- Tue Dec 31, 2019 11:35 pm
#405
I wanted to put something better on the bike for every day , all terrain use on the daily beater G-5 . The K-70's I had on there were decent and handled well. BUT .. you get about one season out of the rear's. And that is just ridiculous to me. They were also a little bit on thin side for good traction and higher speed straight line stability, at 3.25 front and 3.50 rear. The Avon Road rider tires that are on my C-5 Cafe bike are excellent road tires and LAST . On that bike I increased the rear tire width from a 110 to a 120 . I also lengthened the rear shock length by 3/4". The bike handles stunningly well in the corners and straight line stability is much improved .
So I wanted to apply some of this better handing to the G-5, and be able to hit some unpaved roads at the same time once in a while . The G-5's have a 19" wheel front and back . The C-5's have a 18" wheel rear and a 19 " up front ... the very early C-5's had a 18 " front and back . I had a spare set of C-5 rims laying around ? And it's too cold out for much riding and I'm bored ?
So after doing some research on dual sport tires and some thinkin' . I decided to get a set of Kenda K671's . The reviews where pretty good on them, and the price was right. So I put a 100/ 90/19 on the front spare C-5 rim and a 120/ 80/ 18 on the back. The front 100/90/19 tire is a little wider then a stock 90/90/19.. and a touch taller. I figured this would give me wider contact patch up front for straight line higher speed stuff. And for the same reason , I stuck a little wider then stock rear tire . Stuck up on the bike... they fit ! Haha ! A bit snug up under the front fender , but plenty of clearance. On the back with the wider tire , I notched the chain guard for piece of mind , as it was close to the tire. But between the chain and swing arm and all else , not a problem. A stock size 110 wide version of this tire should have no issue with the chain guard though.
Because the the original rear wheel on this bike WAS a 19" , I had to compensate for the high difference. The new 120/ 18 " tire IS almost as tall as the stock 19' tire that was on there... but not quite. So I stuck on 1 " longer then stock shocks in the back. So now i'm a little higher overall back there. From past experience on these bikes, I found that rearing the rear end a bit , really makes these bikes handle better in the turns AND straight line stability. It shoves the rider's weight forward a bit, and helps stiffen the frame.
Anyways... just after a quick ride of about 20 miles . MUCH better ! The Kenda's on the road feel as good as a good road tire .. like stock Avon Roadriders. Which I always found to great tires . Which supersized me a bit , because of the Knobby-ish nature of these Dual sport jobs . High spreed straight line stability is awesome. They turn great, and coming out of a turn , they pull you into a straight line nicely. Even shot up a gravel rooster tail on a bit of unpaved area that I found ... haha ! Traction was very good on the wet and damp roads as well. So far, a much better tire then the K70' that where on there and so far, the bike handles great .
So I wanted to apply some of this better handing to the G-5, and be able to hit some unpaved roads at the same time once in a while . The G-5's have a 19" wheel front and back . The C-5's have a 18" wheel rear and a 19 " up front ... the very early C-5's had a 18 " front and back . I had a spare set of C-5 rims laying around ? And it's too cold out for much riding and I'm bored ?
So after doing some research on dual sport tires and some thinkin' . I decided to get a set of Kenda K671's . The reviews where pretty good on them, and the price was right. So I put a 100/ 90/19 on the front spare C-5 rim and a 120/ 80/ 18 on the back. The front 100/90/19 tire is a little wider then a stock 90/90/19.. and a touch taller. I figured this would give me wider contact patch up front for straight line higher speed stuff. And for the same reason , I stuck a little wider then stock rear tire . Stuck up on the bike... they fit ! Haha ! A bit snug up under the front fender , but plenty of clearance. On the back with the wider tire , I notched the chain guard for piece of mind , as it was close to the tire. But between the chain and swing arm and all else , not a problem. A stock size 110 wide version of this tire should have no issue with the chain guard though.
Because the the original rear wheel on this bike WAS a 19" , I had to compensate for the high difference. The new 120/ 18 " tire IS almost as tall as the stock 19' tire that was on there... but not quite. So I stuck on 1 " longer then stock shocks in the back. So now i'm a little higher overall back there. From past experience on these bikes, I found that rearing the rear end a bit , really makes these bikes handle better in the turns AND straight line stability. It shoves the rider's weight forward a bit, and helps stiffen the frame.
Anyways... just after a quick ride of about 20 miles . MUCH better ! The Kenda's on the road feel as good as a good road tire .. like stock Avon Roadriders. Which I always found to great tires . Which supersized me a bit , because of the Knobby-ish nature of these Dual sport jobs . High spreed straight line stability is awesome. They turn great, and coming out of a turn , they pull you into a straight line nicely. Even shot up a gravel rooster tail on a bit of unpaved area that I found ... haha ! Traction was very good on the wet and damp roads as well. So far, a much better tire then the K70' that where on there and so far, the bike handles great .
You'll like those tires out there I think. Good all around tires.