17 in. front wheel

[Railroad]

Is there any problem running a 17 in. front wheel with a stock rear wheel?  I plan to switch to a 17 in rear when the tire wears out but the front needs changing now.

[Bob_C_CT]

None that I can think of.

[Rain Dancer]

I did it for a year, no issues.

[turbojoe78_MA]

Doing it right now, no problems at all.

[2linby]

Is there any problem running a 17 in. front wheel with a stock rear wheel?  I plan to switch to a 17 in rear when the tire wears out but the front needs changing now.

I don't think it is  legal to mix odd and even sized wheels. Bias and radial, sure, but odd and even.... heil no!   

[Dave Scott]

Is there any problem running a 17 in. front wheel with a stock rear wheel?  I plan to switch to a 17 in rear when the tire wears out but the front needs changing now.

I don't think it is  legal to mix odd and even sized wheels. Bias and radial, sure, but odd and even.... heil no!   

I thought the only issue was running one tire with warm air and the other with cold air.   

[Jorge]

You guys are not being very helpful...
He asked a simple quesiton, and instead of giving him a simple answer, you guys go all technical!  I think you've confused us all now.

Jorge

[worncog]

I think the front tire will wear out faster as the 17" will be going facter than the 16".

 

[Dave Scott]

but the new 17 won't wear out as fast as the original 18 inch on the front, right?

so many technical variables I can't keep it all straight.   

[worncog]

but the new 17 won't wear out as fast as the original 18 inch on the front, right?

so many technical variables I can't keep it all straight.   

Depends...cuz you're switching from a 3.0 to a 3.5, that is ~16.67% increase.

[TimR]

I own a Kawasaki motorcycle which came from the factory with a 19 inch front and a 18 inch rear. I don't see a problem with it.

[Rev Ryder]

Railroad, the answer is no problem.  Go for it.

[Bur]

I actually appreciate the answers in this thread, as once the restoration 94 uses up the almost new Bridgestone 18 inch tire I will do the conversion.

Even the smart aleck ones.  But now I have to ensure the temp of the air in both tires is the same too.  But what if I fill the larger front tire with nitrogen and leave the smaller diameter but larger profile rear tire full of plain old air?  The difference in molecular expansion after repeated heating and cooling cycles may change the width of my chicken strips by .000002 

[Railroad]

Thanks to all who answered. I had a good laugh.

[turbojoe78_MA]

Question to all those who are running a 17" front tire ...

What speedometer drive (gears) are you using and how accurate is your speedometer?

I'm using the ZR7 speedometer drive (24 tooth gear)  that came with the wheel and I've checked the speedo to my gps and found the speedometer to be a little fast.

At 30 mph on the gps the speedo shows just under 32 mph.  This stayed consistent all the way to 100 mph on the gps with the speedo showing about 101.5 mph.

The tech pages say that the speedo drive for the ZX6-D (23 tooth gear) is more accurate.

Just wondering what others are using and if it's worth it to change the speedo drive gear for a less than 2 mph error.

Thanks Joe

[worncog]

I am running the ZX6 drive. It is ~ +/-3% accurate, depending on tire in use.

[Rev Ryder]

I am running the ZZR1200 drive and with a new 120/70 Michelin Pilot Power it is about 1.5-2 mph slow at 100 mph and on the money after a 1000-1300 miles or so.  When wore to a nub it's still within 1 mph at 70.  Roadsmart and Avon are both different with the Avon reading slower than the Michelin and the Dunlop reading noticeably faster.  I do not think there is that much rollout difference, but the speedo says something's up.  Just my .02

EDIT TO ADD:
I changed my gauges after my 09 crash and had a huge change in readings though I had the same rim and speedo drive... like a 5-7 mph difference at IIRC 100mph (I like to check it at 100 because the faster you go, the more accurate your GPS is and at 100 mph the percentage is a cinch to figure).  So gauges are not all created equal for sure.

[2linby]

The tech pages say that the speedo drive for the ZX6-D (23 tooth gear) is more accurate.

I have a 1991 ZX-6D 17" front with the matching speedo on mine running a set of PR2's 120/70-17 front and 170/60-17 rear.  My speedo error as noted with my older Garmin 2160 unit is 3.2 miles off.

At 70 MPH I am actually moving at 73.2 according to Mr. Garmin. 

That has been my experience so far with two different sets of tires. (both the same size of course).  I did 200 miles today riding in a torrential downpour, sunshine and wind and all was good. BUT I rely on the Garmin not my speedo.
 

[PaulP]

Mechanical speedos are notoriously inaccurate. If yours is within a couple of percent at 100mph, then just be happy it's that good and don't change anything.