Not sure if its been asked here before not sure this is even the right section but here goes.

Anyone any thoughts or expirience of matching the front and rear rims ?

I figure if you run a 120/80/18 on the rear whats to stop you having the front hub re laced to a similar size rim on the front?

The benefits are you would only have to carry one spare tube and tyre;

bike would maybe handle better on mud and sand
probably slower turning on the road

is it worth it ?

for instance if I just buy a second hand 18" rear rim is there any reason I can't then get that rim laced up to my current front hub ?

seen some of the wr 250 x's running knobbly tyres on the front and kinda liked the idea and the practicalities.

hi chris scott has done this read http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...erlander-66506 hope this helps steve

Steve thanks I will get reading

If not done properly it's possible to degrade handling. Depends on the bike.
But could be OK too if geometry is altered to suit. Not sure about a fat wide front tire riding on road ...:confused1:

If your bike normally has a 21" front ... then going to a WIDE 120-18" will certainly change things. Not only do rake and trail change ... but all the subtle geometry your whole bike was designed around. But if you run the same size rim up front as on the rear ... then you've got a very wide tire up front ... which might suck or be weird, dunno?

A 120 rear is pretty narrow for a rear tire ... so you might get away with it. Lots of guys on the DR650 forums have gone from the stock 21"/17" combo to either a 17"/17" Super Moto set up ... or a front 110-19" and maintain stock 130-17" rear. Reports are mixed ... but the 19" front has promise ... at least on the DR650 and if set up right seems to work fine. Most changed suspension completely, adjusted ride height or made other changes to get the bike to handle.

Overall I'm not sure it's worth it.

The front 21" tire on my DR650 lasts 2 or 3 times longer than the rear. So what's the problem? I don't carry a spare front anywhere ... if I start with a new one ... I can go nearly 10,000 miles before it needs replacing.

Rear tire is another story. 3K to 5000 miles depending on tire and usage. I carry a rear. But a front can nearly always be found somewhere within a 10,000 mile range on the road.

Also, fronts tend to be cheap and more plentiful. Much more than a 120-18".
In Latin America 17" rear tires are now fairly common, not hard to get.
Thank all the bikes that use 17" rear tires: KLR, DR650, F650, BMW twins,
Vstroms and lots and lots more. Many shops now stock them. But talk to any KTM rider looking for a 130 or 14-18 ... or any 18". Not common at all.
YMMV, IMHO.

Not a bad idea on a long trip, my XR 125 has 19 front and 17 rear, it was difficult and expensive to find a pair of tyres in Turkey but if they had both been 18 inch it would of been easier and cheaper with little affect to handling.

Got my eye on a second hand rear wheel, so guess its time to try, what's the worst that can happen?

I figure the bike will look great, but may be sluggish through the bends will have to see.

I have found cheap tyres that should fit the bill and seem to have a decent profile.

I will update when I have sourced the wheel at the right price