looking at the clearance on my standard rear 130 tyre I don't see how people fit a 140 or 150 without the tyre rubbing on the chain guard or the square tubular arm that locates the rear brake calipre. Would appreciate some pics if anyone has them.

No up close pics... But 140 fits.... Promise! .. Think gsJack has had a 150 on too... Close but still works!

so that would be 140/70/17 I guess.
I fear if I got the 150 rear every Hayabusa would want to race me!

  ... Errr yes! Why of course! ... Something like that! 

140 fits no trouble

140 it will be then!

the rear is a bit squared off after recent epic trip, been on a couple of winding road trips since but the tyre has a strange wear pattern and the right side has 1mm less tread than the left.
now it feels strange cornering.

Couple hundred left hand laps around a decent sized roundabout should sort that out bro! 

... Course you will have to dodge the traffic flowing the other way! ... So it would sharpen up your reflexes to eh!! 

OK, I will head out now not too much traffic at night around here.
Should be fine going wrong way around the roundabout at night for 6 hours or so
might be able to get my knee down by 4 am!

140/70 and 140/80 have clearance without mods but 150/60 and 150/70  will clear chain but might touch the brake brace requiring a slight bend.

150/70 RoadAttack


Hard to tell the difference between 130/70 and 140/70 RoadRiders

A couple of a 150/60 showing brake bar bend, I had bent it previously when I put the RoadAttack on.





Ya, Ya, I know: shameful display of rust but those are early spring pics and I ride year around here in NE Ohio the salt capital of the universe.  Later on I spray a little WD-40 on the rust and it's hardly noticeable from 10-20 feet away, just getting too damn old to get down there and clean it off anymore, can't get back up. 

150 get pinched in the 3.5 ... 140 is OK 150 is pinched, that's why the thing is about same width as the 130.
But A bias ply set will give you a wide center strip that will wear so slow, if you're a super slabber it will help the tar last longer.
Cool.
Buddha.

thanks gsJack, wouldn't bending that bar create any alignment issues with the caliper?

Buddha, I have no idea what a super slabber is or what making the tar last longer means, need enlightenment

super slabber .. frequent freeway commuter/rider

tar .. tyre... maybe typo .. maybe 'hillbilly speekin' .... mah tar it dun wented down!

If done properly, bending the bar has no negative consequences on caliper alignment that I've found.

A 150 seems questionable on a 3.5" rim, but not all bike tires are created equal I suppose.

Dan

just go the 140 .. it'll be fine! 

Almost all 150/70 bias tires are approved by their makers for fitment on 3.5" rims and about half of the 150/70 radials are too.  Some of the 150/70 radials that are not universally approved for this fitment like the Avon Storms for example are approved for specific fitments.  Avon's recommended fitment for the early 750 Kats for example which have the same 3.5" rim as the GS is the 150/70 Storm.

I've run 130/70, 130/80, 130/90, 140/70, 140/80, 150/60, and 150/70 rear tires on my 3.5" GS rims.  The three 150/70 radials I ran,  Lasertec, RoadAttack, and RoadRider were all approved fitments.  The 150/60 fitment on the 3.5" rim is not an approved fitment in this country but has been used by many on the EX500 and GS500 rear rims so I tried it.

No problem with the bent brake bar mine has over 50k miles on it since I bent it.  Just laid it across a piece of 2x4 wood and hit it right on the spot the tire rubbed with a BFH and the ends bent up nicely to the shape I wanted for clearance.  When you put it on with axle loose just start bolts to hold brake bar, tighten axle nut, and then tighten brake bar bolts last and tab ends will bend nicely into place.

Never saw a 150 rear tire I wouldn't run on a GS stock wheel but there are many differing opinions out there on tire fitments.

http://www.gs500.net/gallery/data/500/GS500tirelogs.jpg

A question for GSJACK. I am due for my first rear tyre change and will be choosing between 140/70 and 140/80. I have not been very happy with the cupping and short life of the BT45s although the grip level has been good. I have Michelin pilot Activs on my Honda and have been pretty happy with those so i intend to replace the original Bridgestones (just the rear for now) with the Activs. The question is, can you feel any difference in handling with the 80 profile tyre? If anything, I suspect that it might give slightly quicker turn-in on corners. Any comments will be gratefully accepted. 

Macka

Mine had a 13/90 on the back. I changed it back to stock size. The /90 fest weird riding. Leaning felt weird and it felt loose too. Maybe due to the fact that it was a vew years old, but it just was not right. There was very little space left between the tire an the swingarm. The little plastic lower fender that is below the swingarm was all chewed up. So i'd say that the 130/90 might be a little bit too big. After switching bach to stock handling is normal. a 140 would have fit nice too.

I ran a couple 130/90 (MT90) tires on my first GS like the ones I had used on my 4 old Hondas before that and actually liked their affect on handling, the steeper rake gave very quick handling and while I liked that I was using touring type 130/90 tires that gave great mileage but just didn't like going around corners as fast as the little GS did.  There are sport touring type bias tires that would have been better than the Dunlop touring ones on a GS but not really a choice size for the GS.

Like the 130/70 tire the 140/80 has a preferred rim width of 3.5" and is a good size for the GS500.  I made my last trip to the Smoky Mtns  on the 110/80 and 140/80 radial Avon Azaro tires and they were excellent for me, still available in those sizes.  Raises rear about 3/4" compared to the 1" of the 130/90 and does make bike steer a bit quicker.

Never did like the radials I used on the front, they beveled badly and didn't last as long as the rear radials before I pulled them.  I like the Lasertec and Roadrider bias fronts for straight line stability on grooved roads and good all around feel, the primitive GS front end really doesn't need radials but keep in mind my usage is sport touring type riding, I don't do track days.

Still think the 110/80 bias Lasertec front and 150/70 radial RoadAttack rear were the best all around handling tires I've had on my GSs.  That RoadAttack had a compound somewhere between a sport touring tire and a super sport tire I think.  But the Roadriders I've used mostly for many years and miles now more than meet my current needs in my declining years.