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18" vs 19" wheel

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woodsguy

woodsguy

Ride Red
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For you guys smarter than me which is just about all of you! My 2022 CRF has the mx style 19" wheel, I want to replace it with the better offroad option the 18" wheel. Since the sidewall is a lot taller on the 18, is this just a matter of swapping them out? I'm thinking the taller tire takes up rim difference??
2 reasons for switch, I think the 18 just better fit offroad, and the Honda wheel is getting awfully hard to keep spokes tight, constant battle now.
DD67B8FA-55B2-46B1-8747-99861E2815F2.jpeg
 
I have never once had spoke issues with any of my Hondas, 250 or 500. Is it possible you let the spokes get loose and now over-tightening them? I have a spare Honda 19" wheel assembly and have thought of having the spokes/rim replaced with an 18 setup. Anyone here in the greater Houston area doing this kind of work?
 
I find the 18's are a little easier to mount new tires to, but when I rode my YZ250 as a woods bike for a number of years, I never really could tell the difference between the 18's and 19's.
 
Irishcoffee said:
I have never once had spoke issues with any of my Hondas, 250 or 500. Is it possible you let the spokes get loose and now over-tightening them? I have a spare Honda 19" wheel assembly and have thought of having the spokes/rim replaced with an 18 setup. Anyone here in the greater Houston area doing this kind of work?
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No idea. 3rd Honda ill be replacing rear wheel in a row. They're known for loosening, maybe I'm not doing something right. Never a problem on my KTMs.
 
Don't know if it makes any difference, but I replace the rubber band that covers the spoke nipples with duct tape and don't have a problem with spokes loosening up.
 
When I build bicycle wheels I always put blue Loctite on the spoke threads and they stay solid. Have you tried that on your ever-loosening wheel?

I'm sure you can do the math on the diff between the height of the 18" and 19" wheel+tire. Even if there was a 1" difference, so what? I think it's routine on road motorcycles to consider +/-1" total diameter from stock to be acceptable. Is there a difference on off-road?
 
Something is amiss, Honda's do not have a history of this issue. Probably because you go too fast!
 
mr72 said:
r +/-1" total diameter from stock to be acceptable. Is there a difference on off-road?
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Not sure, why I ask! But if I actually lost an inch I think it would matter as that would be unloading the front wheel which is not what I want. I believe the 18" tire is enough taller than the 19" tire to offset the wheel difference, at least I hope.
 
My 2013 ktm 250/300 with the ktm hard parts off road wheels. 18 rear made all the difference in the world riding stock suspension off road. The taller sidewall helps soak up the square edge hits and roots. It didn’t deflect as much with the 18
 
motoloco said:
My 2013 ktm 250/300 with the ktm hard parts off road wheels. 18 rear made all the difference in the world riding stock suspension off road. The taller sidewall helps soak up the square edge hits and roots. It didn’t deflect as much with the 18
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Thanks, my hope!
 
Well for now a mute point, funds aren't available. Lol.
 
I want the biggest fastest widest wheels and tires I can run on my bikes , they will never be on a groomed trail but in the real world , silt beds 6 inches deep for 300 yards , sand pits of nothing but sugar sand for the entire hill top , rock gardens with broken rock for hundreds of yards uphill and every now and then a nice soft dirt trail . Right now I’m running a Golden tyre fatty on front and GT523E 140/80 on the rear , they work extremely well on what ever I point it had . My buddy that came over from Nebraska a couple months ago drank the Dunlop cool aid and could not keep his new KLK300 on a 45 degree camber , front or back wouldn’t stay up on the wall . Down the rut he went . First time I ran the Golden tyre I was in love with them , right up there with a 3.25 metzler that hasn’t been available for 30 years now .
 
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