5speed wrote:can't help you with the rear rim question but wanted to say I love the look of the same size tire on the front and back.
Hope you can sort it out.
Should have known I wasn't the only person to consider it. I should be able to find a good used rear rim for a decent price, cheaper than a new one anyway.
In The Shed:
'81 gl1100I barn find aka "Josie, the farmer's daughter." (almost comatose build)
'77 gl1000, roller parts bike.
'82 gl1100I, 'Old Crusty' titled roller parts bike (free!)
'82 gl1100I, My first 'Wing, and an expensive lesson! New2U Bike? Read Me.
Track T 2411 wrote:Looks great! Just be advised, however, that, IIRC, you will end up using a rear tire on the front. Many people do it, but...
Is there any reason I couldn't run a 110/70/17 on the rear rim? There are a few front options at that size and from what I can tell that would fit, but I obviously don't have any actual experience. I've done some reading about running a rear tire on the front and it's not something I really want to do...
Hanslehoff wrote:snip................... I've done some reading about running a rear tire on the front and it's not something I really want to do...
Why not? It's done all the time. A lot Gold Wing trikes have a rear tire on the front. You just mount it backwards from the way you would put it on a rear wheel. No issues.
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1976 Goldwing Super Sport
1985 Honda Elite
1976 KZ900 Dragbike
1992 ZX7 Dragbike (KZ900 style motor w/NOS)
and a rotation of various purchases
Randakk approved Carb Rebuilder
Hanslehoff wrote:snip................... I've done some reading about running a rear tire on the front and it's not something I really want to do...
Why not? It's done all the time. A lot Gold Wing trikes have a rear tire on the front. You just mount it backwards from the way you would put it on a rear wheel. No issues.
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It's not something I absolutely wouldn't do...but front tires do have different profiles to assist with handling, they aren't as flat as a rear tire. For me, it is a little counter productive to spend this much time and money improving the front end performance, maintaining good steering geometry, etc and then not also use the best performing tire for the job. There obviosly needs to be some give and take tho, I'm not expecting to turn my wing into a sport bike
I keep hearing about how wonderful back tires on the front are. Makes me wonder why tires are designed for front or rear. Why different compounds? Why different tread designs? Why not one universal tire for front and rear? Why are
tires designed to turn in only one direction? So many questions that make me wonder if there is not a good reason why tires are designed the way they are. Something I don't want to wonder about at 70 miles an hour rolling down the highway.
1978 custom GL1000
1977 custom with 1200 engine
1985 gl1200
Sugs wrote:I think if you find a front tire designed for the rears rim width, you'd be fine.
Exactly! Most who do this type of swap want 'the look' that it gets with that fat tire more than any handling improvement. Going with an actual front tire sized for the rim won't quite get that same look. For the most part, I agree with Cyborg...
"I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
"He that is good with a hammer tends to think everything is a nail" - Abraham Maslow
"If you can't take the time to do it right the first time, how are you ever going to find the time to do it over?" -Unknown
In The Shed:
'81 gl1100I barn find aka "Josie, the farmer's daughter." (almost comatose build)
'77 gl1000, roller parts bike.
'82 gl1100I, 'Old Crusty' titled roller parts bike (free!)
'82 gl1100I, My first 'Wing, and an expensive lesson! New2U Bike? Read Me.
Briefly, I was in the same camp as most about what's the difference between front and rear tires of the same size, but after reading a little on the subject it would seem it has to do with the loads being different between the two tire functions. That is, the rear undergoes different stresses and strains due to being the drive source, while the front undergoes a different set of stresses and strains again from being braked a lot harder, compression from the forks as well as its own performance of hanging on to the road surface while cornering. So it may not be as simple as it seems!
After doing some more searching I'm starting to think the issue is less to do with finding the right size front tire and more to do with finding the matching rear. Most tires I find in a 120 or 130 for the front don't have a 130 width available for the rear, they all start wider than that. 120/70/17 seems to be the most common front tire size, but that lowers the ride height 1 1/4"...not crazy but more than I'm comfortable with given the lengths I went through to find the longest USD front fork. Don't know anything about mixing brands front to back, maybe I need to think this out a little more...
CYBORG wrote:snip..............I keep hearing about how wonderful back tires on the front are. Makes me wonder why tires are designed for front or rear. .
Biggest thing is the tread design/pattern. To keep water control in the wet. Rear is for acceleration. Front is for braking. That's the simple version. As technical as I can get on that.
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1976 Goldwing Super Sport
1985 Honda Elite
1976 KZ900 Dragbike
1992 ZX7 Dragbike (KZ900 style motor w/NOS)
and a rotation of various purchases
Randakk approved Carb Rebuilder