Wilsons Sandbox

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Mike Frey wrote:

> While on the subject, why do most off-road and dual sport bikes have 21" > front wheels? Why have street bike front wheels gotten smaller over the > years, while off-road bikes have generally stayed at 21"?

21" wheels have two advantages over smaller wheels: 1. Can go over larger obstacles. 2. Slower steering. This is an advantage when playing in the rocks where you don't want the front wheel jiggling all over the place as it hits small stones. For street bikes, #1 is not an issue (if you have 10"-deep potholes in your streets then you have bigger problems , and #2 is a disadvantage. Going to a smaller front wheel on a KLR used only on the highway and groomed gravel (and putting lowering links on the back to get the back end lower) will get you tighter steering and a smoother ride, at the expense of some offroad capability. So it really depends on what you want to do. If you want to ride offroad, a smaller front wheel is a disadvantage, if you want to ride your KLR on the highway with maybe some moderate gravel and two-track, it doesn't lose you anything and makes the bike handle (and stop, with the oversize rotor) better. Personally, I'm sticking with the 21" front, but more because I'm satisfied with its street behavior and don't want to impact what little offroad capability the fat green bike has. -E

Mike, my opinion on a smaller Front wheel, .... I don't know if smaller is correct. The ones I have seen have a fat 18 front tire which maybe with the heavy KLR front end, it might not sink so much in soft stuff (sand, gravel, mud etc). It isn't a 230 pound MX bike or even a 270 pound enduro / cross country bike. It is some where around 400 pounds gassed up with moderate power so I don't think you are going to float the front over soft stuff very easily. True a 21 will maybe roll over big rocks easier but that is about all as I can see it. Criswell

On Nov 12, 2007, at 1:32 PM, Mike Frey wrote: > I've seen several KLRs with 17" or 18" front wheels. Some, like Rod > Copeland's with full knobbies. > > What are the benefits have having a smaller diameter front wheel? > > While on the subject, why do most off-road and dual sport bikes > have 21" > front wheels? Why have street bike front wheels gotten smaller over > the > years, while off-road bikes have generally stayed at 21"? > > Mike > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Ron nailed it pretty much. I like the extra width in the soft shtuff. The diameter of an 18 with a big rear tire is only inch and a half or so shorter than a 21 with a 3.00. The roll over comparison doesn't wash with me since the percentage increase in width is so much greater. A couple more things I had hoped for when I first transplanted Hoss with the big front wheel several years ago is the fact that about any given rear tires provide better traction than thier associated fronts. They also empty better due to larger gaps between blocks. This was confirmed for me in January at Big Bend. Maybe you saw my report on the TWT site, Burnt Clutches and Broken Parts, somethin like that. For the first time since I was transformed into a DualSport Hoodlum in 75, I witnessed adobe clay mud so bad that I saw a 250lb,pretty sure, sorry if I overdid it Dave, guy ride with a locked up front 3.00 21 on his DRZ. I still don't believe someone can ride for close to 30 feet with the front wheel not turnin! Anyway, my point was that my big 120-90 606 on the front kept empty enough of the mud to at least provide some traction to spin it. One other improvement I'd hoped for was since I see some very rocky terrain in the Ozarks and the Kiamichis about every year, not to mention a bit of curb hoppin now and then, is the issue of rim pinchin that plagues us when we're tryin to keep decent low dirt pressure offroad. The 3.00 21 needs a bit of air in it to prevent snakebite flats. This higher pressure doesn't help with the deflection from the rocks. I've been able to run very low tire pressure in the rocky terrain and though, yea, my big tire may not miss all the rocks a small tire could, I don't get the deflection and never have had a pinch flat. Did I say I really enjoy Hoss's Cadillac feel in the dirt. All this said, I think I may have over done it with my latest configuration. For the past 45 or so hundred miles I've been running the type 2 150- 18 Interco Tera Flex on the rear and the type 1-18 in the front. It's been pretty fun offroad, but Man, these 8ply tires are way HEAVY, least that's what I'm blamin for my crappy performance at the dragstrip this year! Rod --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Ronald Criswell wrote:

> > Mike, my opinion on a smaller Front wheel, .... I don't know if > smaller is correct. The ones I have seen have a fat 18 front tire > which maybe with the heavy KLR front end, it might not sink so

much

> in soft stuff (sand, gravel, mud etc). It isn't a 230 pound MX

bike

> or even a 270 pound enduro / cross country bike. It is some where > around 400 pounds gassed up with moderate power so I don't think

you

> are going to float the front over soft stuff very easily. True a

21

> will maybe roll over big rocks easier but that is about all as I

can

> see it. > > Criswell > > On Nov 12, 2007, at 1:32 PM, Mike Frey wrote: > > > I've seen several KLRs with 17" or 18" front wheels. Some, like

Rod

> > Copeland's with full knobbies. > > > > What are the benefits have having a smaller diameter front wheel? > > > > While on the subject, why do most off-road and dual sport bikes > > have 21" > > front wheels? Why have street bike front wheels gotten smaller

over

> > the > > years, while off-road bikes have generally stayed at 21"? > > > > Mike > > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] >

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "E.L. Green" wrote:

> > --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Mike Frey wrote: > > While on the subject, why do most off-road and dual sport bikes

have 21"

> > front wheels? Why have street bike front wheels gotten smaller

over the

> > years, while off-road bikes have generally stayed at 21"? > > 21" wheels have two advantages over smaller wheels: > > 1. Can go over larger obstacles. > 2. Slower steering. This is an advantage when playing in the rocks

where you don't want

> the front wheel jiggling all over the place as it hits small stones. > > For street bikes, #1 is not an issue (if you have 10"-deep potholes

in your streets then you

> have bigger problems , and #2 is a disadvantage. > > Going to a smaller front wheel on a KLR used only on the highway

and groomed gravel

> (and putting lowering links on the back to get the back end lower)

will get you tighter

> steering and a smoother ride, at the expense of some offroad

capability. So it really

> depends on what you want to do. If you want to ride offroad, a

smaller front wheel is a

> disadvantage, if you want to ride your KLR on the highway with

maybe some moderate

> gravel and two-track, it doesn't lose you anything and makes the

bike handle (and stop,

> with the oversize rotor) better. > > Personally, I'm sticking with the 21" front, but more because I'm

satisfied with its street

> behavior and don't want to impact what little offroad capability

the fat green bike has.

> > -E >

Convential wisdom would have you believe this but in fact it's wrong. The KLR performs both off-road and on-road far better with an 18" wide front. Height profile also makes the diameter only be about 3/4" shorter then the stock 21" tire. I'm afraid this is a case where you'll havta to experience it to become a believer. Doug

...

> The diameter of an 18 with a big rear tire is only inch and a half > or so shorter than a 21 with a 3.00.

Is really that much shorter ZRod? I thought it wasn't even an inch? I'll have to go out an compare again. And they say memory is the second thing to go - Dan'g it! ...

> It's been pretty fun offroad, but Man, these 8ply tires are way > HEAVY, least that's what I'm blamin for my crappy performance at the > dragstrip this year! > Rod

LOL! Doug