1980 GS550 Tires

[Guest]

Done a bit of searching and narrowed it down to two different tire sizes, any recommendations:

Front - 90/90-19 VS 100/90-19
Rear - 110/90-18 VS 120/90-18?

Gonna go with the Shinko 712's

[Gorminrider]

...I can't recall any bad review of Shinkos...712s are popular...I had some "230"s and they were fine for general riding.

[mmattockx]

I have Shinko 230's on my 1100E and am happy with them. They are sticky enough to easily scrub the tires from edge to edge and have shown no nasty habits. They seem OK in the rain, too, but I have very limited time on wet roads with them so far.


Mark

[John Park]

There's no advantage to the wider alternative. They're beyond the capacity of the rim width to maintain the profile. The 100 should be on a 2.15 rim and the 120 on a 2.50. That said, people do it all the time but there's nothing in it except for looks.

[Nessism]

Many Kawasaki KZ bikes used a 2.15 rim on the rear and came stock with a 120 rear tire.

[John Park]

Many Kawasaki KZ bikes used a 2.15 rim on the rear and came stock with a 120 rear tire.

Which would have been happier, and lasted longer, on a 2.50 rim, but 2.50 X 18 spoke rims are not so common. It was the era of the market wanting wider tires and the journalists griping about the rims being too narrow. Which came first, the rim or the tire?

[Nessism]

I ran a 100/90-19 front and 120/90-18 on my GS550E. I also ran the same front and a 120/90-17 rear on my GS550T.

Ideally, all the GS wheels would be wider, only they aren't so we must make do.

A 110 rear tire will work as well of course. It's mostly a matter of personal preference. Again, many KZ bikes such as the KZ650, KZ750-4, and even many KZ1000's used a 2.15 rear and most of those used a 120/90-18 tire without any ill handling issues. If a major OEM company can run that combination so can we.