1983 gs1100e need help with wheel and tire situation

[rphillips]

dork, I's thinking you'd know for sure about the 1150's... Didn't the rears on the 1150's come in two different widths?

[dorkburger]

Hmmm.. Now that you mention it, I think the 84 had a 3" rear wheel vs. the 3.5" on the 85-86. Both of my 1150s (current and past) and the parts bike are all tubeless, and marked as such on the wheels

[adam83]

Adam, I don’t think you’ve said, but is the word TUBELESS printed on your rim?

No, the wheels do not have that printed on them.

[adam83]

Is there a reason finding the leak wouldn't be the "FIRST" thing to do? Before removing, dismounting or anything. Also, did any Chain drive GS's ever have Tubeless stamped on their wheels? I know Suzuki started the tubeless in 1980, the newest chain drives I've had were 2 GS1150's, one an "86" but don't remember if they were tubeless or not.

I agree that I need to find the leak first. I just wasnt clear enough in my response earlier. I will be taking the wheels off regardless because the tires are too old and I need to replace them, so regardless the wheels are coming off, and the first thing I'll do when they are off is identify the source(s) of the leaks.

[adam83]

I would definitely be interested in a wheel swap, if I could even locate 1150 wheels, but it seems going from a 19" front wheel to a 16" front wheel would require other changes up front

[dorkburger]

https://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/forum/classifieds-gs-parts-misc/for-sale-parts-misc/1698331-gs1150-3-5-wide-rear-wheel-gs850g-650g-1100g-2-15-front-wheel

I’ve seen complete 1150 front ends swapped on to 1100s, but the 16 inch front wheel is very limiting on tire choices. The 16 inch front was a short lived fad...

[adam83]

Ok. It seems like if I wanted a set of matching wheels that are a direct swap that have similar size to my stock setup I'm pretty much out of luck?

That's alright. I will just have to stay with the stock wheels and get new tires. I have never attempted a wheel swap on a bike before, much less one that requires modification and/or fabrication, so I'll have to do alot more research and possibly tackle that over the winter.

Speaking of tires, I'm gonna need to research that too, as I've not found a matching set for this bike yet

[Nessism]

Ok. It seems like if I wanted a set of matching wheels that are a direct swap that have similar size to my stock setup I'm pretty much out of luck?

That's alright. I will just have to stay with the stock wheels and get new tires. I have never attempted a wheel swap on a bike before, much less one that requires modification and/or fabrication, so I'll have to do alot more research and possibly tackle that over the winter.

Speaking of tires, I'm gonna need to research that too, as I've not found a matching set for this bike yet

https://www.americanmototire.com/

BT46's are available.

[Rob S.]

I'm very happy with the Pirelli Sport Demons on my '82 11E.

[rphillips]

Don't give up on your orig. wheel, I'd guess it will be perfectly fine. If your previous owner did like me, just put the tubeless stem in the hole and tightened them up, you don't have much of a problem. Easy fix. No doubt the counter bore thing that makes a flat surface should be better for the rubber gaskets to sit on than the slightly arched surface of the orig, rim and hole. Those gaskets are pretty meaty. Hopefully you'll find your wheel is unmolested.

[bwringer]

During the transition to tubeless back in the '80s, quite a few riders, dealers, and mechanics were absolutely horrified at the thought; they perceived tubes as an added layer of safety (which is not correct), and not just another damn thing to go wrong (which has proven to be the correct view).

Tubeless tires were seen by many as a commie plot, a weird, alien, and frankly suspicious intrusion of car thinking into their world.

And of course some welcomed the tubeless revolution with open arms (for example, racers), but for a long time it could be difficult to get a shop to install any tire without a tube, and there were plenty of owners who also could not bring themselves to think otherwise. They felt naked without tubes.

It was also harder to find tubeless tires for a while, and they could be expensive.

[rphillips]

I've tried to find what came first with no luck, tubeless motorcycle wheels or tubeless motorcycle tires. If there were no tubeless motorcycle tires in 1976 (first cast Kawa. wheels) or 1978 (first cast Suzuki wheels) there would be no need to stamp Tubeless on the wheel . Also no need to market tubeless motorcycle tires if there were no tubeless motorcycle wheels.

[Rob S.]

I've got an egg farm you may be interested in buying.

[rphillips]

I may be interested in a rooster farm..., Too much arguing tween them chickens & eggs.

[Rob S.]

This thread is interesting because it's the first (I've seen) about tubeless tires not functioning correctly on old tube rims. The majority opinion here is "nothing can go wrong."

Like my mechanic, I'm old school. When it was time for tires, I wanted what Cycle World used for their superbike shootouts - Bridgestone Battleaxe. But they are not designed for my 1982 rims. And vice versa. So I went with tubes and Pirelli Sport Demons. 'Modifying' my rims would give me the creeps. Not something I want to think about at 110 mph.