EX250 Question: 501GT Front Tire/Fender Clearance Problem

Hi there:

I just bought a '98 EX250 for my wife. It is currently shod with brand new
Dunlop GT501s in sizes 110/90-16 Front and 130/90-16 Rear. Unfortunately, on
the way home (85 Freeway Miles) tire expansion on the front ground the crap
out of the front fender. Bummer.

I'm told by various folks that this tire combo is commonly used by AFM
racers in the 250 Prod. class. If this is so, how do they keep from eating
front fenders? What's the trick?

Thanks in advance... especially if you run 250s or have direct experience
with the setup.

 

I'm one of those folks. Assuming your fender is still usable, remove
it (you'll have to remove the front wheel first) and drill a new
mounting hole on each side 3/4" below the current hole. This will
effectively raise the fender 3/4" to give you enough clearance. The
metal bracket on the underside of the fender can be discarded.

Shame on the seller for not doing this before selling it to you!

 

Ah Denise, many thanks! That should be pretty straightforward.
Unfortunately, the fender is pretty wasted so a new one is in the cards for
us. I don't suppose you'd know if anyone makes a CF replacement? I haven't
priced with the dealer yet but sometimes I've found the upgrade to be priced
similarly to OEM.

Thanks again.

Regards,
Mark

 

If Gary's repair suggestion doesn't work, keep an eye on eBay for a
stock replacement. The EX250's current incarnation has been the same
since 1988, so there are lots and lots of them out there. Just be
aware that 250P racers pounce on eBay offerings in their search for
spares, too. ;-)

Until then, you could just run without a fender. All it really does is
keep crud and rocks from flinging up.

Just so you know (in case you didn't), 110/90 _is_ the correct size for
the front GT501 for the EX250. The original tires were K591s, which
Dunlop replaced with the GT501 a couple of years ago. The GT501 has a
slightly taller profile, which is what causes the need to raise the
fender.

 

Denise and Gary:

First, thanks a million for your excellent information and advice. I plan to
follow up with the fender repair and modification suggestions to the best of
my humble mechanical ability.

Now the rub (bad pun intended :^) :

This morning when my wife woke up and trundled off to the garage to say
"good morning" to her new bike, she noticed some rather disturbing features
on the tires we hadn't remembered seeing before. Pix are on:
http://skylinerider.com/images/501-front.jpg
http://skylinerider.com/images/501-rear.jpg
Prior to the aforementioned 85 mile run, these were fairly brand new and
only slightly scrubbed in. What do you think of this? Thanks for letting me
presume further on your generosity in sharing your thoughts. I'll owe you
one.

Regards,
Mark

 

You're welcome! From the photo, it looks like your front fender isn't
too bad and Gary's suggestion will work just fine.

Hmmmmmm. Looks rather alarming. For an expert opinion, I would ask
Terry Newby: . He's the Dunlop distributor for the
entire west coast, works at all the AFM races, supplies the AMA guys
when they race out here, etc. He knows these tires well and is a
no-nonsense guy. Point him to these photos and let us know what he
says!

Kudos to your wife for her attention to details.

 

The front tire doesn't look too bad as long as the scratches there
don't go too deep into the tread block. They'll wear away with a little
mileage.

If they go to the base of the tread block it might create a safety
issue. Pay attention to it for sure.

Is the crack in the rear tire from a cut, or is the tire splitting on a
seam? If it's splitting, it's defective and should be replaced. If it's
cut, it could be that someone used a box cutter when unpacking them and
cut too deep. How deep is it?

I'd keep my eye on the crack to make sure it doesn't get larger. It
should be fine though.

Where did you buy and install the tires?

-B