My Bike is great and I really don't think I want anything bigger because I mostly am cruising around in under 60km zones. The only issue is it doesn't look good... well it does, mostly, except when you stand behind it... at which point you notice the cheese cutter back wheel which screams SMALL BIKE!!! I have noticed you couldn't really fit a wider rim in there without a bit of modification.. so what would you have to do to put a wider one in there??? anyone ever tried this?
what size do you have now? i have 140/70/17 which doesnt look too bad, but that's it there is no more room
Yeah I think mine is that size also. Looks small. ZXR and CBR have wider rims and they look better for it. How can we make more room? Is it possible?
Aside from aesthetics is there any real reason you want a wider tyre/rim? Keep in mind that a wider rear tyre/rim will give the bike a dramatically different feel to it... difficult to explain but i guess imagine your riding with a slightly flat rear tyre and that's the effect it may have. Also keep in mind that a wider rear tyre may have issues clearing the chain, the chain guard, and at worst even the swingarm.
I think the recommended maximum back tyre is a 130 and you and I are already over that now. What effect that has I don't really know but usually it's not a positive step. On the small width rim that mine has, the tyre has tread folded down on the side that can't be used and the contact patch radius is very tight.
For a 2KR the widest you'd want to go is a 130, and for a 3LN it's 140. Any wider than that and as i said you'll be facing issues of tyre scraping against things it wasnt meant to!
has anyone considered changing the swingarm? apart from the change in handling characteristics that a wider tyre would bring, what other implications would there be? (assuming we could find a swingarm that would fit properly) the small rear tyre never really bothered me but as some of you will know, earlier this year i did an r1 ducktail conversion and it kind does look funny now... simon
A change in the handling characteristics due to the the length of the swingarm. Don't forget that you are going to have to also calculate a new shock in with that. Not saying it can't be done. I have 2 members, one FZR with a Duc 916 singlesided and another with a VFR singlesided.
Well if you did the the R1 ductail conversion, then i'd highly recommend swapping the front end aswell. Then go for the brakes, front suspension, rear swingarm. Once you've done all of those you might want to consider the wheels, then the engine. Last but not least, those R1 instruments are pretty swish. <!-- s:lol: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_lol.gif" alt=":lol:" title="Laughing" /><!-- s:lol: -->
lol If you put a wider swing arm on you may encounter issues with the chain not running straight. ie. if you move the rear sprocket out further, then you'll have to move the front sprocket out to match.
