Bigger Wheels on CB400f?

F

factive

New Member
I have a cb400f that I'm building into a brat bike. Tires are shot so at a minimum I need a new ones. But I want bigger wheels (and/or) tires to give it that slammed brat look. Couple questions....

Can I direct swap wheels from cb550, 650, 750, etc?

If not, how much bigger on the tires can I go on the stock rims?
 
Thanks for your reply.

To be honest, I am not that concerned with handling. This build is for all show, no go. Cruising around my beach town is about the most I'll do. Maybe a local vintage bike cruise at most. I have several other bikes in my garage, with my modded Thruxton being the one that's all go... even though it's a looker too.
 
Swivel said:
I think anything bigger on the rear than a 100 would handle bad and a 120 would be heavy and probably not clear the swingarm and/or chain...I'd fit BS's.Bigger tires on skinny rims put less rubber on the road.....
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After looking closely, looks like I have quite a bit of room in the rear before it would start to rub the chain guard. And even then I'll probably remove that. The front looks pretty tight though. Not sure how much wider I can go before it would start rubbing the forks.
 
The front wheel is usually pretty limited. You may be able to lace up a 16" wheel in the back and run a 130/90 though.

That being said.........what about getting a different bike? The 400F is pretty sought after for restorations (and cafe treatment) .
 
Rear tire on there now is 4.10 18, looks tiny! Front is 100/90

What's weird is my Thrux also has 100/90 on the front but it measure 1/2" - 3/4" wider. Rear on the Thrux is 130. Looks like it would be too wide for this build. Maybe 120? What do other guys usually use for brats?

Big Rich said:
That being said.........what about getting a different bike? The 400F is pretty sought after for restorations (and cafe treatment) .
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You got something you want to trade? Won't be that hard to switch over to cafe should I ever need/want to. But I already have a couple cafes. None of these mods won't be reversible, aside from a few tab deletes.
 
Ha! Unless you want a cb350, then I don't have anything else to trade. Plus, I already have one 400F......

If you look at a 130/90- "18" and a 130/90- "16", they would be the same width. But on a 16" wheel, it might actually clear everything. Just guessing of course.
 
factive said:
Rear tire on there now is 4.10 18, looks tiny! Front is 100/90
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Both are already too big for stock rims.
Personally I don't even like running 90/90 front and 110/90 on stock rims (but I do, until I build new wheels)
If the link works here's a chart, the grey boxes are acceptable but the box with size (STD) is recommended
http://wwwclassiccyclesorg.mediafire.com/?w7ke0q2t3dx7tz9
The Triumph tyres are wider when fitted to correct rims.
You'll find correct tyres on correct rims handle batter and are wider than high so look even wider than they really are.
Get some 2.15x18 rims from MikesXS and tyres wont look so bad (it is going to cost you though)
 
7280653414_f690b7d15e_z.jpg


I don't know, something seems off. This tire looks tiny. No way that's too big for the stock rim.

This pics shows a comparison against the 130 on my Thrux
 
Swivel said:
If Thruxton looks great to you just ride it and look in store windows as you pass and it's problem solved..... :D
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Cool, I will do that.

Anyhow, I'm going to try a 110 or maybe a 120 and go from there. Thanks for you help.
 
Be sure to lace up a wider wheel first. The stock "skinny" tire is already towards the edge of the wheels capacity.
 
Swivel said:
Waste of time,probably won't fit and the profile will make the bike unstable at speed.....
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How about you build your bikes the way you want and I'll build my bikes the way I want. Besides, I don't want to go fast, that way I won't be able to see my reflection in the windows when I drive past.
 
factive said:
How about you build your bikes the way you want and I'll build my bikes the way I want. Besides, I don't want to go fast, that way I won't be able to see my reflection in the windows when I drive past.
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Well you were the one that asked, and you were told about how it will negatively impact the bike.
Falling over at 30mph sucks, and building a motorcycle that will not actually function as a motorcycle is stupid in a lot of peoples eyes.

