[Miketron75]

Hello,
New to the forum, first post! Just grabbed a sweet 72 cl350 and I want to do some mild mods to it, its too nice to hack up. First thing I want to do is put some new shoes on her. I want to throw on some shenko 705s, what is the biggest size I can put on the rear? 120/90/18? thinking this and a 100 or 110/80/19 on front, saw somewhere a guy used these sized with avons on a cb350. Thoughts?

 

[Lefty]

Unless you have a vision in mind I'd stay around stock sizes I think irc makes dual sports

 

[ScramblerCurtis]

On my itemized list of things to get for my CL350 are these tires -

3.00-19 front and 3.50-18 rear - IRC DUROTOUR RS310 ; 80/90 - front and 100/90 rear; Continental TKC 80 Twinduro

I wouldn't go bigger than 120 for the rear.

 

[Miketron75]

Tires

On my itemized list of things to get for my CL350 are these tires -

3.00-19 front and 3.50-18 rear - IRC DUROTOUR RS310 ; 80/90 - front and 100/90 rear; Continental TKC 80 Twinduro

I wouldn't go bigger than 120 for the rear.

Yes I'm absolutely going for a specific vision, I want to keep the bike fairly stock and clean looking but I want to put some gnarly tires on and beef up the size because the stock tires are just 2 spindly looking and I've seen some awesome brat scramblers out there with larger tire sizes that look better and handle better in dirt. I'm not looking to do knee dragging cornering so I don't really care about sidewall Flex which nobody seems to have a problem with anyway increasing size tires , but I would like to have the squishiness of a larger tire off road. Has anyone out there tried a 120 on the back?

 

[Miketron75]

Yes I'm absolutely going for a specific vision, I want to keep the bike fairly stock and clean looking but I want to put some gnarly tires on and beef up the size because the stock tires are just 2 spindly looking and I've seen some awesome brat scramblers out there with larger tire sizes that look better and handle better in dirt. I'm not looking to do knee dragging cornering so I don't really care about sidewall Flex which nobody seems to have a problem with anyway increasing size tires , but I would like to have the squishiness of a larger tire off road. Has anyone out there tried a 120 on the back?

 

[Lefty]

What do the sl's use probably the same swing arm?

 

[MDM]

I don't really care about sidewall Flex

...or the decreased contact patch that a larger tire can give one on pavement with the tires properly inflated? If it's to be a "dirt/trail only" motorcycle then that is probably not a consideration, I suppose.

Regards,

 

[66Sprint]

You CAN put on "FAT" tires, and are only limited by mechanical clearance as long as you also lace on rims appropriate to that "fatter/wider" tire sizing.....
Installing tires that are larger than the tire manufacturer recommends for a particular rim width is both dangerous and stupid....

 

[Miketron75]

guys, I have seen multiple cb350s running 120/90/18 on the back, 100/80/19 on front...on stock rims...does anybody have any experience specifically with this?

 

[Yendor]

Just because you have "SEEN IT DONE" - does NOT mean it a good thing or SAFE.
You Tube is full of proof for the statement above.

But hey it's your bike and your life.

Is your Disability Insurance all paid up?

 

[Miketron75]

Let me elaborate a little bit here, this is probably it approaching bike number 50 for myself overtime and maybe the 5th or 6th CB ive had...never had a 350 until now. I've raced Semi-Pro Motocross, Hare scrambles, and vintage track for 20 years so I'm not really looking for any negativity here, I'm well aware of what happens when putting oversized tires on a rim but that's not really what is going on here, a 120 on a stock CB rear Rim is the equivalent of a 4 inch tire, specs call for 3 and a half it's really not a big deal.

 

[Miketron75]

Also instead of cutting me down and making remarks about my insurance policy, maybe someone could recommend exact sizes they might put on a cl350 ...I'm getting a set of Shinko 705 tires. These modern tires don't come with inch designations, they utilize the new sizing measurements.

 

[JAYinNY]

Let me elaborate a little bit here, this is probably it approaching bike number 50 for myself overtime and maybe the 5th or 6th CB ive had...never had a 350 until now. I've raced Semi-Pro Motocross, Hare scrambles, and vintage track for 20 years so I'm not really looking for any negativity here, I'm well aware of what happens when putting oversized tires on a rim but that's not really what is going on here, a 120 on a stock CB rear Rim is the equivalent of a 4 inch tire, specs call for 3 and a half it's really not a big deal.

The OEM tires sizes on a CL350 are 3.00 for the front and 3.50 for the rear. The metric width conversion of modern tires works out to this: 90 = 3.54", 100 = 3.94", 110 = 4.33" and 120 = 4.73". If you've got to go bigger my recommendation would be a 90/90 for the front and a 100/90 for the back, maximum. A 120 is way too big.

