Tire Size

[92G]

How critical is it to stay within the tire size specs from Suzuki?

I'm having trouble find the rear tire in a 110/90 or 120/90. It actually has a 130/90 on it now. Does it realy matter? It seems to ride fine to me, but I've only been riding since July.

Terry

[Anonymous]

What kind of bike are you on?

[92G]

What kind of bike are you on?

82 GS650G.

Thanks,

Terry

[KEITH KRAUSE]

If you visit a site such as Dunlop or Bridgestone, look around and you'll find a chart that will tell you the maximum width tire you can put on a given rim. My bike came with a 4.50x17 rear, which is about 114mm. I now have a 130mm tire and it was Ok according to their chart. My 16mm wider tire is about 2/3" wider. I would like to try a 140mm but I think the tire would start grazing the chain and I don't want to do something unsafe.
A wider tire looks cool but proper seating of the tire bead is more important.

[Billy Ricks]

One size up is fine. Any further than that and you start changing the shape of the tire's crown. The tire gets more triangulated because the sidewalls are being pinched too much. You actually end up with a smaller contact patch with the bike upright than with the stock size and when leaned over the sidewalls will flex too much and give a squirmy ride.

[Anonymous]

Hi Keith Krause.

Is it really 4,5 inches? The optimal tire for that is a 160. I use a 160-60/17 on my rim. Recommended that is.

[saaz]

4.5 is the actual tyre width. The rim is 2.15

[frosty5011]

MT66 ROUTE FRONT 120/90S17 TT

Our Price: $64.00

I think you need 17" tires, right? www.discountmotorcycletire.com has the above. (In their search box, just type in 120/90, then scroll through the results for all ending in "17".

Some other links to check would be:

http://motorcyclepitstop.com/mivastore/merchant.mv?Screen=SFNT&Store_Code=004

http://www.motorcycletireplanet.com/catlist.asp?PTID=2

http://www.denniskirk.com/jsp/product_catalog/Category.jsp;jsessionid=DJMJ1EGJZ1T03LA0WTKSM4VMDK0NKIV0?store=main&catId=404

A chart you can use to see what is acceptable for what rim you have is:

http://www.dtmaonline.com - (click on top where it says "Sizing Charts", then go down to "tire width comparison")

[KEITH KRAUSE]

Hi Keith Krause.

Is it really 4,5 inches? The optimal tire for that is a 160. I use a 160-60/17 on my rim. Recommended that is.

4.5" is the outer width of the stock tire. I now have a 130mm tire.
25.4mm= 1". If I tried to put on a 160mm tire, it would be hard against my chain. I think a 160mm is unsafe to put on a stock '79 GS1000E mag wheel. Your '83 1100 may have wider wheels than mine.