You are right that its yours and do what you want with it, but dont get mad when people dont validate every idea that you post on the interwebs
 
surffly said:
Well you were the one that asked...
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No. Never once did I ask how the bike would handle or perform. I simply asked what size wheel or tires I could fit for a very specific build. I even stated this bike is not for go. I already have bikes for when I want to go fast or carve canyons.

surffly said:
...dont get mad when people dont validate every idea that you post on the interwebs
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Not mad. Just annoyed that some people in this forum seem to think they're the vintage bike police. Just about every thread I've read has someone that chimes in to say so-and-so shouldn't do this or they should do it another way instead. That's fine if people are asking opinion. But that's often not the case.

It's simple really. If you can't answer the OPs questions, then don't say anything at all. I'm well aware of how bigger tires will effect performance. That's not my question. Period.
 
I run 110/90 rear and 100/90 front on the 18s of my 350F. I've heard you can fit a 120 on the rear, but I don't like to go more than one size up from stock.
 
Well some people that are knowledgeable with vintage bikes like to make sure that people understand how the mods they plan to do will effect the bike. There are many people just getting into the hobby that dont know any better and can get into alot of trouble or hurt do to ignorance.

Saying you have bikes that actually work as motorcycles is just a cop out.
If all you wanted to know is if some other wheels that are much wider bolt in then the answer is no. And part of the reason is that it serves zero purpose. If you want to modify things to make them fit then the CB750 runs a 120 rear tire, but some have gone as large as 140. but if you are going through all that work you would have been better off to call buchannans and ordered wider wheels are are drilled for hte 400f's hubs. should run $200-300ish per wheel in alloy.
If you really are looking to do no work then find a chart and order tires.

Sad as the 400F is a beautiful handling bike
 
Factive, you can't post on the internet and expect to not get opinions and input. You are entitled to do what you wish to your bike under most state's legislation, I believe. That doesn't mean it's sensible. And it doesn't mean that your insurance will cover it and in most states if you modify a bike and do not inform the agent or carrier, you may find the policy is void and that's illegal to ride then. Just sayin'.

If the only answers you want are YES, then why ask? I'm not being mean, it's the way that forums work.

And while I'm on a roll, or a role if you prefer, when people talk about hurting performance or handling, they do not necessarily mean for you to infer that they think that you will be canyon carving. What they mean is that a tire that is too fat for a particular rim will be pinched and instead of looking phat and mean, will be tall and unstable at almost any speed.

If someone thought that you want to go really fast on an old bike, we would be having a different conversation altogether.
 
Factive,
Teazer, PJ and Swivel are all correct as far as they have gone, but to answer your question, i.e. how big can you go with tires on a CB400F, I would say you can run a 110 - 18 front and a 130 - 18 rear IF you put on the right rims, PJ is correct with the 2.15 front and rear(although I think a 2.50 might work better on the rear) and IF you run tires that are designed for that width rim. To the best of my knowledge the only 110 - 130 combination that is designed for the WM-3 rim is the Avon Am22 front and the AM23 rear. I have run that combination on my CB350 race bike and it works fine. It does make the handling much heavier than stock, but it works for me and suits my riding style. The 110 front will not clear the stock front fender, but will clear a trimmed CL350 fender and the rear 130 will not clear the stock chain guard. If you are not willing to spend the time and money to get the right tires and rims, then I would go with a 90 front and 110 rear. I would run the Bridgestone BT45. If you want to do it the right way then you can get performance and look. If you are just wanting to get the look at the sacrifice of performance, then I don't care what you do.


Ken
 
I hate the skinny look on the 400's too. I used the 400 rear (1.85) rim up front and found a 2.15 rear from a GS for the rear. I run a 90 f and 110 r. The fit is good but the rear still looks skinny. To do again I would run a 2.15 on the front and a 2.5 on the rear and a 120 on the rear.
 
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