Tire Sizes

[Anonymous]

I wanted to know what would be the best tire sizes to put on my '83 750E. Whoever had it before me put a 120/80r16 on the front, and a 130/90r17 on the back. The front end feels really unstable in turns, so I am thinking that if I leave the 130 on the back, and go down to a 100 in the front, will the handling be ok then? Anyone else ahve bigger tires on thier bike? :twisted:

[Anonymous]

anyone? :twisted:

[Rico]

Not having the tire specs for your bike, all I can give you is oppinion.

I myself go with a 100 on the front UNLESS I'm running a frame mounted fairing or doing alot of two-up riding in witch case I run 110's.

The handling differance between the two is minimal on my 1000e but the about of tire casing and contact patch is better for loads..........

Rico

post;
If your looking for better handling, I might suggest tuning your front suspension....

[KennyJ]

I would go with the 110. My 85 550E runs this and it works great.

Kenny

[lhanscom]

The instability may not be the tire size, but tire wear. If your front tire is cupped, or the rear tire is squared off the handling will feel weird. I also found that the 700 likes to be pushed a little harder into corners then I thought was needed. Otherwise she got a little unstable.

[bwringer]

If it's a lower profile (120/80 wasn't a typo?), then who knows where that tire came from. And your bike will handle oddly, since the tire is totally wrong and made to fit a wider rim.

100/90-16 should be about right.

Use Continental's tyre selector to find the right size:

http://www.conti-online.com

[Anonymous]

I appriciate everyone's advice and coments. The stock size is a 90/90 front, but I think I am going to go with a 100/90 to get a slightly bigger footprint. But what about the back? The stock size is a 100, I think, but it has a 130/90 on it right now, and that seems to work just fine. Plus its really hard to find tires that have even a little stickyness to them in anything less than the 130. I am thinking that the combination of 100 in the front, and a 130 in the back should do me just fine. :twisted:

[Rico]

I'm with you.
130 on the rear. Anything smaller (on my bike) has to small of a contact patch and bigger won't fit by the brake arm without mods..........

Rico

[lhanscom]

I'm really surprised that the stock rear on the 83 was only a 100, the 85 700, which I think shares the same rear wheel came stock with a 120, and a 130 fits great, and I always liked the handling.

[Anonymous]

My mistake, it is a 120 on the rear, so I am going to stay with a 130. Thanks for all the help and advice. :twisted:

[Robert Corrie]

If the front end is the only thing that doesnt feel right, check your steering head bearings to see if they are tight.

[oldschoolGS]

Stock sizes were 100 front and 120 rear. You can use the 120 front-while it is a little wide for the stock 2.15in front rim-this should not cause instability problems. I have used several different fronts in 120/80 size over the past 20 years -with no stability problems- because this size presents the best tire choices available for the 16in front wheel. Go with the Metzeler ME33 front and you will have no stability problems due to tires. This is probably the best bias-ply front you can buy for the 16in front wheel bikes of the mid 80's. A 130/90 will fit on the rear 2.5in rim fine with no problems-Dunlop and Metzeler both make excellent tires in this size. Stay away from cheap garbage tires-this is one area it does not pay to go cheap. Good Luck, Ed.
1983 GS750ED coming back to life

http://groups.msn.com/SuzukiGSGarage/gs750edbacktolife.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=3191