going from 18" wheels to 19" wheels...
going from 18" wheels to 19" wheels...I'm experiencing the extreme lack of vintage tires in the 18" range. However, I noticed that there is a decent variety in the 19" range. I plan on getting new wheels made from Buchanon regardless and was wondering if I should upgrade to 19's to make tire shopping a bit easier. The question is really how will switching to 19's affect the speedo? Is it something I can correct?
Your speedo can be adjusted and calibrated if you need to, but it requires taking it apart and adjusting the tension on the needle spring.
Taking the speedo apart takes some patience, but is do-able, and there are several posts detailing this from G-Man and others if you do a search. One calibration method is shown at near the end of this thread: http://www.honda305.com/forums/viewtopi ... c&start=10 Another method might be simply re-positioning the speedo needle and spring stop to off set the error. Most speedo readings are high when new by a few MPH anyway, so it is possible that increasing the tire size may actually make yours more accurate. 66 dream, 78 cb750k, 02fz1, 09 wing
Re: going from 18" wheels to 19" wheels...I see lots of 18" tires for my CB72/77 needs and think ya will find some.
A lot less problem than ya will have with the speedo and changing the geometry of the bike. .........lm
Ed - Who do you use for your tire source, and what tires are you using on your CB77? I was relying on Dunlop K82's for a while, but they've discontinued them in the 2.75" size. As well, Cheng Shin is out of business, and they seemed to be the ones that people used most often. I was able to find Michelin M62 Gazelles in our sizes (through Motorcycle Superstore), but I was told by the retailer that Michelin decides from year-to-year which tires they will continue to manufacture and which ones to discontinue based on demand (so theoretically they could disappear at any time).
I do agree that sticking with 18" wheels would be much easier than going to 19" wheels, but I also agree that our selection of 18" tires is slowly whittling down (at least from what I've been able to find). Any tire suggestions/sources you could recommend would be greatly welcomed!
I use CS and have for years.
I think William Gray still has some. I've never had a problem with the CS and I probably ride as hard/fast as anyone. ......lm
The cheng shins are still around but are fading fast. I found one avon speedmaster front in an 18" that I'm going to grab up tomorrow.
All of the vintage look tires have very limited selection in 18 though. The roadriders seem to fit well but I don't want the look of a modern tire. I guess I'll stick with the 18's as long as this next set of tires goes for. Perhaps by then we'll have a resurgence in the vintage tire market or coker will expand their lineup.
Just picked up the last Avon Speedmaster front in 18" from a drag racing company of all places. Turns out the front tires on the vintage racers are the same as the motorcycles of that era as well. The guy called Avon to confirm that they were not making 18" anymore in their speedmaster lineup unfortunately so it was a good score.
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