Wider Rear wheel

[buff1260]

Anything wider than a 180 and the chain will be running through the frame.

[80GS1000]

Anything wider than a 180 and the chain will be running through the frame.

And even with a 180, you may still have to make some mods to get the chain to not rub the frame - 520 chain conversion, machining down the sprocket carrier etc etc.

[buff1260]

Hitting the inside of the frame with a hammer to get some clearance for the chain.

[dwcopple]

The superwide rears are fine if you're into riding in a straight line all the time, but cornering agility will be shot to hell.

I hope you mean over 200 series otherwise your statement is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay off...what tires are the AMA Superbike guys running? 180-190 and they corner verrrrrrrry well.

[Mark M]

I hope you mean over 200 series otherwise your statement is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay off...what tires are the AMA Superbike guys running? 180-190 and they corner verrrrrrrry well.

Not really. Don't forget that they are running chassis' developed for the big tires and many of the riders still don't like what the big rears do to the handling. The only reason they are running the big tires is because they need them to cope with the power levels. For many years, the superbikes ran 180's because they handled better, even when stock bikes were coming with 190's on them. It is still typical practice to put a 180 on for track use with stock 1000's at the club level.

Regardless of how big the rear tire is, the greater the mismatch between front and rear widths, the greater the effect the rear has on handling. A 120/160 combo is pretty neutral. A 120/180 combo wants to stand the bike up somewhat, a 120/190 combo is worse again and a 120/200 would be terrible. The super fat cruiser tires are a joke and it becomes a serious handling fault that almost prevents the bike turning into corners at all.

Mark

[BentRod]

I gotta back up the above statements

each bike will designed to have tires of a certain width. then you corner, the contact patch will shift left or right of the center of gravity of your bike. this is all considered when the steering geometry is worked out by the designers.

HOWEVER.. as stated before.. this isn;t a question of performance.. it's a matter of looks.. to each his own

[buff1260]

Had no problems with this 190 set up

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s277/its_liz_photos/bikerebuild005.jpg

[80GS1000]

Had no problems with this 190 set up

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s...rebuild005.jpg

Nice bike. Is that a monoshocked GS(X) 1100?


Adding a wider than stock rear rim/tire can be a performance upgrade, provided you also set up the steering geometry (rake/trail, forward/aft weight distribution etc) correctly too. My GS1000 now steers MUCH quicker than stock now that the rake angle is 24.5 degrees and is MUCH more stable and planted in the corners as well due to the increased contact patch size and radial tires.

[Mark M]

Had no problems with this 190 set up

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s...rebuild005.jpg

Nice work! I bet if you fitted a 160 on there, you would be surprised at the improvement. Unfortunately, that is a new wheel so it isn't really an easy thing to try...

Mark

[buff1260]

Had a 170 on a 5inch rim before, didnt really notice a differance