I don't know about inducing a crash.......but it does result in a lot of tire that is rolled over onto the sidewall where it becomes unusable.

This photo is a 100/90-18 front tire on a 2.15" rim, and a 130/70-18 rear tire on a 2.50 rim....the rear tire is supposed to be on a 3.50" wide rim.  If you look closely for the slightly brown edge at the front tire you can see about 1/4" of chicken strip that I don't use...while the rear tire is rolled so far over onto the sidewall that I had more than 3/4" of chicken strip that I could not ever begin to use.  This is a good example of what happens when you put a tire on a rim that is too narrow, the tread rolls over onto the sidewall so far you can't use it.

TIRES THAT FIT:

(Most likely this post will be moved to a separate thread after it has been discussed):


Here is a list of matching front/rear tires in the stock 100/90-19 front and 140/80-15 tire sizes.

IRC -GS-18.....These are the OE tire and work OK (but are not great tires).

Here is a list of matching front/rear tires in the 100/90-19 and 130/90-15 size.  This has a rear tire that is 10mm narrower - but most likely the difference will actually be a bit less as the OE 140/80 tire was made to fit on a 3.50" wide rim and can be mounted on a rim between 2.75" - 3.50"....while the 130/90 tire fits a rim between 2.50"-3.50".

Dunlop D404
Shinko 230
Pirelli MT66
Kenda K671

Here is a list of matching tires that uses the stock 100/90-19 front tire and a taller 140/90-15 rear tire.  This taller rear tire has been used by a lot of forum members and it does increase the gearing a bit, tends to make the speedometer read more accurately for most, and it provides a lot wider selection of tires.  Some folks have rubbing issues with the rear fender bolts (especially if the bike has saddlebag supports), and you can can likely correct this problem by using fender bolts with low profile heads.  The tire is bigger and heavier and may slow the acceleration and steering down a little bit - however the tire is suitable for use on rim widths between 2.75"-3.50" and is a proper size for the stock rim.

Bridgestone Exedra
Dunlop D404
Michelin Commander (The highest mileage of any known tire).
Shinko 230 & Shinko 712
Metzler ME 888
Pirelli MT66

And one other weird option is to go to a 110/90-19 front tire (not sure how well that fits), and use either a 140/80-15  or 140/90-15 rear tire.

Metzler ME880

I run a Pirelli mt66 and it hasn't slowed me down in the twisties...can still drag a peg...which is not something I try to do!
I haven't tried a 130 but I bet I wouldn't notice...

Commonly available 90/90-19 front tire for Cruiser motorcycles are:
Dunlop D401, Pirelli Route 66, Bridgestone Spitfire S11, Avon AM20 Roadrunner

http://www.bikebandit.com/tires-tubes/cruiser-tires/t11lk8d8


So if you wanted matching front/rear tires that are the same brand and styles....Pirelli MT66 would be the only matching set available.

Keep the comments coming on the type tire you use and the good/bad.

I know MMRanch has about 18,000 miles on his Michelin Commander tires - but when he told me that he can slip around in the rain on them, I wonder if the high mileage doesn't come with a bit of a price in wet weather traction.

It would be nice to come up with some tire recommendations for folks that want a bargain and don't ride a lot of miles - something in between - and the somewhat expensive but very durable Michelin Commanders.  And also recommendations for those willing to explore the upsize and downsize options.

I just switched to a 140/90 shinko 712 rear tire. It deffinetly handles a little different.. You can feel the width of the tire of that makes any sense, maybe slightly less nimble but not a lot, gives the bike a better feel in my opinion. It did rub. I had to remove the brackets for the saddle bags which I was able to do without removing the tire.. Just get a wrench in there and take your time.

cheapnewb24 wrote on 11/04/15 at 11:01:06:

yes, the factory tire is a 130 /90 on the Rebel

Well I got a bit of a surprise yesterday.  I wanted to check the speedometer error on the 2002 that I recently brought back from being a barn find to a rider, and I recently bought a used Garmin GPS that displays the current speed.....so I suction cupped it to the tank and went for a ride.  The tires are the stock IRC 100/90-19 front and 140/80-15 rear, and they are 13 years old and look great.....although the rubber is turning hard and they are not very sticky in corners anymore (as I found out while sliding around one corner recently).

We have a pretty open highway a mile from my house that goes from Alexandria to Ashland Kentucky (A-A Highway), and it has limited intersections and on Saturday mornings it is not very busy.  I started out going south and was surprised to see the speedometer and GPS were identical at lower speeds.  I cranked it up in one open area an got up to 78 mph, and the speedometer and GPS where showing identical numbers.  I turned around and headed north.....and found out that I had been riding with the wind while going south, and I had an incredibly strong wind hitting me head on.....and it was only 50 degrees that morning and I really hadn't dressed very warmly.....YIKES!  There are big valleys where you can see if there is any traffic ahead, and when I got to an open area I held the throttle wide open and got to 80 mph, and it just wouldn't go any faster with that much head wind - but the speedometer and GPS were both showing 80mph!

So I guess you can have a stock speedometer that reads accurately with the stock tires......but your results may vary.