Wider Tires on small bikes?

[ClareQuilty]

I've noticed the Thai youths put those narrow tires on their bikes, and I've even had to change them back to standard size on a couple of the cheap Tenas and so forth that I've bought.

The converse seems to be very rare, but I have seen, once or twice, Thais driving around on a Wave or somesuch with much larger (wider/thicker) than standard tires on it. Is this beneficial in terms of stopping or ride comfort?

[Goshawk]

a bloke near us has a standard Honda Dream, with the chunkiest knarly knobblers i've ever seen on such a sewing machine bike.. it looks way cool !

the ultra thin tyres with the youth on a Wave/Dream etc... i've noticed a lot lately too. Are they doing it in korea? would explain it.....

[kiske]

They put the skinny tires on for 'drag' racing. Gives them a bit more acceleration.

Not sure how fat you could realistically go, before the tire would rub on the swing arm.

I love how chunky the ksr tires are in comparison to the bike, though.

[VocalNeal]

Clare,

I have done that on a Wave but I bought slightly wider rims, aluminium ones. Available at accessory shops. If you go larger it does effect the handling but I don't ride well enough to notice any difference. It is cheap to get the spokes taken out of your existing ones and re laced into the new rims.That way you can fit larger tires . Stock is 70/90 on the front I used 100/80 Bridgestone BT39S (about $35). On the rear I can't remember as I used Indonesia IRC. My size choice was made more from availability than science. I wanted better grip in the wet, the wife having already dropped the bike on the way back from the village shop.

I thinks these are before and after you can see the aluminum rims have a higher bead.

And to answer the why? Well in remote places everyone needs a hobby!

Edited June 14, 2013 by VocalNeal

[KRS1]

Never put bigger tires on a scooter but i have on a cbr. When i went 2 sizes up the front tire kinda had a mind of its own on front, the rear was too heavy for the engine and lost acceleration and top speed.

On another bike i only went 1 size up and didn't have as much negative effects as above.

[Neilly]

Honda have been fitting fatter tyres to a few of Scoopy models

[foggy1]

I recently bought a Zoomer and had previously had an airblade.

The ride is a lot more comfortable and I was surprised at the difference in feel and comfort with the fatter tyres over the thinner Blades tyres

Slightly fatter is the way to go with smaller bikes for comfort... but I dont apply that thinking to girl friends

[BSJ]

Now the rainy season is upon us I want a set of these for the PCX, but all I can find advertised are 16's....in other countries.

[chaiyapoon]

I have Yamaha fresh 2 which got a damaged front tire

from a serious pothole.I reasoned a larger stronger front tire would be a better bet.

Luckily I had seen a few bikes with this mod, and chose to change to gold alloy rims at the same time.

didn't notice any difference in handling at all.

[ttakata]

Assuming the tires are the same tread and rubber compounds.

Bigger tires= slower acceleration, slower turning, more chance to hydroplane at high speed, but also more grip, more comfort, and better braking.

I just ride in slow Bangkok so I chose to put bigger tires on my scooter because braking and grip are more important than acceleration.

[CMKiwi]

GF has a DTracker 150, we both found the wheels to be too small so swapped them with a mechanic at Kawasaki for his KLX 150 wheels. Found the riding to be a lot better, partially cause it can now ride over bumps easier. Recently changed the tyres from offroad to semi slicks. Took a while to find them but wow its made a difference.

100/90-19 upfront with 100/90-16 in the rear. Good grip and they dont feel like they will slide out when cornering. The only downside Ive found is that the acceleration has dropped off a bit as they are quite a bit heavier than the originals. I also have to change the sprockets as the original DTracker sprockets are larger compared to KLX sprockets.

So in reply to the original post.... yes I find wider tyres better