Need help with rear tire sizes

[Smilam]

I have a 2009 GL1800 with a Roadsmith conversion. My problem is when loaded with my wife plus luggage when going around sweeping right hand curves the tire rubs on the spring. With the luggage, wife and I we total less than 425 lbs. It only rubs on the inside of the left rear tire on sweeping right hand turns. Regular curves, corners, or left hand curves don't rub. The tires are the slightly oversize tires that Horizon Trikes installed when they did the conversion for the original owner. 215/55R 17. I have put on the heavy duty sway bar and new shocks set to the stiffest setting which has helped but it still rubs sometimes and my wife said it is riding to stiff and hurting her back so I need to soften the shocks a little or she won't be able to ride with me. I like my wheels and don't want to go to the expense of changing them but I do need to replace my rear tires so I need some suggestions on a slightly narrower tire to clear the springs.

[jaxbobg]

I've got a 2012 Goldwing Roadsmith and had a similar complaint when I first got it. The original installer in Daytona took a test ride, made an adjustment to the body alignment, and sent me on my way.

12,000 miles later - no problems. Don't know exactly what he did, don't really care (I'm not a mechanic), but I put 1,500 miles on it last week with no problems.

[07BlueCSC]

You could try a wheel spacer. They are available on E-Bay
and start at about 1/8 to 3/16 thick.

I had to use a 5/16 spacer to clear the suspension when I went to
7 X 17 wheels on a CSC.

[clint44]

I have a 2009 GL1800 with a Roadsmith conversion. My problem is when loaded with my wife plus luggage when going around sweeping right hand curves the tire rubs on the spring. With the luggage, wife and I we total less than 425 lbs. It only rubs on the inside of the left rear tire on sweeping right hand turns. Regular curves, corners, or left hand curves don't rub. The tires are the slightly oversize tires that Horizon Trikes installed when they did the conversion for the original owner. 215/55R 17. I have put on the heavy duty sway bar and new shocks set to the stiffest setting which has helped but it still rubs sometimes and my wife said it is riding to stiff and hurting her back so I need to soften the shocks a little or she won't be able to ride with me. I like my wheels and don't want to go to the expense of changing them but I do need to replace my rear tires so I need some suggestions on a slightly narrower tire to clear the springs.

You could install a pair of 205/50/17 tires. Here are the two tires compared to each other:

SIZE

UTQG

MAX. LOAD

MAX. INFLATION PRESSURE

TREAD DEPTH

TIRE WEIGHT

RIM WIDTH RANGE

MEAS. RIM WIDTH

SECT. WIDTH

TREAD WIDTH

OVERALL DIAM.

REVS. PER MILE

205/50R17 93V XL LRR: Low Rolling Resistance Technology

600 A A

1,433 lbs.

50 psi

12/32"

25 lbs.

5.5-7.5"

6.5"

8.4"

8"

25.1"

829

215/55R17 94V SL LRR: Low Rolling Resistance Technology

600 A A

1,477 lbs.

51 psi

12/32"

25 lbs.

6-7.5"

7"

8.9"

7.2"

26.3"

792

Looking at the section width of the 215/55,it's listed at 8.9" wide yet the tread width is only 7.2". Another flag is its 26.3" diameter which is pretty tall. The 205/50 has a wider tread but narrower section width and a 25.1" diameter. Important question about your rear wheels,though,did they come with the trike conversion or did the former owner change them out for something different?

- - - Updated - - -

I've got a 2012 Goldwing Roadsmith and had a similar complaint when I first got it. The original installer in Daytona took a test ride, made an adjustment to the body alignment, and sent me on my way.

12,000 miles later - no problems. Don't know exactly what he did, don't really care (I'm not a mechanic), but I put 1,500 miles on it last week with no problems.

Bob,what size rear tires does your trike have?

[Smilam]

Clint44
i knew somebody on this forum would know where to find some of the information that I couldn't locate. As far as I know the trike dealer put these tires and wheels on it when he installed the trike kit. I have heard that that dealer almost always installs oversize wheels and tires for the look it gives. The original owner only put 7000 miles on it in the 4 years he owned it and I am not sure how he drove it. He may not have been very good at checking tire pressures as the front tire was completely shot and the rears showed more wear than they should have according to the mileage others have said to expect. I have added almost 20000 miles in the 2 years I have owned it and the rear tires are getting thin. The tires are so large that they have to go into the wheel wells at an angle and then maneuver them around to get them onto the studs. The nice thing about their size is that the speedometer is spot on with the GPS speed readings.

[jaxbobg]

Bob,what size rear tires does your trike have?

Hi Clint, I'm running the Nexen N5000 Plus 205/65 R16 tires at 26 lbs. with 3 oz. of DynaBeads in each tire. They're about the same as Michelins as far as I can tell.

Of course, I'm old and slow and could be wrong. Have been way less than sane in the past and will probably be that way again some day.

[clint44]

Clint44
As far as I know the trike dealer put these tires and wheels on it when he installed the trike kit. I have heard that that dealer almost always installs oversize wheels and tires for the look it gives. The original owner only put 7000 miles on it in the 4 years he owned it and I am not sure how he drove it. He may not have been very good at checking tire pressures as the front tire was completely shot and the rears showed more wear than they should have according to the mileage others have said to expect. I have added almost 20000 miles in the 2 years I have owned it and the rear tires are getting thin. The tires are so large that they have to go into the wheel wells at an angle and then maneuver them around to get them onto the studs. The nice thing about their size is that the speedometer is spot on with the GPS speed readings.

Another option to keep your speedo close would be a 205/55/17;same section width as the 205/50,little bit narrower at 7" tread width,and 25.9" diameter.

Our trike has 17x7 Intro Rockman wheels (+40 offset) with 205/50/17 Michelin Pilot Sports on the rear.

[Smilam]

Thanks for your research and replies. I am getting ready to head to Bikes, Blues, and BBQ but when we get back I will check into the 205/55/17 and the 205/50/17.

[Smilam]

Today at Bikes, Blues and BBQ I saw that Roadsmith had their truck there with reps showing their equipment and answering questions. I explained the problem I was having with my tire rubbing and he just nodded his head. He told me that people that had that problem fixed it by installing wheel spacers. He pointed out the springs on his display models were a smaller diameter than the ones on my trike and they had changed them to cure the problem of the springs rubbing on some tires. He said that nobody had had problems blowing out tires since the springs are so smooth and that they just rubbed a little and wore a little smooth spot on the inside of the tire.
We rode some pretty curvy roads the last few days and it hasn't rubbed once. I guess the new shocks, and heavy duty sway bar might have taken care of my problem. I was even able to soften up my shock setting a little so it was easier on my wife's back.
I still need to replace my tires soon because of wear and will have to decide which tire to go with and wether to use the tire spacers if I go back with the larger tire. One of the benefits of the larger tire is that the speedometer is spot on with the GPS.