What onroad /off road tires should I buy for my 79 Special?

jurgenkoppen

jurgenkoppen

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Hi experts of all xs650 related questions,
I am living 3 miles back in the woods, down logging roads
650pic 003.jpg

and it gets muddy and very slippery back here in the rain. So I am buying extra rims to install "winter tires" . What rubber would you recommend for my 79 Special? I already jacked her up in the back with longer shocks, but it is still very much a street bike...
 
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Since they are going on a different set of rims, just choose a good knobby tire with a rib down the middle. The knobbs will grab mud, and on the street, the rib will give a smooth ride.
 
Thank you Angus. So far I only see the Bridgestone Trail wing TW39 for the front and TW40 fitting at all, which are all knobby and no rib in the middle. So I am wondering about the possibility of installing a larger rear rim. The choices are very limited with the 16"rim in the rear. Does the Standard not have a larger rear rim, and if so would it fit into my Special? As you can see there is now plenty of room for a larger wheel with my longer shocks jacking the bike up.
 
Hi Jurgen,
Yeah, it's way easier to swap wheels than to swap tires. Thing is, good off-road tires wear out real quick on paved roads so you got decisions to make. Grip vs longevity. You can't have both. But the only thing more costly than new tires is getting collision damage fixed.
Never mind the 20/80 compromise rubber, buy the grippiest dirt tires you can find.
Another thing you can do is put the pig on a diet. Lighter is better on dirt. Aluminum or plastic fenders & gas tank save weight.
So will losing the leftside front disk (and fitting a smaller diameter front brake M/C so the rightside disk still works nice.)
And please, lose the rototiller bars, they gotta be a swine to steer with, especially on dirt.
MikesXS #10 tracker bar is what I'd recommend for riding off road.
[edit] If you don't mind swapping to wire wheels an 18" rear off a standard will drop right in
but as all available 18" rears have drum brakes that will involve swapping some brake parts and a different torque stay, removing the rear M/C plus welding a second torque stay bracket onto the swingarm.
Any wire wheel front can be swapped in so the wheels will match.
Disadvantage:- wire wheels can't run tubeless.
Stock 18" rear is 110/90-18. Fattest 18" rear that'll fit nice is 120/90-18.[endedit]
 
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Hi Jurgen,
no matter what, an XS650 is too heavy to be a good dirt bike.
How about you build a really secure shed where the logging road meets the blacktop to keep your XS650 in.
Get a real dirt bike to ride to the shed and back.
 
Hey Fred, thank you for all the leads. I am not really wishing to turn the bike into a full fledged dirt bike. It is only 3km of gravel and slime I have to travel to get out on the pavement, and there another 20 km into town on pavement, and of course return. I am having Metzeler 880 on my bike for my dry season, and they serve me well, but are very slick when it is slick. Since I drive year round, it is BC after all and hence doable, I just wish to stay upright through the black mud sections. Suppose I could just slow down, God forbid, and that is the least expensive solution. The other few times I can use the "winter tires" is for doing the gravel roads to my buddy's places....So ultimately, the bike will be used still 80 % on regular roads, albeit they are slimy with leaves, needles, and assorted crap. Shed building is frowned upon here, when it is not on my land. They, the conventional folk, can be really sticky on that point. Thank you also for clarifying the spoke 18" swap and its draw backs. I have a chance to grab just a set of 79 Special rims for a good price, so I think I will just buy the Bridgestone TW39 front, and the TW40 rear, which are even available here in Canada at 33%off regular and free shipping at Fortnine. I was just put off because in one review these Stone Trail Wings were called the wings of Death.....but they can't be worse than my 880s in black organic forrest mud roads. Cheers and thanks again from the Best coast.
PS, I know you have been messing with xs11s as well. What about somehow converting my parts xs11 Standard's 18" rear wheel rim, undo the shaft hub receptacle , stick a sprocket on instead to fit into my xs650. Did anybody ever try that?
 
