Bigger Tires - B5?

[B5er]

What's the widest, most aggressive tire I could run safely on a B5? I've seen some heavy-duty Kenda's on some G5's here and there, but the B5 has a different rear fender that might not fit some of the enduro-looking stuff that bike seems to fit with ample clearance. I ride multiple surfaces frequently and the stock tires (while very classic-looking) seem basically like glorified bicycle tires: narrow and not that stable.   

[Vince]

     I often have customers looking for wider tires for safety or better handling or looks. In EVERY instance what they need is a better tire. Even if you can cram some monster tire in the swing arm and fender well, the narrow rim will distort the tire. The tire will puff up in the center and you will actually ride on a smaller contact patch than if you had the stock tire. Handling and wear will suffer. Lowering the tire pressure will widen the contact patch, but then it will squirm. Corners will get real interesting. You could custom lace  wider rims, then re-engineer the fenders and swing arm. $$$$$ In the end, the stock Avon work well for all around use. The Avon AM26 works great to upgrade for the street. For aggressive dirt riding (on an Enfield?) stick to 100/90-19 dual sport tires. The knobs on these are small enough that you probably won't have clearance issues.

[Ducati Scotty]

Thanks for being the voice of reason Vince.  Most bikes handle better on smaller tires.  They may look skinny and if you've got a ton of rear wheel power you may be able to break them loose but the bike almost always handles better in every situation other than hard acceleration.

Scott

[Craig McClure]

Sounds like someone is being influenced by the MONKEY SEE-MONKEY DO factor. Harleys need big fat tires to hold their road grader weight & to LOOK WIDER & MORE AGGRESSIVE.  Road bikes need to handle, Even Vincent Black Shadows had narrow tires, & handled pretty darn well. Don't be influenced by show offs, theater has nothing to do with riding.

[Ducati Scotty]

There are some big, heavy old school choppers out there on skinny tires.  Harley's don't really need it for the weight, it's aesthetics.  It does look cool, no denying that.  Same with big rears on sport bikes.

[GlennF]

this thread ...

http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/forum/index.php/topic,10916.0.html