Does this Tire make my wheel look fat?

tz375 · Post by **tz375** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 1:39 am

I'm thinking (dangerous, I know) about slipping a pair of wider aluminum rims on one of my GT750s to take nice fat tires.

Anyone know what the is fattest tire that can be squeezed into a stock swingarm?

I have seen GT750s with fat tires but always with different swingarms. I measures two arms and it looks like a 140 might just go in, but in the real world, what has anyone tried?

Arne · Post by **Arne** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 2:46 am

I put a fatter swingarm on mine... GS1100E goes in there with a bit of frame drilling, fairly low cost investment (but it is 3" longer than stock so you'll have to think about what you want).

Good luck. Arne

rngdng · Post by **rngdng** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 3:17 am

I have a 130/90 on a GS750 rim, and it almost drags the swinger. I doubt that a 140 will fit. Next time, I'm going back to a 120/80.

Lane

Post by **Suzsmokeyallan** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 9:35 am

Richard a B'stone Spitfire 120/90-18 rear fits and passes real close to the chainguard and about 10mms off of the swingarm front gusset welds when its in the middle of the axle slots.
A 130 could easily clear if you trimmed the gusset welds back for safety and rewelded them. A 140 could too i think, but then youd have to trim out the chainguard a bit or it may even hit the chain.
All tyres are not sized the same so its a case of finding out which brand is relative to the other for sizing.
Bridgestone tyres have always been known for being wider than the 'norm' while Metzelers have been known to be a bit narrower.

tz375 · Post by **tz375** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 9:38 am

Thanks guys. When I had the swingarm powder coated I was thinking 120 rear on a stock rim. I did contemplate grinding down the seam and re-welding it but decided to leave it stock. It wasn't until I really started to look at the wheels that I had second thoughts.

The rear needs to be rebuilt, and I figured while it's apart why not slip in that 3.00 Gold anodized rim (that has been on the shelf for a few years) in there and go fat.

Now to go back and stare at a picture of Blueboy's butt and see how good it looks with a 130. I'd rather stare at Kylie's butt, but that won't get my tire ordered....

H2RICK · Post by **H2RICK** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 9:36 pm

All tyres are not sized the same so its a case of finding out which brand is relative to the other for sizing.
Bridgestone tyres have always been known for being wider than the 'norm' while Metzelers have been known to be a bit narrower.

Rubber Manufacturers' Association (RMA) specs allow a 5% +/- on all tire
dimensions. These are considered "normal production tolerances". This is mostly due to the fact that tires are one of the modern world's mass produced items that are still hand made.

Bridgestone uses the full 10% total tolerance allowed. I went to the warehouse of one of our distributors and took my vernier with me when I was looking for tires for my KZ650. The variance in the Bridgestone BT45's was amazing. For nominal 100 width tires (uninflated, granted) they varied from 95mm through to 102mm!!!

Metzler, OTOH, keeps very close to the nominal size. I've measured both the LaserTecs and the ME880 Marathons that we've had through the shop and they are consistently 2% +/- or less....and mostly less. They keep as close to the nominal sizes as possible in a mass production environment.

Post by **Suzsmokeyallan** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 9:46 pm

Rick thanks for the update and it follows closely what i was saying. This wider than normal specs B'stone use i found out back in the mid 80s when had some tyres for cars called the SF 310 turbos.
On their 185/60x13 tyre the tread portion that actually touched the ground was 8 1/2 inches wide, no other tyre maker had a 185 series that could even get near it for sheer width.
The metzelers for motocross back in the late 80s were known for being slightly under the sizes others were making, and it seems they are still holding true to form for being so, or politically correct if you care to use that word.