ws6transam

Member
Nov 17, 2005
309
0
Tires are enroute from Bike Bandit to my house for the Honda XR80.

My son, who is nine, has been trying to ride the XR80 but has gotten a bit gun-shy due to multiple washouts whenever he gets into sand. Since the XR80 was still sporting eight year old, factory tires, I felt that maybe a better bit of tire might help him with some grip and make his riding more enjoyable.

Unfortunately, Honda has chosen to shod their XR80/CRF80 with a 1.40 x 16 inch front wheel, and there is virtually NOTHING made for that size except factory honda replacement tires.

So, lo and behold, I discovered that the very same hub that is used on the XR80 and CRF80 is the same as what was used on the 1983-1984 Honda CR80. ...and those bikes were equipped with 17-inch hoops! So I went online, and found an ebay auction for a '84 CR80 wheel, and bought it. Viola! There's dozens of replacement tires for a 17-inch wheel available.

Thus, sitting in the garage, ready to go, is a freshly cleaned rim, just awaiting the new set of Kenda K771 Millville tires for Jason's XR80. We'll move him up to a 17 inch wheel in the front, retain the 14-inch rear wheel, and call it good. There's also some new brake pads going in and a new chain. I got some new fork oil to put in there, but don't really feel as if it's quite necessary at this point... the damping still feels okay.

We're taking the bikes up to Bois Blanc island for the weekend of July 30th/August 1st and will putt around on the inner roads along the north shore where a 25MPH speed limit is NO problem, being that there's usually fallen trees and big puddles to jump over.

I'm wishing we could make it up to the pine cone enduro but that's impossible for us. Maybe something in August?? I sure hope so. Summer's passing all too quickly.
 

CR250R@WINTERS

~SPONSOR~
May 28, 2004
286
0
Sand in Michigan is just tough on the little bikes. Just gotta get thru it until they get to the bigger bikes. FES in Boyne Falls on August 7th. Shouldn't be too much sand for that one.
 

ws6transam

Member
Nov 17, 2005
309
0
Millville tires on the XR80!

xr80_tires.sized.jpg


Well here they are, the Kenda Millville tires on the Honda XR80. That's a 1984 Honda CR80 front wheel on the front, a real bolt-in solution for all XR80 and CRF80's that are saddled with the cheap-o noname knobby that Honda buys. Since there are no aftermarket tires for the 1.40 x 16 inch wheel that Honda puts on their 80, you are left with only two options: Re-lacing a 17-incher onto the hub, or else buying a 1983/1984 Honda CR80 wheel on Ebay, which is already 17 inches. That was the route I took, and I scored the CR80 wheel for $19 plus shipping.

The difference is terrific: Where it was sliding around on the twisty test-trail we cut into the woods across the street, it's now sure-footed and hooks into the dirt & corners as hard as you can have the guts for turning the bars.

The brakes are better too, with new shoes front & rear. I also took the time to replace the chain which was quite stretched and probably original. I even found a torn link on the old chain, ready to rip apart. >whew<, we dodged that bullet.
 
Top Bottom