1982 Front Tire Question

New to the forum guys

I acquired a 1982 XJ550 a month or so ago and have been slowly getting her put back into a ride-able bike again. New Paint and ALOT of cleaning and polishing for the poor girl seeing she had sat in a barn for around 7 years. I'm too the point where I need to start looking for a new front tire to replace the dry rotted chunk of rubber she has. IMHO I don't even trust it for a "test ride" even though it does hold air.

ANYWAY, to the question. I see she is fitted with a 3.25-19 front which would be a 90 90-19. Aired up the tire sits awful close to the fender bolts. Is anyone running a 100 90-19 on the front of one of these bikes? If so what brand? I have alot more options with a 100 over a 90-19.

Great forum BTW!

 

90-90-19 here, not sure what else can fit. How close? I can go measure mine to compare. You never know what the po did, it might be the wrong front rim, who knows, lol.

 

I had the same question with my friend's XJ550, same situation as yours. I read somewhere on here that a 100/90 will fit, but I don't know where.

If I get really bored this evening, maybe I'll see if I can test fit the front wheel from my XJ700 on his bike to tell you whether the 100/90 will fit for sure.

 

It will. I have a 100/90 on the front of one of my 550 Secas, and it fits. That bike has Dunlop D404's on it.

Be sure you DISASSEMBLE and inspect the REAR brake for signs of delamination before you ride it too.

Also, since it sat in a barn for seven years, there is a really good possibility the chain is rusted internally and it will fail very quickly. Lubrication now won't save it if the pins have been compromised. My point being, REPLACE the chain and BOTH sprockets before you start riding it. If the chain breaks on a 550, it can wrap back around and tear the starter from the engine cases, damaging the cases.

How many miles on the bike? You are probably going to need to check/adjust the valves and do carb service before any riding; and a front brake overhaul needs to be at the top of your list as well.

 

Thanks Bigfitz! The bike has 24K on it. I have new chain and sprockets on order and hopefully they'll be here soon. Noticed the adjustment was close to the last setting and figured everything is cheap enough might as well do it all. Thanks for the info BTW on chain breakage.

Looks like I have a few things to add to my list eh?

 

I just put new tires on my 1982 XJ550J and I chose the Metzler ME 880 Marathon Touring tires. LOVE THEM! These tires are great! I had the Dunlop D404's on my bike before these but these ME 880's seem to have a lot better traction and stability. My front tire is a 100/90-19 and the rear is a 130/90-16. They have plenty of room under the fenders. One thing you do want to note is that in the bikes owners manual they suggest 26psi in the front and 32psi in the rear however, I called Metzler and talked with one of their tech's there and he told me that you want to base your pressure on the tire more than on the bike. He said to run them at 38 in the front and 44 in the rear. I id this at first but it felt like just a little to much air in them so I took it down to 36 in the front and 42 in the rear and they seem perfect now. Feels really good. So I just go 10 pounds over the recommended psi from the owners manual which is easy to remember. If you are going to change the front tire you might as well consider changing the rear at the same time as well if you can. These ME's match up real nice and feel very good under your feet.

 

It's a good idea to match the front and rear as to brand/type, etc.

I'm intrigued to hear the inprovement the Metzelers offer over the Dunlops. The Avons I have on the other bike were a certain improvement, but that was wholly expected. I've never been unhappy with the Dunlops as an "everyday" tire, I'm interested to see what kind of lifespan you get from them.

Good going on figuring out the pressures too, that's the way to do it.

 

I've ran both....on other bikes mind you. The metz never really impressed me much, although they handle great, Keep in mind I ride 12k + a year, For the price they just don't hold up well. I'm Currently running Pirelli's on my Triumph and absolutely LOVE them at 6K, where my Metz would need replaced, these sport demons are holding up nicely. They do nicely in the rain also. Pirelli's will be the next tire for my Suzuki.

This XJ won't see many miles. My wife is showing intrest in riding so it will mostly see a set of shinko's or Kenda's. The Shinko's I've heard, from people who actually run them, aren't a bad tire at all.

 

My last front tire was a Metzeler Laser ME33 that I ran for 13,000 miles before replacing and it still wasn't worn out. The only reason I swapped it out was due to age. Without a doubt the best tire I ever purchased. Like you, I ran mine at 36 psi for normal riding. If they wear anything like the Laser, you'll be very happy with the tread life and performance.