Why do the 109s have wide tyres?

L

Laughable

New member
As a new C109 rider I was wondering why the C and M 109s have such wide tyres. I was looking at a Honda Goldwing today which has similar specs (CCs, weight, seat height etc) and noticed that they use a much narrower tyre (180/60R-16).

Why do the 2 bikes use such different tyres?
What are the advantages of wider tyres?
If I put narrower tyres on my C109 would I get better handling?
:huh::huh::huh:
Thanks to all who reply. Your answers really help.

Hoodathunkut
 
In my off the cuff opinion wider tires are primarily just for looks. It gives the rear end that "tough" look. I would say that you do get better handling with rear tires under the 200 size in cornering situations. Buy you probably get a little more stability with the wider tire on straight shots.

I'm not sure you want to go with any smaller rear tire. The bike was designed to perform with I believe the 240 tire that it has.
 
Yes, stick to the size tire that the designers put on the bike. The wide tire was just for style, but the bike was designed for them, so you are best off leaving it that way.
 
It is just for looks. A wider tire actually slows steering down. On a sport bike, they balance the width (for traction and lean angle) with the width (for handling). In fact, Suzuki went to a wider tire on the GSXR because wider tires were getting popular on sport bikes at the time. Only to go back to a narrower tire a year or two later to improve turn in.

On a cruiser, lean angle is not as important as a cruiser will run out of room before the tires will. Also, on a cruiser, looks is more important to most people than over all handling. If you put a narrower tire on your bike, it would turn easier (in theory). But, you would need to change rims in order to do so. The narrower tire (if it mounts properly on the rim) will be stretched out and the profile would be flatter as a result. That flatter profile would slow down the handling and make the bike reluctant to hold it's line in the corner. If you changed rims and went with a narrower tire, it may be reluctant to hold a line also as the chassis was designed for the wider tire.
 
while reading reviews on various cruisers i read an article about the 109 development. the article said that during market research, 2 things were requested repeatedly.
1, was the 240 rear tyre. i guess alot of people are watching chopper shows and like the wide tyres being presented on nearly all custom choppers these days
2, led brake lights, dont now why this is but i guess there the trendy thing to have at the moment.
if i can find the article i will post the link
 
The LED lights are what alot of the industries are moving to purely for safety reasons.
I'm a truck driver and gradually over the last 10 years, tail lights and marker lights have switched to nearly 100% LED for better visibility.

I still think the tire's there because they wanted to make our asses look skinnier.
LOL
 
The advantages of LED is less power drain and if one goes out you still have 50 or how ever many left. They are also brighter now and have a more consistent performance over a life time. That are the main reasons that even traffic lights are being changed over to LED.
 
Back
Top