26 Inch Motorcycle Tires
March 15th, 2007 by Paul Crowe - "The Kneeslider"
We mentioned the Vinnie by Matt Hotch a while back and again when I saw it at the Cleveland Motorcycle Show. One of the unique design characteristics was his use of a 26 inch front wheel and tire and as I asked in the comments on that story, where do you get 26 inch tires? I never saw them in any tire catalog I’ve run across. Well, the other day I did a little digging and they come from a company called Vee Rubber based in Thailand. Now this may be old news for the custom builders out there but it was news to me.
The tire is called the VRM 302 Monster and comes in a number of sizes, one being 120/50-26. Of course, step two is finding a wheel to mount the tire but if you’re a custom builder you just build your own. Another bike that uses the 26 incher is the Bobster trike built by Zeel Designs.
This isn’t a tire you’ll find on any normal street bike but like the ever wider rear tires, now we have taller and taller front tires. OK, who’s going to be first to 30 inches?
Link: Vee Rubber (very slow website)
Posted in Motorcycle Accessories, Motorcycle Builders
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4 Responses to “26 Inch Motorcycle Tires”
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March 15th, 2007 at 10:37 pm
I noticed in one of the biker build offs that someone used a 22 inch rear tire that looked in the 180-200 series width. I had not heard of those before either and I kinda keep up on the custom side of things. I think Hotch’s Vinnie rear wheel is 23×4 and also uses special VEE RUBBER tires. Ever since I saw 32 and 34 inch car wheels at SEMA, I guess there is no limit (or taste) for some companies.
March 16th, 2007 at 11:40 am
good point Diesel…
a 240mm rear tire on a cruiser looks good and is still functional if the bike is designed right (e.g. Victory seems to get praise for retaining good handling while still utilizing a wide tire for “that” style).
What is with the no limit wide-ness? Is it some twisted 2-wheeled equivalent to a “compensating vehicle” ? Odd
March 19th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
A 26″ tire might look right on a retro (i.e. 1900-1920s inspired) custom if it was used front and back. Motorcycle and car tires were surprisingly tall and thin back then.
May 13th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
120/50-26 = 120*.50 = 60 / 25.4 x 2 (2 sidewalls) = 4.72″ + 26″ rim = 30.72″. So to answer your question they already have gone to 30″ tires.