Motorcycle Tire Question
 

I've got a Honda Shadow Aero, and the guys on the shadow forums aren't being helpful, so maybe somebody here can help.

The stock tire size on the front of my bike is 140/80-17. Can I put a 120/90-17 tire on it? The Shadow ACE has what appears to be the same front wheel, and 120/90 is its stock size, but I'm not sure it is actually the same wheel.

So basically, can you stretch/stuff motorcycle tires the same way you can with car tires? 140 is a pretty wide tire for the front of a motorcycle, and there are only three choices in the stock size. If I go with 120 I can get the tires I want in a matching pair.

I don't see why not but my question is how is the change going effect handling.

No clue on the shadow specifically but yes you can "stretch" motorcycle tires little bit.

Very common to do on rear wheels since ya know fat tire = powah.

As far as handling goes, it will make the front feel a little lighter more tossable. I dont see you dragging knees with that bike so i doubt traction will be noticeable change.

My previous bike was a 1986 shadow 700, which had a much narrower front tire, and I liked how that felt a lot, so if going a little narrower will work and feel more like that, I'll be very pleased. The wider tire feels pretty chunky and tends to follow grooves in the road a lot. It's a far cry from a sport bike, but I know there's a little room for improvement in the front end.

The concern is not making it as round and leanable as before. But yes you can mess around with tire width.

That's a very similar size, so I wouldn't see it being a huge problem, however I've never liked to go more than 10 over. I used to do a 130 instead of 120 rear, and same with my current wheel, 150 instead of 140.

A smaller tire will make it more loanable as it will be easier to toss around.

The front tire will be slightly more prone to loss of grip under a panic stop when you grab a handful of brembo all at once <.1 seconds, but more gradually, once it's under load (going from no stop to full stop in 0.25 seconds) you shouldn't notice too much of a difference.