wheel?
2. Does Metzler, or any other company, make a 150/70 that will fit the stock rear wheel safely?
3. Does a 150/60 fit a stock rear wheel?
4. How much handling is effected by putting a 150 size on a stock rear wheel?
5. Does this help handling characteristics (more sporty)?
6. does anyone have an overall bike pic with these tires on their bike???
7. if 150s are unsafe, what is the next biggest looking tire that will give me that sport bike look?
8. why is there such great help from good people concerning this bike???
Thanks guys! just planning out my future bike!!!!
you wont get that huge tire look with a 150 on the stock rim. you have to go with a larger rim such as the bandit 400 or gsxr. the 150 tire will work as i have one on my bike, it pinches the side of the tire so that you cant get all the way over but eh....you get a better selection of radial rubber with the bigger size. its been debated over and over how the bigger size will effect the handling and i'm not convinced yet that it hurts it.
Quote from: mercdude63I suppose i'm more interested in cosmetics of a tire than functionality
to be honest even with a 150/60 mounted on a wider rim it'll never look like
a big meaty tire when you park next to pretty much ANY other bike. even the 150's look dinky compared to a 180/55. Get over it and just enjoy the ride.
Quote from: mercdude63
1. What is the biggest tire size that is SAFE to ride on with the stock rear wheel?
140/80, 140/70
Quote from: mercdude63
2. Does Metzler, or any other company, make a 150/70 that will fit the stock rear wheel safely?
macadams fit. depending on the manufacturer a 150/70 may or may not fit. the exact widths vary slightly from brand to brand. The guy I got my rear shock from had a michelin (?) macadam and had a hairs breadth clearance to the brake stay arm on the right.
Quote from: mercdude63
3. Does a 150/60 fit a stock rear wheel?
it does fit but it pinches the edges in so that you can never physically get to the edges and it changes the shape of the tire cross section.
Quote from: mercdude63
4. How much handling is effected by putting a 150 size on a stock rear wheel?
You may not notice much difference when you start on a new 150/60. It steers a bit slower but with the extra grip you can get in that size I was always faster on the 150/60. it changed my riding from day to night (faster in the canyons) because I had more confidence in the tires.
What you will notice is that as the tire wears the point near the edge that gets pinched becomes more pronounced so you'll feel like you're falling into the corner quickly once you reach a certain lean angle. When the tire was pretty well worn It actually felt like a low side beginning to happen and freaked me out.
Quote from: mercdude63
5. Does this help handling characteristics (more sporty)?
yes in that they'll be stickier. Otherwise not really. I noticed a huge difference when I went from a 150/60 to a 140/80. Bike felt really unstable because the 150/60 is so flat and steers so slow.
Quote from: mercdude63
6. does anyone have an overall bike pic with these tires on their bike???
Here's a link to my site where there's two pictures side by side of the rear of the bike. Right is stock excedra, left is 150/60 pilot sport
http://pantablo500.tripod.com/pablosgs500page/id19.htmlQuote from: mercdude63
7. if 150s are unsafe, what is the next biggest looking tire that will give me that sport bike look?
buy a sport bike. for now, while you are learning to ride stick with stock tires and supress your ego. save it for the r6.
Quote from: mercdude63
8. why is there such great help from good people concerning this bike???
because of the type of people drawn to this type of bike (no ego) and because there's so little aftermarket support the owners are making their own. At least that's [part of] my theory.
I hope this helps.
If I had it to do all over again I wouldnt have gone for the 150/60, I would have gone for a proper fitting size in the best tire available. The Avon 45/46 series I had last were very good tires.
Hi!
Check as well Pirelli. They have one for rear wheel use with dimensions 140/60 and H speed limit. It should fit nicelly the stock GS rim. I will try it when my new 130/70 BT45 needs replacing. Also, check the last issue of the english Bike mag to read about wider wheels and larger tyres... many disadvantages for bikes like a stock GS...
Wow, ok. Lots of info. Alright so i CAN go with the 150s, but that's pushing it.
ALright, so if i put the gsxr rear wheel on the bike, will the handling be affected also like putting 150s on the stock rear wheel?
Would the handling with the gsxr wheel and 150s be fine?
Does anyone have pics of what this wheel looks like?
Would the width, size of the wheel look just like the width/size of the stock rear with the 150s?
Thanks again so much for help!
ask Jon..chupicabra....he just bought my street bike....it has a 93 GSXR750 USD front end and a 89 GSXR750 4.5x17 rear rim with a 150 on it
Pablo came bake from the dark side....KEWL.
don't use a 150 on a 3.5 rim....
Quote from: mercdude63
Would the handling with the gsxr wheel and 150s be fine?
Does anyone have pics of what this wheel looks like?
http://pantablo500.tripod.com/pablosgs500page/id50.htmllink to a "how-to" done by werase643 with pictures of a 150 mounted on a gsxr rim (adapted to fit a gs). These rims are not easy to find so patience is a virtue there,
Handling should be better than 150 on stock rim because the tire does not deform and keeps its originally intended shape.