130 Rear Tire

[lidirtrider]

Anyone running a 130 rear tire? I would like to go a little wider, but I think a 130 would be too wide for a stock 75' swing arm. I also know that not every 130 tire is the same, so any input would help. I'm trying to stuff the widest, most low profile, highest performance tires I can on this thing.

 

[grepper]

Your right, not all 130s are the same. I put Dunlop D404 on my 1980 and it fit great, but put a Cheng Shin HiMax on my 79 special and I've got almost no clearance. A 130 should fit your 75, given it's the same swing arm size as my 79 and 80.

 

[grizld1]

You'd be well advised not to install a wider tire than 120 on that 2.15" rim.

 

[grepper]

You'd be well advised not to install a wider tire than 120 on that 2.15" rim.

Didn't think of that... He's right

 

[DIRTY DOG]

I have a 140/80/16 on my 81 rides great

 

[grizld1]

Yeah, I imagine that in a straight line a 140 would feel just fine. Got a 18/2.15 rim on the back of that '81? That's what we're talking about on the rear of a B-model. There's variation among different tires, but I doubt that most 140's would clear a stock swingarm unless you stuck an extra link in the chain and pulled the wheel way, way back.

 

[jd750ace]

My 79 Special has a Hi-Max 130/90-16 on the back and it clears the swingarm by about 3/16" inch each side. Not much to spare.
For the OP: Nobody tried to tell you a wider than stock tire was better did they? Or is this another one of those "look" things that I don't get?

 

[lidirtrider]

Your right, not all 130s are the same. I put Dunlop D404 on my 1980 and it fit great, but put a Cheng Shin HiMax on my 79 special and I've got almost no clearance. A 130 should fit your 75, given it's the same swing arm size as my 79 and 80.

When I got the bike it had a 16 rear on it, I put a Cheng Shin 130 on, and it was just rubbing the swingarm.

You'd be well advised not to install a wider tire than 120 on that 2.15" rim.

I'll have to double check the size of the rim. When I bought the bike it had a 16 rear on it, so I found complete 18 wheel and tire ebay. But yeah, you are right.

My 79 Special has a Hi-Max 130/90-16 on the back and it clears the swingarm by about 3/16" inch each side. Not much to spare.
For the OP: Nobody tried to tell you a wider than stock tire was better did they? Or is this another one of those "look" things that I don't get?

Nah no one said anything like that. I just wanted to see if the rim and swing arm could handle a slightly wider tire. Mostly for a look, but if mechanically compatible, a little more rubber on the ground never hurts.

I guess I'm really just trying to decipher all the different manufacturers actual sizes. Between the Metric sizes, Alpha-numeric, and Inch sizes, it's nearly impossible find what I'm looking for.

"Hmm..this 4.0x18 tire is nice, how about this 120/80-18, or this MM18? Well, the chart says they should all be the same, but they're all different manufactures..." It's a little overwhelming.

 

[TwoJugs]

Wider tires also work best on wider rims to keep the designed profile and give you the advantges of more rubber contact area. Again, wider rim lets the tire grow wider inflated.
I have a 5.0 x 18 Avon using a stock 2.15 rim, it has an extended swingarm that helps some.

My issue is the chain slapping the tire. I have another that uses 1/8 spacers under the sprockets and that helped keep scuffs off the sidewall, but again on an extended swingarm.

 

[jd750ace]

If you are pinching a wider tire on the same narrow rim you can end up with considerably LESS contact than the design size. Very seldom does a wider tire equate to a larger contact patch. There used to be a web site that had a guy's illustration of this by mounting different tires on the same bike and wheel, and rolling them over white paper in the upright, 15 degree, and 25 degree angles with 1 g loading (just bike weight) to show how different the contact patch can be, and the majority of the time, bias ply wider tires resulted in LESS contact at the higher lean angles than the stock size. As much as I fight with them on a regular basis, engineers do actually know and understand a thing or two.

 

[jamesgs4]

You also have to consider tire clearance to the chain. I ran a 130 maxxis and it would rub the sidewall when the chain started stretching.

 

[Mharrington]

You also have to consider tire clearance to the chain. I ran a 130 maxxis and it would rub the sidewall when the chain started stretching.

The drive chain on my 1980 brushes the white letters on the 130 Spitfire Bridgestone because of the width. Ground a big clearance notch into the chain guard too (If your running one)

 

[astaleb]

Longer swingarm