Rear Tyre Size

Hiya, noob here.

I have a k7 sv650s, just wander what effect changing the back tyre size from 160 to 180 will have on the bike, and even if it's possible to do it. Maybe someone has even done it...... who knows

Yeap someone has done it, to be honest its not worth doing especially on a standard rim!!! Stick with the 160's.

[jambo]

While you can shoe horn a 180 tyre on the standard rim it'll be badly pinched, and likely feel very odd. You'd get no advantage from it I'm sure and it's arguably dangerous to do so, your insurance company / MOT inspector would almost certainly take a dim view.

People have fitted Bandit 1200 wheels to the curvy 99-02 model by machining up some spacers, I'm sure something similar is possible with the pointy 2003-> bikes but I've not seen one done yet. The biggest benefit of this is almost certainly that the rear tyre looks fat, and thus impressive, rather than because it'll make the bike feel or perform better.

Jambo

[yorkie_chris]

Yeah it's a bit wierd having a 180 on the standard rim, hard to describe but not as nice as a proper one.

There's quite a few different ways to put a wider rim on, some have used bandit 12's and CBR wheels. But it's a mess around as mentioned above.

Thanks very much for the advice, I now see no point in putting on a bigger tyre and you have saved me money and possiblly my life.

[yorkie_chris]

Well it's not a guarantee of instant death as many people who've never done it will tell you. But it's no upgrade.

[northwind]

If you're going to do it, do it right... The 160 is pinched on a 4.5 rim never mind a 180! But it's fairly easy to fit a Bandit 1200 wheel (among others) which will take a 180. There's a weight penalty, though not a terrible one, and all you need is spacer work really (yes, I know I said I was nearly done with the numbers ages back, I've not gone back to it yet- still working on my own swap)

There's other impacts... 180 naturally has slower turn-in characteristics, but that could be offset by geometry work and tyre profiles (my own bike turns stupidly fast for a road bike, I can quite happily lose some of that twitch-response without worrying). It does theoretically have more contact patch when leaned, but that's not really a benefit for most of us. Also, the 180 is more expensive.

But... On the other hand... It looks ace And when I do it, it'll still ditch a couple of kilos so the usual criticisms won't really apply. It's definately just a bling mod for me though.

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

Well it's not a guarantee of instant death as many people who've never done it will tell you. But it's no upgrade.

I think that is a nice summery!

I have got a 180 on the rear of my SV at the mo, it has been on there ages now, never caused any sort of problems with it coming off the rim etc.

Why did you want to put a 180 on? I did it coz I had a 180 kicking around.

If it was to make it look cooler, then yep, you can get a 180 on there, if it is performance upgrade, then you are barking up the wrong tree

[yorkie_chris]

Had a puncture and needed the bike, and it was free.