will a 130/70-17

[mxmikie]

will a 130/70-17 fit the rear of a 1978 xs1100E ???????

[Incubus]

I do not see why it wouldn't. Stock is 130/90-17. A 130/70-17 would be a lower profile tire. I put a 130/80-16 on the back of my XS1100F (equipped with a Special rear wheel) to lower the rear by about a half inch. A 70 percent profile would lower the rear about an inch below stock.

Patrick

[fredintoon]

will a 130/70-17 fit the rear of a 1978 xs1100E ???????

Hi Mikie,
what size tire is on there now?
Clymer's sez the stock tire is 4.50 H-17. That tire is 4.5" wide & 4.5" high vs the 130/70's 5.1" wide & 3.6" high.
So yeah, it will fit on the rim and will most likely clear the swingarm but the tire's smaller OD means the engine will rev a little higher for the same speed.

[dbeardslee]

mxmike - just a note on metric tire sizes. The first number - 130 - is the section width in mm's. The second number - 70 - is section height over section width. In this case the section height is 70% of section width, or 91mm making is 16mm 'shorter' section height than a 130/90. Gotta double that number for the total height difference which would be 32mm. And the last number is the size of the wheel in inches.

[DiverRay]

The only unsaid thing is the rim! The '78 does NOT have a tubeless rim! If you are going to put a tubeless tire on it, try to find the tubeless rim from a late '79 or up. If not, you will need to install a tube with the tire. The machine work on the lip of the rim is just a little different, and it CAN make a difference! You also have the two holes for the rim locks on the rim, and the smaller tire will NOT go on with them installed.
JMHO, and worth every penny you paid for it!

[mxmikie]

Hi Mikie,
what size tire is on there now?

it has a MT90-B17

[mxmikie]

The only unsaid thing is the rim! The '78 does NOT have a tubeless rim! If you are going to put a tubeless tire on it, try to find the tubeless rim from a late '79 or up. If not, you will need to install a tube with the tire. The machine work on the lip of the rim is just a little different, and it CAN make a difference! You also have the two holes for the rim locks on the rim, and the smaller tire will NOT go on with them installed.
JMHO, and worth every penny you paid for it!

how about a xs750 rear wheel ???

[crazy steve]

You really need to find out the actual installed width of the tire, and that's besides the issue Ray brought up about the bead locks. Maximum overall tire width that will fit these is about 5.5". Generally speaking, as aspect ratio goes down, the tire gets wider in any given size so a 70 series tire will very likely be too wide. From what I've seen for the 17" wheel, the 130/90-17 is the only thing that will fit unless you go to a smaller size like a 120. A OEM 4.50-17 tire is actually wider than 4.5" by the way; I've got a old (real old) 4.50 Continental mounted on a '78 wheel and it measures 5.26 wide. With this width, there's only .2" of clearance between the tire and the swingarm. It is important to verify actual width for the particular brand/type tire you decide to use if going non-stock as sizes vary enough between brands to get you in trouble. I've seen as much as 3/8" difference in the 'same' size depending on who makes the tire.

If you swap to the 16" Special rear rim, you have more choices (not so much in sizes but in quality), but virtually all of these will be 'shorter' (smaller diameter) than the 17". And upgrading to a newer '79-up wheel in either size would be a good thing as you would be able to ditch the tube and the bead locks will be gone.

I've modded my swingarm on my '78 (making the 'notch' deeper) and I figure I can now go up to a 6.2" wide tire. The size I'm looking at is the Elite 3 160/80-16 (6.15" wide) on a Special rim that is slightly taller than the 130/90-17 so I won't gain any highway rpm. I'll post some pics of the mod if anyone's interested.

'78E original owner

[mxmikie]

130-70-17 fit as for the bead locks i installed valve stems like we did on the old beemers an old time friend and yamaha dealer(30 years) helped out with the install (dude is getting old) thanks for everybodys help