I have a 2003 Kawasaki Mean Streak 1500cc bike. The OEM front tire is a 130/70R17. I wanted to know what sizes of tires I can put on the front rim. I‘m something of a novice when it comes to bikes so any help is greatly appreciated.
People always think that bike manufacturers put such care into designing these things, taking into account the perfect tires. That's BS. Money is the bottom line, in most cases. They don't care how big V-twin handles. Who buys a bike like that because it handles well? Expect that kind of care taken in cases like race bikes (600RR). If it were me, I would keep with the same tire size because of fit, however, you can go with other sizes. Keep the same width because you don't want to have to mess with spacing. As far as height and sidewall, for every inch you go up in wheel height, you need to compensate by going down 12.5mm in sidewall height. That way you don't have to adjust your speedometer and you know the tire will fit under the fender. 130 (width, mm)/70 (sidewall,mm)/R (tire type, Radial) 17 (wheel height, inches) If you want an 18 inch wheel, you'll gain an inch total of tire height. To compensate, you'll want to go down 12.5mm in sidewall height. One inch about 25mm. Divided that by 2 because there are 2 sides of the wheel. The biggest draw back is not knowing how much air to put into the tire. The sidewall rating is the MAX PSI that the tire can handle. It is not how much air you should put in it. The owner's manual will tell you the PSI rating based on the stock tires and the weight of the bike. The same goes for your car. NEVER use the psi rating on the tire.
