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Posted by CDNRatMan
- December 16, 2012, 13:13:34 PMtedley what did you change to?
I put on about 5000 kms in the last part of the summer, and I am really happy with my tires and they way they handle, I did a runb from North Bay to Kingston along the back way along Hwy 41 and then the 401 and speeds were in the 120 kms 75 mph and had no issues.Never flet "loose" steering ....so it might not be tires?
Posted by tedley
- December 16, 2012, 12:43:04 PMFrom my experiance my 800 would wiggle abit crossing cracks and road snakes with the original dunlops but not bad. Finaly after 35000 k/m on the old skins, yes you read right, 35000 k/m, i replaced them and oh what a difference. I feel vertualy nothing now. 100% improvement in handling at any speed.
Posted by CDNRatMan
- October 25, 2012, 10:09:39 AM I do know that when I first bought the bike I don't know why I never checked the tire pressure, it was ok it seemed. Well I did a 70 mile trip, and I told my brother in law that I did not feel comfortable with the bike in corners, he checked the tire pressure and it was way down. So he pumped them up, made a huge difference. But not good yet, or comfortable. I kept my speeds at about 110 km, and no issues rode really nice comfortable ride. then I read the thing here with Troll and Chief about tire pressure and lowered one and raised the other and the last couple of rides awesome change, really good.
I want to keep my ride as stock as possible and so I think I'll keep the tires as per normal just use ww's because I like the looks of that. As for the wobbling when I cross the center line it is not that bad, or were I have a seam on the road, again not so bad, and we do have crappy roads up here, so it might not be that much of an advantage. But good info and a learning curve too.
Posted by Troll
- October 25, 2012, 08:43:30 AMThe front wheel on an 800 and on a 1500, indeed the whole front suspension, is exactly the same. 3" wide front wheel, same as on a Harley...same size tire as an E-Glide, 130/90-16. the rear wheel on a 1500 is 3.5" wide, as is needed for the wider tire to maintain the correct tread profile. Tires make a huge difference in handling, so does tire pressure...
Posted by hoosierfish
- October 25, 2012, 08:25:52 AMIf you find more info on whether wider tires would help out on this issue of bike stability @ highway speeds, please post it here for all to see. Thanks
Posted by CDNRatMan
- October 25, 2012, 08:18:42 AMok kind of make sense. I too have an 800 and find it fairly light as such compared to a lot of machines. Now living here in Northern Ont. I too have expereince with the lane markings and patches in the highway, and it does does have a tendency to move me around but I never thought wider tires would cure that, something to look into. I'll have to ask around an see what the ideas are. Thanks.
Posted by hoosierfish
- October 24, 2012, 20:59:07 PMbetter high speed control? When changing lanes at high speed, crossing the center line, i get a wooble feeling were the pavement has a seem in it (maybe just the crappy roads in Indiana), feels like the whole bike is shaking when crossing the white lines?
Posted by CDNRatMan
- October 24, 2012, 20:26:54 PMmy question is why change the width of the tires? Something I am missing here?
Posted by hoosierfish
- October 24, 2012, 19:46:50 PMAre you saying that the 1500 uses a 3.5 wide rim front & back? If so, can I change a 3.5 1500 back rim from shaft drive to chain drive so it will work on the 800?. The whole idea of going to a wider tire (in my mind) is to get away from the feeling of loose steering at 70 plus miles an hour speeds. i don't know, maybe I'm looking at the wrong way of correcting this issue?
Posted by Troll
- October 24, 2012, 19:39:34 PMHere's the thing...if the rim is too narrow, it will distort the tire profile. If you put an 80 series tire on a narrow rim, it will decrease the actual tread contact area, and mess with the overall gearing. If you put a 90 series tire on, you will maintain the tread profile, but raise the rear of the bike. here are some tire specs:
DIMENSIONS
Inflated Width/Measuring Rim Width: 5.6 in./3.0 in.
Inflated Diameter: 25.6 in.
Acceptable Rim Width: 3.0 in.
Deepest Tread Depth: 9/32 in.
Balance DOT: Yes
Directional Arrow: Yes
Speed Rating: H-Rated up to 130 MPH
DIMENSIONS
Inflated Width/Measuring Rim Width: 5.8 in./3.5 in.
Inflated Diameter: 25.3 in.
Acceptable Rim Width: 3.5 in.
Deepest Tread Depth: 11/32 in.
Balance DOT: Yes-Yellow
Directional Arrow: Yes
Speed Rating: H-Rated up to 130 MPH
Research indicates there is no 150/90-16 tire currently available in the U.S.
Posted by pcarrell
- October 24, 2012, 19:27:52 PMI wasn't aware of a rim difference.
Posted by Troll
- October 24, 2012, 19:22:50 PMThe 150/80-16 from the 1500 requires a 3.5" wide rim. I believe the 140/90 16 tire you have uses a 3.00" rim. Wider tires have an effect on handling...usually slowing it down.....
Posted by pcarrell
- October 24, 2012, 19:20:01 PMA 150 is stock on the rear of a 1500, so if it'll clear the chain it'll fit the fender (800's and 1500's use the same fender ***I stand corrected, see below***). As for the front, I wouldn't see why you couldn't step it up to a 140.
Posted by hoosierfish
- October 24, 2012, 18:59:13 PMYep, your right on the fender movement issue, don't have to worry about that. Guess I need to do some measurements at the chain location. I have factory installed tires now that are 140 rear & 130 up front, I'd like to go with a 150 rear & 140 front?
Posted by pcarrell
- October 24, 2012, 18:49:21 PMSince the fender moves with the swingarm it shouldn't make any difference if you're under load or not. The bigger issues would probably be fender side clearance and chain clearance.