So I took the front wheel off my 94 Honda Magna and took it to a cycle shop to have a new tire put on. I called ahead to see if they had an OEM replacement tire and he said they didn't, but he had one that would work fine. I drove the 30 minutes to the shop and find out that the tire he had was a 120/70/17 instead of the 120/80/17 that is OEM for my bike. I asked if the size difference would matter and a couple of them told me it wouldn't, so I went ahead and had them mount it.
It wasn't until after I got home that I happened to think about the size change screwing up my speedometer. Since it stands off the wheel 10 fewer millimeters than the stock tire, it will have a smaller circumference and will turn more times at speed than the OEM tire. I started looking around on some motorcycle tire websites and most of them will NOT recommend a size other than OEM for a replacement tire. I haven't ridden on the tire yet, so it's still brand new. Does anybody have experience with this or know if any other problems might arise from changing the tire size? Should I have them order an OEM replacement and switch it?
Seven-year-old thread got necro-bumped. Locking.
Zenmervolt - AnandTech Moderator
It wasn't until after I got home that I happened to think about the size change screwing up my speedometer. Since it stands off the wheel 10 fewer millimeters than the stock tire, it will have a smaller circumference and will turn more times at speed than the OEM tire. I started looking around on some motorcycle tire websites and most of them will NOT recommend a size other than OEM for a replacement tire. I haven't ridden on the tire yet, so it's still brand new. Does anybody have experience with this or know if any other problems might arise from changing the tire size? Should I have them order an OEM replacement and switch it?
Seven-year-old thread got necro-bumped. Locking.
Zenmervolt - AnandTech Moderator
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