anyone running 18"....

rears AND front wheels / tires?

Thinking about a Ben English mentioned (INOA Yahoo group posting.. http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/INO ... sage/22262 ) combo of a 100/90-18 on a WM3 in the front and a 110/90-18 on a WM4 in the rear ( or maybe a 120/80-18).
I couldn't pass up an eBay Buy it now auction last night for a set of Excel shouldered rims..

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... MEWNX%3AIT


JD

I ran 18" WM2 front and WM3 rear with various tyre combinations. I came to the conclusion Commando's don't like large section tyres
There's no real advantage to a larger section anyway ,if you're lucky they'll just slow the steering down and turn the bike into a barge, if your unlucky they'll make it weave at anything over 70.

Back on skinny tyres with a 19" front and 18" rear with skinny tyres and the world is much happier place (and the steering dampers in the bin)

Ben and I go back to '99 and you can't beat his advice on tire and rim fitment. My special Ms Peel will wear the combo you describe and my current factory Combat does too for 3 days now d/t rear flat tire replacement. Barely detectable difference in steering leaning and powering effort d/t the bit wider heavier tire. But the extra wear way more makes up for that.

Wondering if you have a front disk? I think the rim would have to have a specific drilling pattern to accomodate it.

Also I just went from a 120/90 x 18 in the rear to 110/90 and it does improve the fast flickability in corners. You practically need a shoehorn to get the 120/90 in there anyway.

Like Rich, I also took off my steering damper but I have to credit the Dave Taylor headsteady for that. An old friend rode my bike around the block while visiting from CA and the first thing he did when he got back home was to order the DT headsteady and the Lansdowne dampers for his '71. We had both been fighting the instability issues since Day 1. I'm running a WM-3 x 19 Akront in the front with 100/90 tire. When that tire wears out I will go to a 90/90.

Ben is right. Skinny is good.

nix the 120... Going to go 100/90-18 up front and 110/90-18 in the back.

So any more comments from y'all who run 18's f & r, appreciate and need them to know what to expect.. hopefully no surprises..

I've already commited for the wheels, as I said $120 for a "NEW" set of Excel shouldered rims with polishing was something that I could not pass by. Normal venders retails would be around $650.

JD

JD, you may want to go up teeth on the front sprocket and get your speedo re calibrated.

I have MK3 with 18" wheels and they are good, apart from the above.

I went to 23 teeth and had the speedo re calibrated.

graeme

You could get a side chair ? or another bike , and have two rears . :mrgreen:

There's a 20T on gearbox sprocket now, but the bike has an RGM belt drive that alters the ratios to where it's like a 22T.
I'll see how the speedo measures once it's all up and running, but I really am not that anal about speedo accuracy.. +/- 5mph is ok by me.

My last 850 I had ran a 120/80-18 and never touched the speedo for 10 years.

JD

GRM 450 said:

JD, you may want to go up teeth on the front sprocket and get your speedo re calibrated.

I have MK3 with 18" wheels and they are good, apart from the above.

I went to 23 teeth and had the speedo re calibrated.

graeme

Click to expand...

I didn't worry about the speedo's optomistic readings until it started to wind off the clock and make loud screetching noises at 60mph, got it fixed and calibrated at the same time

Jeff,

On my Mk3, I'm running a 100/90/19" WM2 Roadrider on the front (pretty much stock) and a 110/90/18" Wm3 Roadrider on the rear. This combination gives the same rolling diameter on front and rear for good handling and a larger contact patch in the rear. The 120s track awfully close to the chainguard. The 110/90s should work just fine on a WM4 rim. I have to say I've never liked that weeney OEM tire on the rear of a Commando. IMHO, the Commando deserves a meatier rear tire.

Rick

Correction

I run 2 Battlax BT45s on 18"s 110/90 front and 120/80 rear with a Norman White headsteady and the handling is rock solid and great fun.

I run 30 psi front and 32 psi rear BTW.

Had trouble with 18" front & rear for years.
Now 19" front, 18" back is excellent. Metzeler on the back, never had such a good tyre on it.

Just re-confrimming my own repeated back to back experience that the 110x18" rear and 100x19 front is the right combo to enjoy the light footedness of Commando's yet get more mileage and bit more grip in the loose stuff, ahh... on plain factory Combat Trixie. I don't find leaned traction to be a factor on a factory powered Cdo with the 110 vs 100 or 90 size but sure did on Ms Peel which did get more lean grip on pavement and THE Grit by going to 120 but kinda sucked using it up the rest of the way, like running in work boots last couple weeks on Trixie until 2 days now to again appreciate the difference. 110 does make the rear look more masculine power planting proportions than ballet like 100 or 90 but not a fat ass corner cripple like moderns.

Compound softness makes more difference than tire size on Cdo's power and weight I found so keep that in mind for track days and sports bike games in public. Fiddle both air pressures with 2-3 lb lower in front and see if a sweet balance of handling vs effort is found.

Hobot...

Ben's suggestion on the front in the INOA post was (if one is to use an 18") then it should be 100/90-18 to get the same feel as his "favorite" front.
the quote:


"That said, the smaller diameter rims do force you away from tire widths that
might otherwise be recommended. Stock tires are 100/90-19. To get the
same rolling diameter with your new rims, you would need 110/90-18. I would
recommend exactly that size in the rear, or possibly 120/80-18 if you insist
on the fat tire look. In front I would go for 100/90-18, which would give
close to the snappy steering of my favorite front tire for a stock rim
(90/90-19)."

JD

jeffdavison said:

nix the 120... Going to go 100/90-18 up front and 110/90-18 in the back.

So any more comments from y'all who run 18's f & r, appreciate and need them to know what to expect.. hopefully no surprises..

I've already commited for the wheels, as I said $120 for a "NEW" set of Excel shouldered rims with polishing was something that I could not pass by. Normal venders retails would be around $650.

JD

Click to expand...

Wow, $120 is a really great price, but its only a great deal if the rims are drilled for your hubs. I hope you got it right!

I have an out if needed...

but even if not, I could easliy put them back on eBay and resell if needed.

so my risk is minimal.

JD

T95 said:

jeffdavison said:

nix the 120... Going to go 100/90-18 up front and 110/90-18 in the back.

So any more comments from y'all who run 18's f & r, appreciate and need them to know what to expect.. hopefully no surprises..

I've already commited for the wheels, as I said $120 for a "NEW" set of Excel shouldered rims with polishing was something that I could not pass by. Normal venders retails would be around $650.

JD

Click to expand...

Wow, $120 is a really great price, but its only a great deal if the rims are drilled for your hubs. I hope you got it right!

Click to expand...