Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Performance Mods Tire size question

I'm getting a set of Avon Venoms...our front stock tire size is 110/90-18...Avon doesn't make this size, in a Venom anyway...choice of 100/90-18 or 120/90-18...I'd rather go up a size than down...anyone see any problems with this idea, or has anyone done it? thanks in advance for any comments...

You will get quicker steering and handling by going to the smaller size front tire. You will gain nothing by going up in size on the front tire.

yes i am running a 130 /80 on the front of my bike... note your front fender will not fit with this size tire..

ED

I have the Metzeler 880 Marathon 120/90 waiting in the garage...

Are going to have them put on the bike this weekend.

It´s much larger put side by side with the front stock Bridgestone, and that is what i want it to be.

I am sure it will look great on the bike and i hope it performs as good as it looks.

Johann

110/80-18 is the stock front tire size.

There's quite a bit of clearance between the fender and the tire if you look closely. I think the 120 will fit but I can't be super sure. I have actually lowered my fender onto the tire closer with no problem.

I've just decided to get the following tires:
Metzeler ME880
Front Tire 110/90 R 18
Rear Tire 170/80 R 15

anyone know which tubes to put in are the best, and does the size of the tube have to match the tire? American moto tire suggested a tube that is not the same size as the front I'm planning to order.

Johann, let me know how it fits, and how it rides...I'm putting on the Avon Venoms, as I've said, but the ride will probably comparable,I think.

Wolf,

I will do..

Have snow here now, but hopfully it will go away real soon!!

Johann

R is the speed rating of the tire, which is rated for up to 108 mph. Stock tire has an H rating which is good to 130 mph. Personally, I'd stick with the H rated tires.

I don't know about the America, but on my Speedmaster the 110/90 - 18 is as tall as I'd want to run. There's about 1/4" clearance between the tire and the inside of the front fender, where before with the stock tire there was more like 3/4" of clearance.

Various aspect ratios of some of the tires in question on this thread:

120/80 = 96mm or 3.78 inches(sidewall heighth)
110/90 = 99mm or 3.90 inches
110/80 = 88mm or 3.46 inches

OK...while were discussing tire size...I know the stock BA tires are Shite and I intend to replace them ASAP prob. b4 they NEED to be...I would prefer a wider foot print in the rear...assuming stock rims...what is the widest tire I can run W/O needing to screw around with relacing and new rims ect.

prett sure 80 is the nagic number, but wont be much wider then the 170 on the same rim. i would say just go with a metzeler or avon 170 and you will be happy

Frank

Hey might be a dumb question, but are the tires for the america radial or belted?

These are the tires I was going to order. Not sure if they are right.

METZELER ME880 110/90HB-18 FRONT
METZELER ME880 170/80HB-15 REAR

Belted, and the sizes are correct.

Sal, we spend most all of our time riding on the street, not in a parking lot.So your tech would set the bike up to handle better in a parking lot, not the street. Maybe should find a new tech. Vegas

Geez, I'm already taking the bike 120 miles away, because my local dealer has idiots for techs. If I have to find another dealer, I might end up taking my bike to California.

The tech doesn't setup the bike, he only adjusts the valves, and that's the only thing I take the bike to the dealer to have done. I didn't even get the tire from the dealer. I just took it as a offhand comment about the tire and not something to be taken as his gospel about bike handling. I did mention to him about how I didn't care too much for it since it lightened the front end up, and he saw that point I was trying to make. I also raised the fork tubes in the yoke about 1/2" to combat the problem. The stock tire size though is the correct solution. There was a time though when it was tough to find a 33 Laser, and I didn't want to wait 2 weeks or more to get one. When I put the 880 on the front, I was getting the bike ready for a 1700 mile trip so I didn't have the luxury of waiting around for the correct size tire, and to be honest, the 880 was $50 cheaper than a 33 Laser. Since I'm a cheap SOB, it seemed to be a good idea at the time.

I just put a new Avon 120/90-18 on the front of my 02 America and it clears the fender bracket fine at slower speeds but at around 70MPH the centrifugal force causes the tire to increase in diameter and it starts rubbing the inside of the fender bracket. I'm working on a solution right now hopfully without having to cut the bracket in half. T

Try enlarging the mounting holes in the bracket where it bolts to the forks. Then the thing will just slide up a bit. Works oppositely to hug the tire more.

Thanks Benny, That is exactly what I am doing, Elongating the holes verticaly, All I need is about 1/8" more and all is good. Take care T

TMAX,

Did you ever do that enlarging of the hole and try it? How fast did you go with no problem?