jurgenkoppen said:
Hey Fred, thank you for all the leads. I am not really wishing to turn the bike into a full fledged dirt bike. It is only 3km of gravel and slime I have to travel to get out on the pavement, and there another 20 km into town on pavement, and of course return. I am having Metzeler 880 on my bike for my dry season, and they serve me well, but are very slick when it is slick. Since I drive year round, it is BC after all and hence doable, I just wish to stay upright through the black mud sections. Suppose I could just slow down, God forbid, and that is the least expensive solution. The other few times I can use the "winter tires" is for doing the gravel roads to my buddy's places....So ultimately, the bike will be used still 80 % on regular roads, albeit they are slimy with leaves, needles, and assorted crap. Shed building is frowned upon here, when it is not on my land. They, the conventional folk, can be really sticky on that point. Thank you also for clarifying the spoke 18" swap and its draw backs. I have a chance to grab just a set of 79 Special rims for a good price, so I think I will just buy the Bridgestone TW39 front, and the TW40 rear, which are even available here in Canada at 33%off regular and free shipping at Fortnine. I was just put off because in one review these Stone Trail Wings were called the wings of Death.....but they can't be worse than my 880s in black organic forrest mud roads. Cheers and thanks again from the Best coast.
PS, I know you have been messing with xs11s as well. What about somehow converting my parts xs11 Standard's 18" rear wheel rim, undo the shaft hub receptacle , stick a sprocket on instead to fit into my xs650. Did anybody ever try that?
Click to expand...

Hi jurgen,
never mind which brand of knobbies to use on your XS650, hang a sidecar on it?
An extreme solution I know but there's all manner of advantages, too, besides a sidecar rig's added stability.
You can pack a load of stuff in one, they are great chick magnets and they improve folks feelings towards the operator.
The same family groups in (say) a supermarket parking lot who'd shepherd their kids away from a greasy hairy biker and his solo bike will bring them to socialise with that same biker if his bike has a sidecar on it.
You sure that your extra XS1100 Standard rear wheel is an 18"?
My Clymer sez the Standard's rear wheel is a 17" and I've bought enough rear tires for my XS11 Special to know it's a 16"
But to fit an XS11 rear wheel into an XS650? I'd suggest stealing BSA's QD rear wheel concept.
The XS11 wheel "unplugs" off a spline on the rear drive. Keep that "as is".
Steal the spline out of a spare rear drive, mount it on an adapter with appropriately sized wheel bearings in it and a sprocket bolted onto it.
Has the advantage that the rear wheel can be removed while leaving the sprocket & chain undisturbed.
So yeah, I suppose it's possible but is it worth the hassle? Especially as I understand that 17" tire selection is worse than either 16" or 18".
 
Chickmagnet??? Say no more....:) Lets see your side car conversion! No, kidding aside ( the current chick sticking to my already compelling magnetism says "forget it buster" or something along that line), I am curious to learn about your sidecar for novelty's sake.

\
 
jurgenkoppen said:
Chickmagnet??? Say no more....:) Lets see your side car conversion! No, kidding aside ( the current chick sticking to my already compelling magnetism says "forget it buster" or something along that line), I am curious to learn about your sidecar for novelty's sake.
\
Click to expand...

Hi Jurgen,
here's the latest photo I have:-

IMAG0005.jpg


It shows my Heritage Special connected to my American Spirit sidecar.
The American Spirit is a touch heavy for an XS650 so I switched it to an XS11
Your best bargain for an XS650-compatable sidecar is a used Velorex or similar mid-weight sidecar..
I'm running a Velorex 562 right now but I don't have a photo.
The hard part is making a suitable sub-frame but if you are serious PM me and I'll talk you through it.
 
Tubeless will depend on the bike. My bike has mags, but they are not tubless. I haven't figured out the exact thing that determines tubeless or not. Maybe it's 80 or newer.
 
Hey Growl, thank for the lead. The VRM look really attractive, and have excellent reviews, but are not available in Canada, in the right sizes, as far as I can see. Shipping 2 tires from the US suppliers just about doubles the price. So did you fit the rear 120/90-16 and the front 90/100-19 on your machine, i.e: on mags? I am asking a Canadian supplier to start carrying these, to serve all us xs650 riders with mud road issues. As far as I understand, Coconut Pete, all us mag wheel folks are good with the tubeless tires.
 
On the Mag wheels, the ones you can run tubeless on have SUITABLE FOR TUBLESS TIRES written on one of the spokes.
Some run tubeless on the Mag's without the markings. I think on some of the early wheels there was a porosity issue, air could leak out through the wheel.
When in doubt put a tube in it.
Leo
 
Here are the links:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D6N0VE8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0055DS4FA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I like them so far, but I don't ride a lot so I may not be the best person to review these. I don't feel like they are noisy or rough tires and the few times I got stuck in the rain they did fine. I do wish the Kenda came in a 16" size so I could have matched them, but I like the way they look as-is.
 
CoconutPete said:
Here are the links:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D6N0VE8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0055DS4FA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I like them so far, but I don't ride a lot so I may not be the best person to review these. I don't feel like they are noisy or rough tires and the few times I got stuck in the rain they did fine. I do wish the Kenda came in a 16" size so I could have matched them, but I like the way they look as-is.
Click to expand...
I went with the Duro as you recommended, and ordered the Vee Rubber for the front. Thanks for your help...cheers
 

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