oops, wrong tire

[Bonz]

Yeah, it's gonna change the reading. If your speedo reads fast, it will help equalize the gap.

My Special reads slow (indicated 60mph is 62 mph on the GPS) with a D404 100/90/19 up front.

[jetmechmarty]

no, 110 is a width, 90 is the height

90 is the aspect ratio. The tire is 90% as high as it is wide. Therefore, the 110 mm wide tire is taller than the 100 mm wide tire.

[jetmechmarty]

I'm curious. Why do you want a 110 wide tire on the front? It turns slower than the 100. (as in cornering)

[Bonz]

jetmech, have you tried both the 110 and 100 tires and seen a dramatic difference in cornering?


Other than the look a larger tire gives, my thought is the larger tire will have more contact patch, and would give better max braking, and may evacuate water better with more tread grooves due to the wider contact patch.

[crazy steve]

Bigger tire = more surface area = longer wear.... all else being equal...

[jetmechmarty]

I never ran a 110. I did, however, run a 90/90-19 on the front of my XS650. It turned faster (lighter) than the 100. I went back to the stock size due to my perceived loss of ground clearance. I also thought it looked funny.

[Bonz]

Another aspect you brought up is the taller tire will raise the front end, which slows down the response, and could make the front end squiggy.

[old_skool]

Another aspect you brought up is the taller tire will raise the front end, which slows down the response, and could make the front end squiggy.

We're talking an additional 9mm overall making the front end higher by only 4.5mm, hardly make that much difference in response, and if you can, and was worried about it, could probably allow the fork tubes to rise into the top tree the minimal 4.5mm. Basically, over thinking it I believe.

[Bonz]

I'm just going along with the gang on analyzing the crap out of the 110 tire size... Had to find something to further this along.

[jetmechmarty]

Another aspect you brought up is the taller tire will raise the front end, which slows down the response, and could make the front end squiggy.

Yes. For sure, the XS650 Special has a rear weight bias. I'm pretty sure the XS1100 does too. Doing anything like that is going to make it worse.

I was told by someone who knows a whole lot more about this than I do, that as far as turning goes, you want the smallest tires possible, and ideally, front and back should be the same size. This is if going around corners is your only concern.

[Bonz]

I'm not an expert in chassis development, but I do notice manufacturers making changes of 1mm here and 1mm there over the course of a model's lifetime from year to year and the bike is deemed "transformed" by the testers. So, 4.5 mm of tire height might make a difference worth mentioning.

Thoughts?

[motoman]

With all this being said and analized, actual reality when i bought my Venturer new, the tire sizes were 3.50x19 front and 4.50x17 rear. Installed several of those sizes over the years till all went to metric. Both those original sizes are taller than the metric radials, and the bike handled a bit better with them than with the metrics now. The Conti twins(K112and RB2) was the top tire of choice back then. Since only offered for the Special 16" wheel size, That would STILL be my choice if I owned a Special. Both the Special and the Standard handled and rode best with this tire overall. Stuck like glue runnin' twisties in the rain, but mileage suffered a bit having a softer compound getting around 7K on rear and 12K on front.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Eddie,

Sorry to hear the trouble the Dealer gave you! However, it may also be that "they" are having to be careful in installing ONLY what the owner's guide or manuals say are the size tire for the bike/year/model? I know recently in dealing with a local auto tire shop that they were limited in what variation of tire size would be allowed to be put on a particular vehicle...may have been linked with LIABILITY and such!? I'm not siding with the Dealer, but in Cantafordia lawsuit happyland, they may be restricted to only being able to mount what is specified in the manuals?

Whereas a private bike shop may not be held to the same concerns or liabilities??

So...now what to do? Depending on how much you plan on riding your bike, if you'll be doing many K miles a year, then you may wear out the Dunlop in a year or so....so you could hold onto the Shinko, and install it when the Dunlop wears out. But if you will be taking many years before you wear the tire down...then you will probably want to offload the Shinko to a local Xsive or such while it's still FRESH!

I will say that I'm one of the few folks that had reported a rubbing problem with using a 110, but it was because I had a previous front ender, and the local shop ended up putting a standard or 650 fender onto my SPECIAL, and so the front of the fender was abnormally close to the tire since the special's tire is positioned more forward than the standard's. During a short high speed run, the tire expanded circumferentially and rubbed on the inside of the leading edge of the fender blistering my NEW PAINT job! I've since enlarged the mounting holes of the fender which has allowed me to position the leading edge a bit farther up/away from the tire!

T.C.

[MaximPhil]

For those interested the following link to Motorcycle Tire school.

http://www.maxxis.com/MotorcycleATV/...e_load_indexes

Phil

[eddielo]

I don't see in the initial post that the dealer DID try to mount the tire... I see they SAID it wouldn't fit.

edielo, can you clarify that?

If they didn't try to mount it, and we know it WILL fit based on no one ever having one NOT fit, you have a fair case to tell them you never should have needed a different tire.

The Dunlop (404?) is a more expensive tire than the 712 I suspect as well. Not that the dealer was trying to make a sale, but in their ignorant way of being helpful they didn't listen to the expert on the bike (you) and I would bring it up if it were me.

Bonz, I'm not sure if they mounted it or not. I assume they did because they charged me twice, first to mount the "wrong" size and second to mount the Dunlop. Since I wasn't there I'm just going by the labor charge and assume they did mount the 712. And yes, the Dunlop was more expensive. $90, a lot more than the 712.
Here are the measurements I took using two rulers:
Fender width: 4 3/4
712 width: 4 5/16
404 width: 3 1/4
Using these measurements the 712 would have 1/4 inch clearance on each side. Is that acceptable?