1981 Gs450T Front and Rear Tire Size??

[Guest]

I have a 1981 GS450t, and im trying to find new tires to go on it. The front tire on it is a 3.25/3.60R19, and the rear is a 3.50-17. The front tire says its a tubeless tire but it had a tube in it, and the rims do not support a tubeless tire, so im thinking the previous owner just got something that fit. I'm trying to find some tires on Ebay or Amazon, but im not quite sure which ones i need. I found a 100/90h-19 for the front but i'm not sure if its too big or not, the tire thats on the front now is super close to the front fender. The tire thats on the rear has around 5-7 inches of clearance. Any input would be very helpful

[Nessism]

100/90-19 front and 110/90-17 rear would be good choices. You can even go to 120/90-17 in the rear if you have room.

Avon Roadriders are the forum favorite tires. Shinko's are the cheap favorite. I'm running ContiGo's on my bike and like them fine too.

Check out American Motorcycle Tire. They have good prices and free shipping.

[John Park]

The factory manual says 90/90 19 front and 110/90 17 rear. There is nothing to be gained by going 100/90 front; it will just steer lazily and lack fender clearance. You can fit a 120/90 rear, but again with such a narrow rim there's no point. A 3.25 19 will be almost indistinguishable from a 90/90; maybe a hair taller.

American Motorcycle Tire lists an IRC Durotour rear in 110/90 17 for $75. They also have a 90/90 19 Pirelli MT66 for $95 which is a bit pricey, but I like the tire a lot. Other choices are an IRC GS11 3.25 19 for $62 which is an acceptable if rather short lived budget tire. The Avon Roadrider 3.25 19 is $90 and a well loved tire.

I recall there was a 130/90 17 on the back of my 450T when I got it and there was very little clearance to the swing arm. A different brand may not have cleared at all. It isn't the vertical clearance that is the limiting factor but clearance to the chain and swing arm.

[bwringer]

To answer another question, you can use a tubeless tire on a rim that requires tubes. Most decent modern tires you'll find are tubeless ("tubeless-capable" would probably be a more accurate term), but there will also be lettering on the side saying something like "ON TUBE RIM FIT TUBE".

[Nessism]

IRC seems to be just about the only company that makes a 110/90-17 rear tire. I don't think they are bad tires per say, but there are very few people running them around here.

The rear rim on the 450T is 2.15 wide, which means that a 120 will fit and expand selection options. Some will say that a 2.15 wheel is narrow for a 120 but Kawasaki ran that combo on many of their KZ bikes from the factory.

Regarding the front size, about 90% of the GS brethren here are running a 100 front. Yes, steering will be heavier than a 90 but the 450 is only about 400 lbs wet so the bike will not be hard to turn regardless.

At the end of the day the sizes and brand/model of tires to be used are at least in part a matter of personal preference. To each their own.

[Gorminrider]

I have had IRC tire on the GSX400T(same rims as OP's) . It worked fine.
matched SETS are the tricky bit with these bikes, for what it's worth to have a "matched set". (just a vanity in my case, I admit)
a good place to look!

http://www.americanmototire.com/catalog/