[Eagle56]

the standard bullet tyres are 550 and 525 by 19in

Is it possible to fit radials to the wheels and what size

[Richard230]

I seriously doubt you will find radial tires in those sizes.  I tried installing a 110/19 radial front tire on my 1997 BMW Funduro, which was designed for a bias-ply front tire and a radial (17") rear tire, and found that the bike severely under-steered.  In order to correct that problem, I had to raise the air pressure from the normal 33 psi to 38 psi to compensate for the narrow wheel width and the soft radial tire sidewall. If you decide to give it a try, be sure to check out the tire manufacturer's recommended wheel width for that tire application.  If the wheel width is too narrow for the tire's width it could be hazardous.

The rule-of-thumb is if your bike didn't come with radial tires, don't install them on your bike.

[Eagle56]

Thanx

I'm looking at possible buying options
If I can't fit radials on the basic bullet I will look more at the classics with radials fitted

[AmBraCol]

Interesting, the Bullet 500 sold in Colombia is listed (on the Royal Enfield site) as having:

Front Tyre:        90/90 - 19
Rear Tyre:       120/80 - 18

The 350 is listed as the same - and immediately below includes:

Front Tyre:   3.25 x 19
Rear Tyre:     3.25 x 19


They can't BOTH be right, but that's what's there... I looked again to make sure, and yes, the 350 lists both sizes.  It is, however, drum brake front and rear whereas the 500 is disk front and drum rear.

[Arizoni]

The tire sizes for my 2011 G5 are 3.25 X 19 front and 3.50 X 19 rear.

It doesn't surprise me to see that the 350cc powered motorcycle is running the same size rear tire as its front tire.
The smaller rear tire should be able to handle the reduced power and lighter weight of the 350.

The smaller crossectional size of the 350's rear tire will also use less horsepower than the fatter tire which should help the 350 on the road.

Remember the skinny, high pressure tires that came on "English Racing Bicycles"?
They were a lot easier to peddle than the big fat tires that came on most American bicycles.

[AmBraCol]

The tire sizes for my 2011 G5 are 3.25 X 19 front and 3.50 X 19 rear.

It doesn't surprise me to see that the 350cc powered motorcycle is running the same size rear tire as its front tire.
The smaller rear tire should be able to handle the reduced power and lighter weight of the 350.

The smaller crossectional size of the 350's rear tire will also use less horsepower than the fatter tire which should help the 350 on the road.

Remember the skinny, high pressure tires that came on "English Racing Bicycles"?
They were a lot easier to peddle than the big fat tires that came on most American bicycles.

I can't help but wonder if the Colombian site suffers from an ignorant web designer who miscopied the text (how do you get two different rim sizes on one bike?), or if it's a Royal Enfield goof in the text supplied.

It's also interesting that they list 3.25 front and rear (on the part that states 19 inch rims) and you've got 3.5 rear with 3.25 front. I wonder if it's different tires supplied to different parts of the world or a misprint.  And no, I'm not riding 200 kilometers to look at what's actually on the bikes in the showroom...

[Ducati Scotty]

Take a look at the Continental Classic Attack tires.  New radials designed for use on vintage bikes.

[High On Octane]

AmBraCol - It is actually quite common for bikes to have a larger front wheel than the rear, or even vice versa on some Japanese half liter bikes.  My '58 Twin has a 19" front and a 18" rear from the factory.

[Craig McClure]

the standard bullet tyres are 550 and 525 by 19in

Is it possible to fit radials to the wheels and what size

TYPO?  Mine are 3.50 X 19" ,and  3.25 X 19". If you could find radials, You'd still need tubes. I don't think you will find better handling tires than Dunlop K70's. More expensive ones perhaps.

[Scotty Brown]

Agree with the K70---Great tire in wet or dry, pavement or dirt---AND with the softer side walls one can fix a flat on the road---Priced right too ---Depending on how you ride will establish tire life-- In my case around 5000 to 6000 miles.------

[AmBraCol]

AmBraCol - It is actually quite common for bikes to have a larger front wheel than the rear, or even vice versa on some Japanese half liter bikes.  My '58 Twin has a 19" front and a 18" rear from the factory.

I realize that.  My XL200 has 18" rear and 21" front.  What is NOT usual is for a factory to list two different sizes for the same model of bike.  In other words, the "spec sheet" on the 'net for the 350 Bullet in Colombia shows the rear tire is 18".  And immediately below it shows that it is 19".  The front tire is listed as 19" both in the first set of sizes and the second.  It also shows 90/90 for the front tire, and then 3.25 for the front tire.  The rear is listed as 120/80 on the 18" rear tire - and then 3.25 on the 19" rear.  My question, which I'll not likely get an answer to until such time as a trip to the dealer ensues later this year, is why two different specs for the rear tire and why two different sets of sizes for the same bike?  The reason I took a look was in an attempt to get info for the original poster as to whether he could put radials on to replace standard tyres.  But he's listing 5.50 and 5.25 as the sizes. So there's more confusion yet. 

[High On Octane]

That's because you are looking at 2 different 350's.  The Classic 350 has a 19" front and 18" rear while the Bullet 350 has 19" front and rear.  This is directly off of Royal Enfield's main website doing a bike comparison.


http://royalenfield.com/motorcycles/classic-350#!technical-specification

[AmBraCol]

That's because you are looking at 2 different 350's.  The Classic 350 has a 19" front and 18" rear while the Bullet 350 has 19" front and rear.  This is directly off of Royal Enfield's main website doing a bike comparison.


http://royalenfield.com/motorcycles/classic-350#!technical-specification

Nope.  Wrong guess.  Here's a link to the Colombian site's Bullet 350 page.

http://royalenfield.com/co/motorcycles/bullet-350#!technical-specification

Scroll down to where it says "Llanta delantera"  and "Llanta Trasera".

The  Classic 350 page is here:
http://royalenfield.com/co/motorcycles/classic-350#!technical-specification

[High On Octane]

That's interesting, the South American export market appears to be different from the rest of the market.  The Classic and Bullet are both listed as 19"F and 18"R while the "Rumbler" is listed with dual 18's.  I would have thought the South American market and Domestic market would be very similar, but obviously not.  Something else I noticed is that the 350 still appears to have points and coil ignition.

[ace.cafe]

Look, if you want to put 90/90 and 110/90 on the bike, they will work fine. We do it all the time.

[Chuck D]

Look, if you want to put 90/90 and 110/90 on the bike, they will work fine. We do it all the time.

Just "gearheads" splitting hairs and pointlessly running minutiae into the ground.

[High On Octane]

Just "gearheads" splitting hairs and pointlessly running minutiae into the ground.

LOL Honestly, I just enjoy discussing all the differences between the different markets, always learning something new.

As far as actual tires, if the profile fits the width of the wheel, it will work.  For the most part anyway.

[Eagle56]

Yep should have read 325 and 350 x19

[AmBraCol]

Yep should have read 325 and 350 x19

As Tom (Ace) pointed out, 90/90 and 120/80 should work for you just fine.