Radial vs. Bias Ply tires

[sailor20034]

I have a 1978 GS550E, which as you no doubt know, has cast wheels that require tubes. Can radial tires be used on this bike, or must it be bias ply? I've found a heck of a deal on the right size radial tires, but.....

[redliner1973]

Bias only.

[SqDancerLynn1]

Our bikes were not designed for radials. Bias ONLY. Radial tires require a wider rim than is on our GS bikes & different suspension set up . If you want to run radials It requires replacement of wheels, forks, swingarm & some modifications to make everything fit

[sailor20034]

Thanks!

That's kind of what I thought. I started my 'cycling back in 1972, so my '78 Suzuki is a "blast from the past" for me. I didn't THINK radials would be a good idea, but DennisKirk.com listed the tire I just put on the rear (a Cheng Shin Barracuda) on the website as a radial. I called their tech support the next day and the techie checked the Cheng Shin catalog. He said that CS doesn't make a Barracuda radial...not even listed in the catalong. Good thing, since I'm sure they wouldn't let me return a tire after riding on it for 100+ miles.