What's the skinny on the use of tubeless tires on a 1980 GS750E?

[Rijko]

i have been reading this topic with rising amazement.

Page after page some are choosing to ignore and dismiss the voice of reason, experience, good judgement, safety ...
This sure is a rare exception on this forum.

[Cipher]

I doubt it.

The tire bead will have to shift about 1/2" inward away from the rim shoulder before it would come away from the rim and deflate (tubelsss). No way some soggy deflated tube pushes the tire sidewall back on the bead.

Holy **** what a silly speculation 0 hard evidence to support this.
Ill bet there miles of film of the various types of rim tire combos in hard tests

but none of you wankers has the time to ask the engineers involved so its a cyclical snipe fest of the ignorant
I doubt a tube in a degenerating tire could save anyone
they replaced the old tech for a reason hell they balloon up as madly as you can add air not so for their rigid successors.

[Nessism]

Let me repeat myself because it seems that some in this thread can't read:

Both Kawasaki and Suzuki had tubeless wheels WITHOUT the extra bumps to hold the tire on the bead. Enkei made many of these wheels and they ain't no company full of idiots either.

Here is a photo of the Kawasaki version wheels. Notice: no extra rim humps. Please read this again and again if you can't fathom because it's true!

These wheels are virtually identical to the tube type wheels made by these manufacturers, the only difference is the valve stem hole.

I'll repeat what most have said here: do what you want. Personally, I always ran tubes in my Suzuki wheels but that's at least in part to the fact that I do restorations. On my KZ though I'm running tubeless and lose no sleep because of the lack of extra wheel humps.

tubeless tire by nessism, on Flickr

[Sandy]

Let me repeat myself because it seems that some in this thread can't read:

Both Kawasaki and Suzuki had tubeless wheels WITHOUT the extra bumps to hold the tire on the bead. Enkei made many of these wheels and they ain't no company full of idiots either.

Here is a photo of the Kawasaki version wheels. Notice: no extra rim humps. Please read this again and again if you can't fathom because it's true!

These wheels are virtually identical to the tube type wheels made by these manufacturers, the only difference is the valve stem hole.

I'll repeat what most have said here: do what you want. Personally, I always ran tubes in my Suzuki wheels but that's at least in part to the fact that I do restorations. On my KZ though I'm running tubeless and lose no sleep because of the lack of extra wheel humps.

tubeless tire by nessism, on Flickr

You are 100% correct, but for how many years did they do this, one, maybe two? I also offer you a challenge. Look through the Suzuki parts diagrams and show me which bikes and which years. Looked and gave up.

[Nessism]

Kawasaki did it for at least two years. That's a lot of bikes.

The GS Suzuki tubeless wheel bikes were sort of all over the place. Some bikes like the 1000G shafties had a tubeless rear and mixed front (could be tube type or tubeless). I got a tubeless front from a 1000GL shafty, only there was a tube inside. Suzuki's supply chain was mixed so they just kept it simple and use a tube on everything.

It seems obvious that the rims with the extra bumps would be safer. That's not in question here. My point is simply to counter the mindless argument that running tubeless on the early wheels is some how dangerous and irresponsible which is nonsense.

[sharpy]

Yes he did. A piece of FOD causing a leak would affect any tubeless tire, regardless of the type of wheel bead present.

Exactly. hence you have a tube in it and i dont friggn care what bead it has in it. running tubes is safer way to go. simply.

[greg78gs750]

sure, but synthetic oil will make your clutch slip. also, it is impossible to have a well tuned gs with pods. Maybe some of you guys should double up on your blood pressure meds.....

[greg78gs750]

to the op, as you can see, some do and some don't. Despite the "YER GONNA DIE" talk, there have been few (if any) problems going tubeless. I still challenge anyone to provide one example of catastrophic failure due to a tubeless conversion. Oh, and running tubes will reduce the speed rating of the tire. http://www.motorcyclenews.com/new-ri...beless-tyres-/ But, as admitted on both sides of this rather silly debate, it is your bike, and your decision. Good luck.

[1948man]

well 75% of the time i go over 90mph its about 7,000 rpm in 3rd gear on the back wheel……. the front lands at 110mph that leaves a skid mark on the road surface the length of the bike…... i play on the safe side.

Wait, You lost me there.

[sharpy]

Wait, You lost me there.

Yep. i cover all the bases (as far as i know) I would really hate to see the slow-mo of the compression of a front tyre at 'landing" im sure it looks scary.

[greg78gs750]

something about wheelies on public roads on a gs at 100 mph and "being on the safe side" just doesn't seem to jive, but, as they say, it's your bike, heh.

[mmattockx]

The GS Suzuki tubeless wheel bikes were sort of all over the place. Some bikes like the 1000G shafties had a tubeless rear and mixed front (could be tube type or tubeless).

My 82 1100E is like this. Tubeless rear wheel, unmarked front. FWIW, no one has mentioned (that I saw, anyway) the rim designations. The correct designation for tubeless use is an 'MT' wheel. If the wheel is marked as such (my 1100E rear is marked 17xMT2.50 DOT) then it has the bead retention bump.

I run tubeless front and rear with no problems to date, as do many others. I say do what you like and realize that the non-tubeless rims can potentially have issues but in practice very seldom do. YMMV

Exactly. hence you have a tube in it and i dont friggn care what bead it has in it. running tubes is safer way to go. simply.

Not really. Tubes have their own issues and bring a different set of problems/issues/weaknesses with them.

sure, but synthetic oil will make your clutch slip. also, it is impossible to have a well tuned gs with pods. Maybe some of you guys should double up on your blood pressure meds.....

Well played, those sacred cows are hard to see shot sometimes.


Mark

[bwringer]

Let me repeat myself because it seems that some in this thread can't read:

Both Kawasaki and Suzuki had tubeless wheels WITHOUT the extra bumps to hold the tire on the bead. Enkei made many of these wheels and they ain't no company full of idiots either.

...

I have a 1982 GS1100GL wheel hanging on my wall that is very clearly marked "TUBELESS TIRE APPLICABLE" and looks exactly the same -- no magic humps. Photo&$#@it ate the pic and I don't feel like digging it up again, so trust me.


It's up to the individual owner. If you feel comfortable running tubeless, go right ahead. You have lots of company, and I've never heard of a problem. (Or maybe... no one who ever had a problem survived? SpoooOOooOOOOOoooooky.)

If you feel safer running tubes, then go right ahead and run tubes.

If you can't decide, use tubes and find something more important to fret about.

[sharpy]

something about wheelies on public roads on a gs at 100 mph and "being on the safe side" just doesn't seem to jive, but, as they say, it's your bike, heh.

Feels safe to me. but mostly on country roads. And yes ive been off the back a few times. dont really want to do it again but cant predict the future.