Max. size rear tire on stock rim??

[Bogie]

Hey guys.....

Need to pick your collective brains. I am looking into a braced and notched swingarm that will accomidate up to a 200 series tire for my 06 Vmax. I don't want to give up the stock rear wheel. I love the look of it.

So what is the the largest tire that can be mounted on the stock 15inch rim. I have seen a 200/70-15 but question wether or not it will work on the stock rim.

 

[firefly]

Hey guys.....

Need to pick your collective brains. I am looking into a braced and notched swingarm that will accomidate up to a 200 series tire for my 06 Vmax. I don't want to give up the stock rear wheel. I love the look of it.

So what is the the largest tire that can be mounted on the stock 15inch rim. I have seen a 200/70-15 but question Wether or not it will work on the stock rim.

First of all a size 200/70X15 will not fit on the stock wheel because it needs a 5.5 - 6.0 inch wide rim, the stock is 3.5 inch wide plus this size tire is bias ply so what is the benefit? it is also a much heavier tire, radial tires are lighter and improve handling.
the only size that would fit is the 170/80X15 it might look nice but handling will suffer a little since it is taller than stock.
The wider the rear tire the clumsier the bike will become in turns but steadier in high speed straights a little.
Think of radial tires and that will require replacing at least the rear wheel to a 5.5 inch wide 17 or 18 inch, I prefer 17 inch since the tire size variety is much more than the 18 inch. you also must consider the hight of a tire,shorter or taller? will affect the bike's handling, max likes a slightly more weight in front this could be accomplished in many different ways like tire sizes, front fork lowering, swing arm stretching, if you pitch the bike forward too much front end dive during braking will increase to dangerous levels in emergency braking.

I would suggest you first start with upgrading the front forks with racetech springs and emulators, then get two good rear shocks , upgrade the brakes too and THEN think of tires.

To be honest The bike with stock size tires 80 profile and suspension upgrades will give you a sweet handling bike, I converted to 17 inch radials & wheels.
good luck.
________
herbalaire reviews

 

[Buster Hymen]

First of all a size 200/70X15 will not fit on the stock wheel because it needs a 5.5 - 6.0 inch wide rim, the stock is 3.5 inch wide plus this size tire is bias ply so what is the benefit? it is also a much heavier tire, radial tires are lighter and improve handling.
the only size that would fit is the 170/80X15 it might look nice but handling will suffer a little since it is taller than stock.
The wider the rear tire the clumsier the bike will become in turns but steadier in high speed straights a little.
Think of radial tires and that will require replacing at least the rear wheel to a 5.5 inch wide 17 or 18 inch, I prefer 17 inch since the tire size variety is much more than the 18 inch. you also must consider the hight of a tire,shorter or taller? will affect the bike's handling, max likes a slightly more weight in front this could be accomplished in many different ways like tire sizes, front fork lowering, swing arm stretching, if you pitch the bike forward too much front end dive during braking will increase to dangerous levels in emergency braking.

I would suggest you first start with upgrading the front forks with racetech springs and emulators, then get two good rear shocks , upgrade the brakes too and THEN think of tires.

To be honest The bike with stock size tires 80 profile and suspension upgrades will give you a sweet handling bike, I converted to 17 inch radials & wheels.
good luck.

+1 on this answer. If you want to go wider, you should invest in a new rim.

 

[Bogie]

First of all a size 200/70X15 will not fit on the stock wheel because it needs a 5.5 - 6.0 inch wide rim, the stock is 3.5 inch wide plus this size tire is bias ply so what is the benefit? it is also a much heavier tire, radial tires are lighter and improve handling.
the only size that would fit is the 170/80X15 it might look nice but handling will suffer a little since it is taller than stock.
The wider the rear tire the clumsier the bike will become in turns but steadier in high speed straights a little.
Think of radial tires and that will require replacing at least the rear wheel to a 5.5 inch wide 17 or 18 inch, I prefer 17 inch since the tire size variety is much more than the 18 inch. you also must consider the hight of a tire,shorter or taller? will affect the bike's handling, max likes a slightly more weight in front this could be accomplished in many different ways like tire sizes, front fork lowering, swing arm stretching, if you pitch the bike forward too much front end dive during braking will increase to dangerous levels in emergency braking.

I would suggest you first start with upgrading the front forks with racetech springs and emulators, then get two good rear shocks , upgrade the brakes too and THEN think of tires.

To be honest The bike with stock size tires 80 profile and suspension upgrades will give you a sweet handling bike, I converted to 17 inch radials & wheels.
good luck.

Thanks bro.......lots of good info there to digest. Thats the kinda responce I was hoping for. :worthy00:

 

[KRL0215]

I agree with Firefly, great post

 

[Rusty McNeil]

I agree with every thing Firefly said.

I did run a 180/70-15 for a while but the effective width wasn't really anymore than a 170/80-15 due to the narrow rim pulling the width in so much.

It was also about an inch? shorter than stock which pushed my cruising RPM's into an almost intolerable range.

I'm running an ME880 170/80-15 now WITHOUT the washer swap and the fit is perfect. love this tire.
Would really prefer a 17" radial but haven't got around to it yet. Kosman seems a good way to go but almost would rather wait till I have $2000 to blow on a matching set of front and rear 3 spoke sportbike style rims.....

 

[Bogie]

I agree with every thing Firefly said.

I did run a 180/70-15 for a while but the effective width wasn't really anymore than a 170/80-15 due to the narrow rim pulling the width in so much.

It was also about an inch? shorter than stock which pushed my cruising RPM's into an almost intolerable range.

I'm running an ME880 170/80-15 now WITHOUT the washer swap and the fit is perfect. love this tire.
Would really prefer a 17" radial but haven't got around to it yet. Kosman seems a good way to go but almost would rather wait till I have $2000 to blow on a matching set of front and rear 3 spoke sportbike style rims.....

Yeh I believe I am going to go with the ME880 170/80-15 till I can gather the scratch for a new set of rims. Funny how money is the deciding factor in all this modding isn't it! hyeah00:

 

[RogerlynnRounds]

Will a 210 40 18 work on my 2019