 

[MDM]

Some of our members are a bit outspoken, lol. Please bear in mind that others may - and almost certainly will - see this thread in the future and not have a great deal of experience with running different-sized tires than stock recommendations. Also... If someone runs a tire that is wider than the manufacturer of that tire recommends for a given rim and there is an accident, it is conceivable that they could be determined to be at fault. Furthermore, there is a difference between what is acceptable (or even better) off-road versus on-road. Yes, you know this (but others might not, so it is not necessarily a bad idea to (over-)stress the point, since most riders of road-legal vehicles probably ride them on the roads at least some of the time (you, yourself, used the term "dualsport" instead of "off-road," lol).

maybe someone could recommend exact sizes they might put on a cl350 ...I'm getting a set of Shinko 705 tires. These modern tires don't come with inch designations, they utilize the new sizing measurements.

This link might help:

https://www.google.com/search?q=motorcycle+tire+SAE+to+metric+conversion+chart&gws_rd=ssl

Simply emailing a tire manufacturer, mentioning your specific rim sizes, and asking for their recommendations could also be quite helpful. After all, it has been shown that not every tire of "x" size is actually exactly the same size (even when looking only at tires from the same manufacturer).

Finally... And this is not meant to be "cutting you down," merely a humorous observation, but I'm surprised you haven't seen tire conversion charts before, since

this is probably it approaching bike number 50 for myself overtime and maybe the 5th or 6th CB ive had.

I'm just sayin'.

Regards,

 

[MDM]

The metric width conversion of modern tires works out to this: 90 = 3.54", 100 = 3.94", 110 = 4.33" and 120 = 4.73".

Err... Since modern (metric) tire sizing is the height of the tire (one number) and the aspect ratio of the tire (the other number), don't you need BOTH of those numbers to determine the tire's width? Neither number, by itself, is a "width measurement."

I... think. For example (apologies for using automobile tires for this): The Buick Regal T-Type I once owned came stock with 215/65-15 sized tires. I upgraded the rears to 235/60-15 right after I got it in hopes that they'd last longer than a few weeks (you'd probably have to have owned an intercooled Turbo Regal to really understand that, I guess). I chose that size so that I'd get a slightly wider tire but keep the same height - a 215/60-15 tire would have been a different height (and width!). Later, I bought a set of 275/50-15 tires (Nitto 555 drag radials, IIRC) which were much wider (a bit too wide for the rims, TBH, but they sure hooked up ) - and the same height.

Regards,

 

[JAYinNY]

Since modern (metric) tire sizing is the height of the tire (one number) and the aspect ratio of the tire (the other number), don't you need BOTH of those numbers to determine the tire's width? Neither number, by itself, is a "width measurement."

Just going by what I found on several sites, including Dennis Kirk and TireRack. I guess I may have misunderstood their explanations, but I don't think so. I'll measure up some modern tires tomorrow and let you know. That being said, I still stick by me recommendations on maximum tire sizes for a CL350.

TireRack

Example size: 225/45R17

The first three numbers in a typical size (225/45R17) are the tire's indicated section width in millimeters, measured from sidewall to sidewall.


Dennis Kirk
Width
The first number or second letter in a tire size represents the nominal width. Width is measured in a straight line from the furthest point on one sidewall, across the tread, to the furthest point on the opposite sidewall.

Also from TireRack
[h=3]Actual Tire Section Width is Dependent on Wheel Width[/h] All tire sizes are assigned specific rim widths upon which they are measured (measuring rim), as well as can often be mounted on slightly narrower or wider wheels (rim width range). Therefore, it is important to note that actual tire section width will depend on the wheel width the tire is mounted on. The rule of thumb is that tire section width changes by 0.2" for every 0.5" change in rim width, being reduced if mounted on narrower than measuring wheel and increased when mounted on wider wheels.

 

[MDM]

<DOH!> I had it BACKWARDS . It's the height part that is given as a percentage, not the width. I'll... I'll just crawl back under my rock and hide now, shall I?

My apologies!

Regards,

 

[longdistancerider]

A 120/90 will just fit in the rear and clear the chain however you will loose the use of the center stand because it's too tall. It's also too wide a tire for the rim width. Now if you were to get a new wider rim and relace it to the hub you'd be fine.
A 100/90 will just fit inside the front fender but there again that's too wide for the rim.
I tried this on my CL because I had the tires, now it has the proper 100/90 rear and 90/90 front, Heidenau K33 front and K37 rear

 

[Miketron75]

Excellent...thx!

 

[66Sprint]

No disrespect or aspersions meant..... BUT, a 120/ tire size is roughly equivalent to a 4.50" or 4.75" tire (actually calculates to 4.7244"), NOT a 4.00 tire... A 100/ tire is 3.937" and a 110/ tire is 4.33" (roughly a 4.25" tire)...
the closest to STOCK sizing would be a 80/90 for the 3.00 front, and a 90/90 for the 3.50 rear, although this varies slightly by manufacturer.......
These sizes are close to the limits the original sized/width rims will work properly for/with.....